The pressure valve was released a little bit last weekend when the Dragons put the minor premiership into lockdown with their win over the Newcastle Knights. Incidentally, I hope they keep it at the Steelers Club again - I didn’t realise it had been there all year. If I’d have known that I’d have gone down there every weekend just to look at it.
Now they know they can go into this final round match against the Bunnies not having to worry about losing the minor premiership (though the Tigers can still steal it - if we lose this weekend and they win their game by about 170 points).
And a little relieving of pressure is good when you’re wearing a Dragons jersey and the finals are coming. That’s because you’ve already got enough to deal with from critics who expect you to both win it all and choke - and they see nothing illogical about that. Then there’s the Dragons fans themselves, some of whom can be more vicious and critical than outsiders.
But there’s still one more game to go before finals take place. And that game sees the Dragons up against the injury-ravaged Bunnies. The Dragons will surely be looking to continue their run to the finals with another win.
That’s a task that shouldn’t be too hard considering the Bunnies have a stack of players missing. Sure, the red and greens are playing for a chance to make the finals. That is, unless the Sea Eagles and Raiders win. If that happens, the Bunnies will be just playing for pride.
But does it matter? Even the most ardent Bunnies fan must think the chances of a win in this game are hugely unlikely. In fact, I reckon the Dragons will turn it on with some new attacking moves to give the other seven teams in the finals something else to worry about.
The other games: Raiders, Wests Tigers, Warriors, Roosters, Panthers, Storm, Sea Eagles
Season so far: 110
Email a friend