F1 | 2024 Singapore F1 Grand Prix Result, Lap by Lap Summary and Ratings

September 23, 2024

2025 Australian F1 Grand Prix Result Race Summary

Lando Norris kept the 2024 Championship alive with a dominant weekend at the Singapore Grand Prix. Talking of night racing, our 2024 Singapore F1 Grand Prix Result Summary was trying to stay awake.

This 2024 Singapore Grand Prix Result, Laps that Matter summary, Review & Ratings which gives you just enough to catch up with. With just a hint of cynicism, bias, opinion and colour. The perfect bite sized review for those who couldn’t be bothered, or don’t have enough time.

2024 Singapore F1 Grand Prix Result Race Summary

Didn’t see the race live? Don’t have time to watch the whole race? Here’s where we capture the laps where stuff happened. We write these live as we go, sort of like a minute by minute for the football, but marginally more interesting.

Setting the scene – Lando Norris was dominant across most of the weekend and secured pole position with ease. Ferraris were meant to challenge but stuffed their qualifying, neither car ending up with a Q3 lap. Max Verstappen returned to form to a degree with second on the grid, while Sergio Perez returned to form as well, failing to make Q3. Talking of that, Daniel Ricciardo failed to make it past Q1, which means he may have qualified his last F1 car.

GRID (Starting Order) – LEC PIA SAI PER RUS VER ALO COL ALB BEA

Lap 1 – Lando Norris converts a pole position into first lap lead which will keep him happy and probably end the race. It’s pretty quiet directly behind him for a few cars until you reach Franco Colapinto who has an almighty dive down the inside of a million cars at turn one and climbs from 13th to 9th in one move, somehow he manages to avoid solid contact with any cars, walls, and time travel. Yuki Tsunoda owns the worst start dropping places, and he is in a Sainz-Perez sandwich, and is potential for being jam. Alex Albon also had a bad start dropping places.

ORDER – NOR VER HAM RUS PIA HUL ALO LEC COL PER

Lap 4 – This race is dull already with Lando Norris clearing out in front to be well clear of DRS and Max Verstappen. Mercedes seem interesting enough in 3rd and 4th but not capable of winning. The Hulk remaining in 6th is also interesting, more so if he can grab that elusive podium. But that’s not going to happen without a Safety Car. Where’s Nelson Piquet Jnr when you need him?

Lap 6 – It’s at this point we remember that only two cars are on the soft tyres as we speak/type. Lewis Hamilton in third and Daniel Ricciardo in 16th. Neither are going especially well, neither are going to win. At least Lewis Hamilton will drive at the next F1 race.

Lap 7 – With no excuse of soft tyres, Oscar Piastri looks slow compared to his multiple fastest lap setting team mate. Piastri is over two seconds behind the 4th place Mercedes of George Russell.

Lap 11 – RB pit Daniel Ricciardo for either new tyres and/or a new kind of torture. He’d now last behind the Kick Saubers. Which he might have to kick in a few laps time.

ORDER – NOR VER HAM RUS PIA HUL ALO LEC COL PER

Lap 18 – Lewis Hamilton pits for new tyres and rejoins in 13th, solidly in the midfield, which won’t make him happy. The race also has its first retirement in Alex Albon. We’d tell you what he retired with, but were asleep. Oscar Piastri is hounding George Russell for third. That pair are 11 seconds behind Max Verstappen who is 13 seconds behind Lando Norris.

Lap 19 – Carlos Sainz is getting used to his view for next season as he races the Kick Sauber at the back of the field. Further back replays show Lewis Hamilton taking 12th from Kevin Magnussen.

Lap 24 – Not much movement around the top ten for a while, but we’re awake enough to highlight the top ten runners below. The only point of interest is the radio of Lewis Hamilton and how much he hates his car right now.

ORDER – NOR VER RUS PIA HUL ALO LEC COL PER TSU

Lap 28 – Lance Stroll pits for new tyres. It almost wasn’t worth the effort of typing. Although, thoughts of Stroll getting his hands on a Newey car is frightening. If Lance Stroll can win a Championship then Adrian Newey is the greatest F1 figure in history. Although Perez could only win two races in the greatest ever F1 car. Talking of which, Perez pits from somewhere and rejoins somewhere else. It’s not at the sharp end that’s for sure.

