NRL Finals: Week 2 Fixtures

NRL Finals Week 2, 2007

The 2nd week of the finals is already upon us. While the Cowboys earn themselves a home final against the Warriors with their win, the winning Eels find themselves playing at the home ground of the Bulldogs (Telstra Stadium) - even though the Dogs lost their match in Week 1.

This looks to be another area of Finals format that needs some tweaking in future years.

The loss by the Warriors forces them to take a tough roadtrip this week. Their journey to Townsville will seriously test their mental strength, however their aggressive, steamrolling attack could hurt the flimsy Cowboys defence; an area that North Queensland have struggled with over the past month. If the Warriors can replicate their impressive defence shown against the Eels, they have some chance of an upset here.

The Eels will be scratching their heads looking into this weeks match up. After winning in New Zealand, they now return to Sydney to face the Bulldogs in their own backyard. With Sonny Bill Williams returning and the Eels traditionally struggling against Canterbury - they will need to ensure they score enough points to withstand the Bulldogs on the night. The Dogs will be counting their blessings for a second chance and will be like a bear with a sore head - expect some fireworks in this game on and off the field. It's more than likely several SWAT teams will be needed to keep Bulldogs and Eels supporters apart - both Sydney teams contain some rogue supporter elements that get out of hand, maybe just send the APEC security teams directly from the city to Homebush?

More NRL News later today; including the 'Power Rankings' from the Grubber and on-going NRL Finals reports and insight from the NRL News team