Crikey’s NRL Hot Form Chart

Hubris don’t count on the Form Chart. Manly’s Antony Watmough might reckon Wests were lucky to get over his team last Monday night but there isn’t a column for opinion on the table below.

The win took the Tigers to four on the trot and just behind the Dragons on the Hot Form Chart. Should St George stumble against fellow form flyers Penrith, Tim Sheens’ men might find themselves in the number one spot after accounting for the Roosters, who surely cannot string two wins together.

The premiers themselves lost a golden opportunity to push for a top-four spot and must fix up Souths to be any chance of pressuring Melbourne and the Gold Coast — teams that face tough, but winnable, assignments this week.

The mob they’re all watching though are Parramatta. The Eels have slipped into a gear only found on muscle cars and have the chance to promote their finals chances, while at the same time denting those of the Knights’.

And the Broncos … ah, the Broncos. What happened? Took the wrong pill, starting playing the wrong game and got beaten by a cricket score. Brisbane’s first Bennett-less year is turning out as sickly as those yellow jumpers they wear. Fortunately, the Broncs face the only team going worse than them right now so they’re actually a chance to win.

Form* Team Last week NRL ladder position Sequence
1 Dragons 1 1 W-W-W-W-W
2 Tigers 3 9 L-W-W-W-W
3 Penrith 5 5 W-L-W-W-D
4 Parramatta 6 12 L-L-W-W-W
5 Bulldogs 9 2 L-W-W-L-W
6 Rabbitohs 4 11 L-W-W-W-L
7 Manly 2 7 W-L-W-W-L
8 Cowboys 11 6 L-W-L-L-W
9 Canberra 13 13 W-L-L-L-W
10 Roosters 15 16 W-L-L-L-W
11 Melbourne 7 4 L-W-L-W-L
12 Titans 8 3 L-W-L-W-L
13 Newcastle 10 8 W-L-W-L-L
14 Warriors 13 14 L-L-W-L-D
15 Brisbane 14 10 L-W-L-L-L
16 Cronulla 16 15 L-L-L-L-L

*Form over the past five games

Crikey’s Hot Form Tips for round 22 are:

  • Dragons
  • Melbourne
  • Bulldogs
  • Manly
  • Parramatta
  • Tigers
  • Titans
  • Brisbane

Last week: 3 (Season total: 95)

Crikey’s AFL Hot Form Chart

St Kilda will take the field against Hawthorn without five key players — four of who are among the top dozen hopes for the Brownlow medal. That’s a hole even Zsa Zsa Gabor could drive through and the Hawks, battling to avoid being the first premier to miss the finals in 10 years, will be under immense pressure to take the free kick and break St Kilda’s unbeaten run. They could, and should, do it.

One team sure to be unimpressed with the raft of St Kilda outs is Carlton. The Blues face Geelong tonight and have the toughest run home of any of the realistic finals hopes. Fans will hope that their position of third on the Form Chart tells the true tale of their ability and has not been propped up by unconvincing wins over mediocre opposition.

These are not the only games with heavy September implications. Collingwood and Adelaide will sort out who is the third best team in the competition, while Essendon — which has about as much momentum as Uluru — will bow out of formal contention at the hands of the Lions.

Form* Team Last week AFL ladder position Sequence
1 St Kilda 1 1 W-W-W-W-W
2 Collingwood 4 4 W-W-L-W-W
3 Carlton 6 7 W-W-W-L-W
4 Geelong 5 2 L-L-W-W-W
5 Bulldogs 7 3 W-L-W-L-W
6 Port Adelaide 10 8 W-L-W-L-W
7 Brisbane 2 6 W-L-W-W-L
8 Adelaide 3 5 W-W-L-W-L
9 Richmond 13 12 L-L-D-W-W
10 Sydney 8 11 W-L-L-W-L
11 Hawthorn 9 10 L-W-W-L-L
12 Melbourne 11 16 W-W-L-L-L
13 West Coast 15 13 L-L-L-L-W
14 Fremantle 14 15 L-L-L-W-L
15 Essendon 12 9 L-W-L-L-L
16 North Melbourne 16 14 L-L-D-L-L

*Form over the past five games

Crikey’s Hot Form Tips for round 19 are:

  • Geelong
  • Hawthorn
  • Bulldogs
  • Brisbane
  • Adelaide
  • North Melbourne
  • Sydney
  • Port Adelaide

Last week: 6 (Season total: 96)

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