Lap 29 – Charles Leclerc is up to 4th with a nice overtake on The Hulk.

Lap 30 – Max Verstappen pits from second and rejoins just behind Charles Leclerc who hasn’t pitted but is going well enough on his older tyres. The Hulk and Colapinto pit as well, both doing great jobs in inferior cars. Talking of superior cars, Lando Norris pits on Lap 31 and rejoins into clear air, with a fellow McLaren a little further back in the distance. No team orders required you’d think. Also No Jacket Required if you were planning to be Phil Collins at any stage.

Lap 32 – A grumpy Max Verstappen overtakes Charles Leclerc for third.

Lap 33 – Replays show that Lando Norris tags the wall quite hard on Lap 29. Nothing appears to be wrong with the car, so with that luck on his side, it’s his day for sure. And when we say day, we mean night.

ORDER – NOR PIA VER LEC RUS HAM TSU SAI ALO HUL

Lap 39 – Oscar Piastri finally pits and rejoins behind both Mercedes.

Lap 40 – Oscar Pastry rising through through the F1 field with a neat overtake on Lewis Hamilton.

Lap 41 – The two RBs are circulating around together. How nice. Ricciardo is in front of Tsunoda. But not for long. Camera pans to Liam Lawson in the pitlane, as is traditional.

Lap 45 – After stalking George Russell in reverse camera view for a few laps, Oscar Piastri takes the final podium spot. Although he is 18 seconds behind Verstappen who is 24 seconds behind Norris.

Lap 48 – Sergio Perez claims via radio he’s bouncing around like a Kangaroo. He has spent many laps chasing Nico Hulkenberg, and ultimately finishes behind him by race end.

ORDER – NOR VER PIA RUS HAM LEC SAI ALO HUL PER

Lap 50 – Daniel Ricciardo pits for new soft tyres and a chance at fastest lap. Is this a farewell present for Ricciardo? Or is RB sacrificing their driver, so he can steal the fastest lap point off Lando Norris, which helps Max Verstappen.

Lap 57 – There is so little action that the TV cameras follow Sergio Perez not overtake The Hulk for 9th. For many laps. Which is a few too many.

Lap 59 – The TV cameras also try with George Russell v Charles Leclerc for 4th. That doesn’t work by race end either.

Lap 60 – Kevin Magnussen retires from the GP.

FINAL LAP – Lando Norris win the Singapore with alarming ease for others, no less than his Championship rival Max Verstappen who is over 20 seconds behind by race end. Oscar Piastri rounds out the podium. Norris gets the honour of having Kylie Minogue waive the chequered flag.

FINAL ORDER (Across the line) – NOR VER PIA RUS LEC HAM SAI ALO HUL PER

Here we go through the field and highlight the very best (Great) of the race, and the plodders, the over-ambitious, the out of luck, and simply hopeless (Grape).

These points get added to our Driver of the Season scores. points for a great nomination, and -5 for the worst or grapest driver in the pack. Then it is +2 /-2 for honourable or dishonourable mentions.

THE GREAT-EST – LANDO NORRIS

Denied the perfect GP result due to some last minute Daniel Ricciardo cheekiness, Lando Norris was in charge all weekend (unlike any Charles) and it was a Champion-like drive. Luckily, he reduced the gap to Max Verstappen some more, to give that some airtime.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

MAX VERSTAPPEN – Not quite back in the high life again, but second on the gird and in the race is a solid return to some form. He’ll need to stay that close if he is to save his Championship.

NICO HULKENBERG – Sixth on the grid, point scoring drive in his Haas, the Hulk keep producing.

FRANCO COLAPINTO – Continues to impress massively. Qualified well again, or at least much better than Logan Sargeant. Caused some nuisance on the first lap with a huge overtake at the first corner. Held his own throughout the race despite

THE GRAPE-EST – DANIEL RICCIARDO

By all reports this could be his last race. Bad enough to be strung along like he has been, but to seemingly gets the worst of strategy to consolidate the misery. We wouldn’t dare say sabotage, but who could rule it out. At least Ricciardo set fastest lap.

