A picture is worth a thousand words. But how complicated is this picture for the final month of football?
In The Road Home (part 1), I highlighted the matches between teams battling it out for the same goals.
With one month of the regular season remaining, it’s time to expand this view.
The Top 4
We have three teams vying for a top two finish that will gift them home finals and a second chance if required. The Storm are in the box seat here with the best differential in the competition. Their match against the Bulldogs in Round 25 will be crucial of the final standings.
If the Storm finish top two then they potentially won’t play in Sydney until the GF. That is a huge advantage for a team with such an imposing home ground advantage.
The Top 8
There are four teams that can take the final position in the Top 4 with the Panthers looking the most likely.
There are also two places up for grabs to host the elimination final.
The freefalling Warriors, on paper, have the easier of the draw and would benefit the most with a sellout home crowd.
The Sharks have a Bye up their sleave so should be safe but there differential could come back to bite them. I included Manly but realistically, they need to win one more games than the Dolphins or Roosters due to their -10 differential.
Spoon Bowl
The Bunnies should be safe with the Bye to come, meaning it’s between the Knights and Titans. Both teams have a tough run to finish.
Good luck with your team, or surrogate teams, in the final four rounds.
-Rob
The Creator
