It's been 10 years since the Eels have won a finals game, incidentally that was the Prelim Final against Canterbury that drew 74,000 odd fans. Since then the only time they've qualified for the finals, was in 2017 when they went out in straight sets.
On that occassion, they entered the finals series without Clinton Gutherson, who was arguably their best player and were down to their third-string fullback following an injury to Bevan French.
Not only do they have all their strike weapons on board, they also welcome back Nathan Brown following his two game suspension. Brown missed the Round 24 encounter between these two sides and his aggression through the middle will make the Eels a more fiersome opponent.
By rights they should be setting their sights on the second week of the finals where they'll likely take on Canberra. Canberra have a checkered record in the finals dating back to 2009, going 3-4 in their previous bids (1-1 2010, 1-1 2012, 1-2 2016). If the Eels can put on a strong performance against the Broncos, it could likely set them up for a Prelim Final where they could find themselves against Souths in a winnable game.
Essentially, if the Eels can put together their best half of football in the opening stint on Sunday, it could push them all the way.
Meanwhile Brisbane find themselves without a hope or a prayer of winning. Most of the experts have decided that their unworthy of making the finals and their presence is merely a testament of a horrible season where a lot of teams struggled.
Maybe so.
Strangely, Brisbane actually find themselves in a position where they can put up a better fight than they did in last year's series. Consider the following...
Last year, Brisbane found themselves against St. George Illawarra. The Dragons side was comprised of talent such as Tim Lafai, Paul Vaughan, James Graham, Ben Hunt, Gareth Widdop etc. all players with extensive finals experience and their much vaunted pack was filled with successful Origin players.
Their style of play suited finals footy and before Brisbane could make the necessary adjustments, St George had taken the game away from them well before half-time. The experience St. George had gained earlier in the year as competition front-runners showed and the Broncos soft under-belly was exposed in the most humiliating way imagineable.
In comparison, while the Eels are a talented outfit, they don't have the profile of their Dragons counter-part. They were never at any point the competition front-runners, infact they're one year removed from winning the wooden spoon. While they've done a tremendous job of turning their luck around, there are certainly some questions to be asked of their mental toughness.
Meanwhile, the Broncos are stronger through the middle than they were last year and there is this feeling that their campaign will start and end with Parra. There is no looking ahead to Canberra, it's all about Parramatta, a side they have beaten before and were unlucky not to have won by more.
I'm not sure if pulling off the unthikable would be in the club's best interests. They need an honest review of the season and have to do everything in their power to avoid this current spine and backline configuration. However, it would be a feather in Seibold's cap and a positive experience he and the players can draw from moving forward. For me the Broncos have a number of players that could be successful, but there are cancers in the side that need to be removed if they want to achieve any modicrum of success.
EDIT: How did that turn into a 600 word essay? FMD.