DISHONOURABLE MENTIONS

SERGIO PEREZ – Qualified 13th, finished 10th gain a point. That one point wasn’t enough to fill the gap between Norris and Verstappen above. At least he didn’t run into anyone this weekend.

LEWIS HAMILTON – Not a great weekend. Having the soft tyres on his first stint didn’t help. Could have been worse, as he nearly binned it into the wall on the lead-in to that first pit stop.

CHARLES LECLERC – A genuine threat to pole position coming into the weekend. Instead he had his Q3 times removed which left him starting 9th on the grid and making mediocre progress

CARLOS SAINZ – Less Likely to take pole than Leclerc, but we’ll never know as he spun backwards into the wall at the last corner in Q3, and his race was compromised from that point on.

OSCAR PIASTRI – An underwhelming third while his team mate led with ease. Bit harsh, but needs less of these type of races if he is to be the 2025 F1 champion.

Was it a good race, loads of action, a tense ending, a surprise result or DNF, or just a big, fat, snooze-fest?

We rate the big race itself, so we know which races to go back and watch in the off season or one to simply remember the winner for the post season quiz nights.

ON TRACK ACTION – 2 / 10

Dull

ANY SURPRISES? – 1 / 5

Not really. Nico Hulkenberg hung on for a point maybe.

SEASON IMPORTANCE – 5 / 5

A win for Lando Norris over Max Verstappen, and the manner of the win gives hope that he can do all it takes to take the title down to the wire. When we say the wire it’s not The Wire, but that TV show is so good.

ENDING 2 / 10

The ending of the race was much like the laps that preceded. Little action.

OVERALL RATING 10 / 30

Not the best race, but one that keeps the Championship alive.

2024 F1 Race Rankings

R17 – Azerbaijan Grand Prix…25/30
R16 – Italian Grand Prix…21/30
R15 – Dutch Grand Prix…15/30
R14 – Belgian Grand Prix…23/30
R13 – Hungarian Grand Prix…19/30
R12 – British Grand Prix…25/30
R11 – Austrian Grand Prix…27/30
R10 – Spanish Grand Prix…19/30
R09 – Canadian Grand Prix…22/30
R08 – Monaco Grand Prix…17/30
R07 – Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix…23/30
R06 – Miami Grand Prix…23/30
R05 – Chinese Grand Prix…15/30
R04 – Japanese Grand Prix…18/30
R03 – Australian Grand Prix…23/30
R02 – Saudi Arabia Grand Prix…9/30
R01 – Bahrain Grand Prix…13/30

2024 F1 Season Power Rankings

Stay tuned for our Power Rankings from the race soon as it is currently being calculated and will be ready on Monday.

Why not check the latest race ratings – 2024 Italian Grand Prix Ratings

Or our 2024 F1 Half Season Report.

Or check out our 2023 Season Driver Rankings and Stats

NRL | The NRL Donkey’s NRL Finals Week 3 Expert Tips and Opinion

Gurgler Donkey

September 23, 2024

Angrier than a room full of Fox League writers and NRL 360 hosts, slower than a Bunker decision, unluckier than an NRL player roadside drug test, it’s time for the weekly Rugby League rant of The Gurgler’s NRL Donkey, who provides his NRL Finals Week 2 Expert Tips as well as offers an alternative, slightly unhinged view full of sass of the world of rugby league and beyond for another week.

The NRL Donkey’s NRL Finals Week 3 Weekly Rant

I often ask myself several questions a day, which is a bit sad as no one is usually around to answer, and I’m a donkey, like Mr Ed, except no one on my farm cares that I’m a talking animal, mainly because they are way too busy farming Sorghum, which I’m not sure what it does, it’s a bit like when that Nutri Grain cereal used to advertise their cereal was high in Niacin. What the bloody hell is Niacin, and why would I need it. Iron Men used to need it I suppose. And who doesn’t respect Guy Leech, and if you don’t I no longer respect you. If you were to say that Surf Lifesaving wasn’t the same since Darrell Eastlake stopped yelling at us to enjoy it, I’d agree. Big Daz could make stuff interesting that really wasn’t. Weight Lifting, Pulling Planes along a runway, anything. That man loved stuff like no one else. And was likeable, dare I say, loveable.

