NRL FINALS FIRST WEEKEND MATCH-UPS1st Elimination Final5-Brisbane Broncos v 8-Gold Coast Titans - Friday September 9, 7:50pm AEST (6:10pm local) at Suncorp StadiumMeetings in 2016 - Brisbane Broncos won only gameR5: Brisbane Broncos 24 def Gold Coast Titans 16 at Cbus Super StadiumBrisbane Broncos:Season record 15-9 - Last 5 WWWWW - Against top 8 sides: Won 5, Lost 6One of the form teams of the competition, the Broncos have bounced back from their State of Origin hangover with a vengeance.Theyve won their past five games and in two of their past three have humbled fellow finalists the Bulldogs and Storm.In a major boost not only have the team hit form but so have playmakers Ben Hunt and Anthony Milford and the latter is vital.Gold Coast Titans: 11-1-12 - Last 5 LLWWL - Against top 8 sides: Won 2, Drawn 1, Lost 8The Titans have squeaked into the finals with back-to-back losses and havent beaten a fellow top-eight side since Penrith in round 11, theyre also still waiting for Jarryd Hayne to do something amazing. They might just be waiting until the 2017 season for that.1st Qualifying Final2-Canberra Raiders v 3-Cronulla Sharks - Saturday September 9, 5.30pm AEST at GIO StadiumMeetings in 2016 - Cronulla won one game, Canberra won one gameR7: Cronulla 40 def Canberra 16 at GIO StadiumR22: Canberra 30 def Cronulla 14 at Remondis StadiumCanberra - 17-1-6 - Last 5 WWWWW - Against top 8 sides: Won 7, Lost 4Canberra are red hot.The Raiders are the in-form team of the NRL and as we enter the finals series theyve won their past 10.Scalps in that run include Gold Coast, North Queensland, Cronulla and Melbourne.In the same 10 matches theyve not once failed to score more than 22 points.Cronulla - 17-1-6 - Last 5 LWLLL - Against top 8 sides: Won 8, Drawn 1, Lost 3If Canberra are peaking at the right time the Sharks might have peaked too soon.The pressure of chasing a maiden premiership could be getting to the boys in the black, white and blue, who have coughed up losses to also-rans Souths and St George in the past month.2nd Qualifying Final1-Melbourne Storm v 4-North Queensland Cowboys, Saturday September 10, AAMI Park, 8pmMeetings in 2016 - The Storm have won bothR21: Storm 16 def Cowboys 8 at 1300 Smiles StadiumR10: Storm 15 def Cowboys 14 at Suncorp StadiumMelbourne - 19-5 - Last 5 WLWLW - Against top 8 sides: Won 7, Lost 4Craig Bellamys men carry mixed form into the finals. The last time they put together back-to-back wins was round 22. While they downed minor premiership rivals Cronulla 26-6 on Saturday theyve also been well beaten by fellow contenders the Broncos (26-16) and the Raiders (22-8) in the past month.North Queensland - 15-9 - WWWLL - Against top 8 sides: Won 6, Lost 5The Cowboys are warming to their title defence. Three wins in three weeks over the Warriors (34-6), the Bulldogs (24-16) and the Titans (32-16) gives them some strong momentum even if they havent really been tested by anyone in form.2nd Elimination Final6-Penrith Panthers v 7-Canterbury Bulldogs, Sunday September 11, Allianz Stadium, 4pmMeetings in 2016 - The Bulldogs won their only encounterR2: Bulldogs 18 def Panthers 16 Pepper StadiumPenrith - 14-10 - Last 5 WWWWW - Against top 8 sides: Won 4, Lost 7The Panthers are on the prowl. While the Raiders have taken the NRL by storm the Panthers have quietly gone about their business, marching to the finals on the back of a five-match winning streak. They put an exclamation mark on that by humiliating Manly 36-6 in round 26 but the only top eight side theyve faced since mid July are the Titans and they got away with a 15-14 win there.Canterbury - 14-10 - Last 5 LLLWW - Against top 8 sides: Won 4, Lost 6The Dogs are struggling. Theyve been rolled by Souths (28-10), the Cowboys (24-16) and the Broncos (20-10) over the past three weeks and havent beat a top eight side since mid June.Micker Adolfo Jersey .2 billion agreement with Rogers Communications for the leagues broadcast and multimedia rights. Luis Aparicio White Sox Jersey . 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JOHNS, N.ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates -- Lewis Hamilton may have driven himself into trouble with his Mercedes team after defying direct orders near the end of Sundays gripping Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where the British driver lost his title to teammate Nico Rosberg in a nerve-shredding finale.Hamilton won the race but needed Rosberg to finish outside of the top three in order to retain his title.In order to further this bid, he used a technique known as backing up. It was designed to slow Rosberg down and allow pursuing drivers Sebastian Vettel of Ferrari and Dutch teen Max Verstappen of Red Bull to catch up.Had they both overtaken Rosberg, then Hamiltons win would have been enough for the title. Vettel and Verstappen were right on Rosbergs tail in the closing stages as Hamilton refused to accelerate -- even after Mercedes asked him twice.First of all, Hamilton ignored a race engineers request for him to speed up and then even rebuffed executive director Paddy Lowes explicit order to speed up.Im in the lead right now, he responded to Lowe. Im quite comfortable where I am.Wolff described Loews intervention as the highest escalation (procedure) we have.And he appeared to issue a warning.Anarchy doesnt work in any team or any company, he said. Undermining a structure in public means youre putting yourself before the team.Asked if Hamilton could face punishment, Wolff said: I need to form an opinion, which I havent yet and everythings possible.Rosbergs view was diplomatic.You can understand the teams perspective and you can understand Lewis perspective, the German driver said. So thats it.Mercedes wanted Hamilton to speed up because it was concerned that Vettel was gaining ground and could have won the race.Hamilton was totally unapologetic over the incident in the post-race news conference.IInstead, he openly complained about what he considered to be overly zealous interference.dddddddddddd.I dont know why they just didnt let us just race. There was never a moment where I thought I was going to lose the race, Hamilton said. Its a bit of a shame they wouldnt (just let us race). Its clear (what) their thought process (is).Hamilton wasnt finished.We had already won the constructors championship, so it was down to me and Nico today. However, they still felt that they needed to make comments, Hamilton said. Im in a position where Ive had a lot of points lost in the season, so for me Im out there fighting.Hamiltons latest reference to lost points is a continuation of previous complaints throughout the season with regards to the engine problems that cost him vital points. None more so than during the Malaysian GP, when his engine failed as he was closing in on an easy victory.When I look back on the season, if theres anything to be negative about (it) would be cars failing in certain places, Hamilton said on Thursday. (With the same engine) as the car that wouldnt stop during testing.On Thursday, Hamilton had also brought up another issue that still rankles with him.Prior to the start of the season, Mercedes swapped several mechanics around from each side of the garage in a bid to end the divide that had been growing between the two drivers groups.Youll have to buy my book ... down the line ... in 10 years time when I tell you exactly what happened, the British driver said. It will be an interesting read.In the immediate future, it will also be interesting to see how Mercedes handles this latest incident with Hamilton now that the season is over. ' ' '
