The countdown to the start of the 2012 Telstra Premiership Finals has started and the past 26 rounds mean nothing for the eight teams about to play finals football.
Tonight on NRL Daily, host John Gibbs previews the salivating blockbuster between two of the best teams in the competition, as well as their coaches, who both helped guide the Sea Eagles to last season’s premiership.
“I love the similarities between both clubs,” says Gibbs. “There’s great match ups in every respect. It’s the minor premiers against the defending premiers. It’s Des Hasler versus Geoff Toovey.
“Each club has won eight premierships... they’ve only met three times in the finals and the Bulldogs lead that two to one.
“The last time they met was in the 1995 Grand Final which was won by the Bulldogs. The hooker in that match for the Sea Eagles was Des Hasler, the halfback and captain was Geoff Toovey and the Clive Churchill medallist was Jim Dymock.”
Gibbs predicts the Sea Eagles to take a step closer to back-to-back premiership with a victory over the minor premiers.
“Manly’s experience will hold them in good stead; 14 of the 17 in the Sea Eagles team have Grand Final-winning experience. You can’t buy that.”
Also on tonight’s show we bring you the latest news from the world of rugby league, including a phone interview with Roosters CEO Steve Noyce to discuss the new head coach appointment and we continue our countdown of the top 30 players of the season.
Get all this and more in tonight's episode of NRL Daily, the only NRL show that's on every night of the week.
Stream it on the NRL.com homepage from 7:00pm tonight, watch it on the official NRL mobile site (Telstra customers only. Action Pack required. Click here for more details) or Telstra T-BOX. You can also watch the best NRL Daily videos on your iPhone with the official NRL iPhone App (Official Pass required. Click here for more details)