Which sort-of doesn’t lead me to my big NRL question heading into the second last week of the season. Is this the least likeable final four teams in modern history? And by modern history I mean the last ten years or so.

First thing going against them is they are all winners. No underdogs here, they have won every premiership since the Sharks won their only one. So no real underdogs here.

And the clubs themselves can be hard to like.

Two of the clubs have been or are highly suspected of cheating the salary cap. No one likes a cheat. Unless you’re on the inside with wads of cash heading to Sportsbet.

Penrith aren’t necessarily unlikeable, although having Jarome Luai will never help, but because they win everything other fans and neutrals get jealous and look for the nearest Ryobi power tool for the delicate operation of Tall Poppy chopping.

It’s also been argued in the past that Melbourne fans have the thinnest skins in the world, Roosters fans are the most arrogant, and Penrith win everything. So nothing for neutrals there either.

As for Cronulla, well, Scott Morrison was their number ticket holder for some time. Nuff said.

The only thing going for this Finals series is Nicho Hynes, but given the high stakes and Cronulla’s awful Finals record he will either fail to lead the Sharks to glory or will be blamed for not leading the Sharks to glory.

So perhaps like many Queensland rugby league fans it’s better to check in on the rugby league in between jumping on the AFL bandwagon.

You have to admire the AFL for their continued stance on having their Grand Final in a traditional timeslot and day.

It’s on at 2:30pm on the last Saturday in September. And broadcasters can put that in any size pipe and smoke it. Unlike the NRL who bend over for a Channel Nein paddling and ask if they can have another.

The only people that want Grand Finals at 8pm on a Sunday are likely to be employed by Channel Nein or News Ltd, work in the marketing department of some big company, or are an enterprising desperate Cougar waiting to pounce on unsuspecting rugby league young men, no matter none of them should be kept happy with a Sunday Night timeslot.

Or perhaps with the four teams that remain, who cares what time the Grand Final is, or what day, or which teams. Interest in only a Same Game Multi away.

The NRL Donkey’s NRL Finals Week 3 Expert Tips

MELBOURNE v ROOSTERS

Roosters have an awful record against both Melbourne and Penrith, with one win in 21 games v those teams combined since 2020, so may as well get them out of the way now, which leaves Melbourne as a genuine threat to end Penrith’s dominance.

Melbourne by 10

PENRITH v CRONULLA

So much time was spent looking for a reason that Cronulla could beat Penrith this weekend and the only one was that a Shark would beat a Panther in a contest underwater. Given this game will be played above ground there’s no point tipping Cronulla.

Penrith by 8

NRL | 2024 NRL Finals Week 3 Tips Predictions & Stats Preview

Max Layne

September 23, 2024

2025 NRL Round 1 Las Vegas Tips Featured

The NRL reaches the final four stage but has to compete this weekend with the big AFL Grand Final in Melbourne for attention. Talking of second string, our 2024 NRL Finals Week 3 Tips Predictions & Stats Preview are also primed to be ignored by most.

Each week we offer up a quick preview glance for each match, throw in a bunch of barely interesting stats, and mix in a pinch of opinion, some spicy tips and you have a rugby league soup with probably more flavour than one could ever need or want. It’s all you can eat NRL stats.

2024 NRL Finals Week 3 Matches

Fri 7:50 pm – Melbourne v Roosters @ AAMI Park
Sat 7:50 pm – Penrith v Cronulla @ Accor Stadium

2024 NRL Finals Week 3 Tips

Here are our tips for the week ahead. How did we get to here? By going through all the visuals and stats below.

SEASON PROGRESS: 133/210 (63%)

READ MORE: Our 2024 Match Centre Home

2024 NRL Finals Week 3 Weekly H2H Stats

Looking for a cheat sheet for the weekend’s upcoming games?

Here’s as much information that we could cram into one size fits all visual.

Plus our famed barely interesting stats all in the one place for this week of fewer games.

Going back to 2020 Melbourne have beaten the Roosters 10 of the last 11 games.

