CLANCY OVERELL | Editor | CONTACT
It’s Grand Final Day for the 2019 NRL competition. Hours from now we will be treated to the showdown between the Sydney Roosters, gunning for back-to-back premiership titles against the underdog Canberra Raiders at ANZ Stadium.
The curtains will be raised this afternoon with the Newtown Jets taking on the Burleigh Bears in the State Championship, before the Broncos take on the Dragons in the NRLW Grand Final.
There will be tributes to the retiring players of 2019, including some of the greatest players of their generation in Paul Gallen, Greg Inglis and Robbie Farah.
The kick off begins at 7.30pm, pitting Boyd Cordner’s Roosters against Jarrod Croker’s Raiders for the Provan-Summons Trophy, in an explosive and violent tale of two cities.
However, while Cordner can draw on last year’s experience in bringing home the silverware – Croker is a one-club player, and has not seen the bright lights of a Grand Final before today.
It is for this reason that the British import Johhneh Bateman has kept close to Croker throughout the week, to help him with the oddities and pressures of the big dance.
Despite being several years the skipper’s junior, Bateman has had some pearls of wisdom to share with him as a 2016 premiership winner with Wigan Wolves in his home country of Uhngland.
“This is wut yew dew” said Bateman, as he sewed a razor blade to the front of Croker’s headgear this morning.
“Thus is whut will get us ovuh the line. Just headbutt thum as much as you can. They’ll be blinded by their own blud coming from their brow”
“Thus is what we do buck in Unhgland”
The other ten British blokes playing for Canberra attest to Bateman’s advice.
Who wants to be in heaven, eh?” shouts fellow Peaky Raider Josh Hodgson.
“Who wants to be in heaven when you can be sending men to fucking hell?!”