The H2H at AAMI Park is 9-4 to the Storm and 1-0 to Melbourne for finals matches.

Melbourne have won eight of their nine finals games at AAMI Park v Sydney teams. And all five Finals games at AAMI Park on a Friday.

Melbourne have won 10 of their last 11 games at AAMI Park on a Friday going back to 2020. Roosters are the only team to beat them in that run.

Since 1998, the Roosters have won four of their 17 away Finals matches.

Roosters have won six of their last seen Friday games v non-Sydney sides.

Penrith have won 10 Finals games in a row. Cronulla have won one of their last eight.

Cronulla have won one of their 14 away Finals matches. Penrith have won nine Finals matches in a row as the home side.

Penrith have won five home Finals games in a row at the Olympic Stadium. They are 8/10 at the Olympic Stadium for finals matches.

Cronulla’s only win at the Olympic Stadium during finals of three matches was their 2016 title win.

Penrith have won 11 of their last 13 games at Olympic Stadium. Over the same period Cronulla are W2 L4.

Penrith have won seven of their last eight games v Cronulla and four in a row on a Saturday.

Cronulla have won the only finals clash between these sides in 2018. Prior to last weekend it was their last Finals win since their 2016 title.

Penrith are W4 L3 on a Saturday this season. Cronulla are W5 L5.

2024 NRL Finals Week 3 – Finals Series Stats

Heading into the 2024 NRL Finals Series, it’s time to check a few stats for each of the finals team’s records this season against the other top teams, across other seasons and their finals record in general. In case you needed more stats.

2024 NRL Season Stats Summary

FOOTBALL | 2024-25 Premier League Predictions Week 5

Theydon Bois

September 17, 2024

It’s a premium weekend of Premier League with the two teams most likely to fight for the title battling for early bragging rights. Plus a whole bunch of other, almost as important games. Talking of premium, here are our Premier League Predictions Week 5 that are below the top shelf.

Each gameweek in the Premier League in 2024-25 we offer up a stat filled prediction preview, with some barely interesting stats and visuals, just enough to bluff your way through various tipping competitions or betting shops.

And stay tuned for the EPL Donkey, who serves up a slightly different view on the Premier League each week.

2024-25 Premier League Predictions Week 5

GW5 Summary Predictions

Barely Interesting Premier League Stats Week 5

Here you’ll find the choicest cuts of barely interesting stats on offer for every fixture this gameweek. Some may assist your tipping, others are barely worth a grunt. Either way, they are all yours.

WHU v CHE – West Ham have an excellent recent record at home to Chelsea only losing two of their last ten matches there and won six. West Ham have lost only one of the last five home games on a Saturday v Chelsea with three wins and a draw/loss.

SOT v IPS – Ipswich won both games in the Championship last season. But Southampton have won eight of the last 10 matches in Southampton on a Saturday, with one draw/loss.

LEI v EVE – Leicester have won four of the last five games between these sides on a Saturday. But Everton (W2 D1) are unbeaten in the last three games at Leicester on any day.

LIV v BOU – Liverpool (W9 D1) have never lost at home to Bournemouth. But previous to last week’s loss to Nottingham Forest, they hadn’t lost at home to Forest since 1969.

LIV v BOU – Liverpool and Bournemouth are first and third for expected goals so far this season.

TOT v BRE – Spurs have lost only one of their 11 home games v Brentford (W8 D2 L1) but Brentford did win the second last game there.

FUL v NEW – Newcastle have won five straight v Fulham and are unbeaten in a further three games. Fulham scored just one goal in that five game losing streak. Plus four in a row at Fulham.

CRY v MUN – Crystal Palace won the two games between these sides last season by a combined 5-0. But Man Utd are unbeaten in the last six games at Crystal Palace on a Saturday (W4 D2).

BHA v NFO – Brighton have won the only game between these sides on a Sunday.

MCI v ARS – Man City are unbeaten in their last 9 home games v Arsenal in the league (W7 D2).

Premier League Week 5 H2H Stats

Here are the H2H for Week 4 of the Premier League.

General Premier League Season Stats

This is where we put the current season stats. With only a few games played, this is about the most interesting we can find for now. But stayed tuned for more and better.

F1 | 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Ratings – G-Power Rankings and Season Stats

Perry Thrust

September 16, 2024

Here are The Gurgler’s 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Ratings – our way of rating the performances on the track without getting disqualified.

Our G-Power Rankings goes a little bit deeper than just points scored on the Sunday and has a slightly cooler name than most. We take on board Free Practice, Qualifying, performance in relation to teammate, fastest lap, and a few more stats that are attempting to highlight a driver outperforming the car and/or thrashing their teammate.

Plus, we have a range of stats and barely interesting facts from the 2024 F1 Season so far.

2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Ratings – Drivers

Here are the current overall standings for our Driver of the Year winner – the Martini Medal. Named in honour of one of F1’s most unsung heroes – Pierluigi Martini of Minardi fame.

We have the overall scores as they stand, plus a visual which shows the flow of each driver’s position throughout the season, plus a few points of interest below.

Here is the breakdown of the Driver of the Year points from the most recent race and the season so far. Remembering our ratings go across a whole weekend, so the race winner who may not have had a great qualifying or sprint race may not come out on top.

LATEST RACE RATINGS

2024 Azerbaijan F1 Grand Prix Ratings - Race Summary

DRIVER OF THE SEASON UPDATE

2024 Azerbaijan F1 Grand Prix Ratings - Driver of the Season

2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Ratings – Teams

This is essentially using the same drivers stats but in reverse for the worst score, but taking out anything that is a H2H between the drivers.

And our annual award focuses on the other end of the grid, highlighting the worst team of the season.

Of course, the worst team of the season award needs to be named after the worst F1 team of all time. And if you want to fund out more about Andrea Moda, follow this link.

LATEST RACE & SEASON RATINGS

2024 Season Stats

BEST OF 2024 STATS AND DRIVER OF THE YEAR

DRIVER 2024 H2H RECORD

Beating your team mate in F1 is very important, which is why we keep an eye on the H2H stats through the season.

New for this week is the overall H2H. Which means the H2H from every session – FP and Qualifying, plus who set a faster Fastest Lap and two points for beating the team mate in the race. Note: both have to feature in same Q session for H2H point.

2024 F1 QUALIFYING STATS

Here our qualifying analysis covers just about everything we could find on qualifying.

QUALIFYING SUMMARY

2024 Azerbaijan F1 Grand Prix Ratings - Qualifying

FIRST LAP POSITION + GRID TO RACE RESULT GAINS

Races can’t be won or lost at the first corner, well actually they can be lost at the first corner, and a good one can make all the difference. Unless you drive a Red Bull, then it doesn’t really matter.

So here are the stats on the lightning fast starters and the slow pokes.

Kevin Magnussen is number one for the record.

2024 Azerbaijan F1 Grand Prix Ratings - !st Lap

FREE PRACTICE

Some say Free Practice is a giant waste of time, and they are probably right. Regardless here is the average position for each drivers in Free Practice this season. Each round an average of all the sessions.

Current Race Power Rankings in Detail

2024 Azerbaijan F1 Grand Prix Ratings - Race Details

2024 F1 Season Power Rankings – Points Explanation

Here’s how the points work this season. Essentially the perfect race (Win from Pole, Fastest Lap, thrash team mate, best in race etc) should amount to the perfect 100 points.

FIRST LAP GAINS +0.5pts per position gained -0.5pts per position lost.
CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS – 25pts to 1pt as per World Championship – Sprint Race Points added.
BEAT TEAM MATE (RACE) – 10pts (if both finish or other driver got self inflicted DNF)
FASTEST LAP – 5pts – 1pt for top five drivers.
GRID POSITION TO RACE POSITION – formula +/- relative finish to grid
BEST OF THE REST (RACE) – 5pts to 1pt – top five non Mercedes-Red Bull drivers
QUALIFYING – 20pts to 1pt – Grid Position 1 to 20.
BEAT TEAM MATE (QUALIFYING) – 5pts
BEST OF THE REST (QUALIFYING) – 5pts to 1pt – top five non Mercedes-Red Bull drivers
GREAT/GRAPE – 5pts Great 2pts Honourable Mention -2Pts Dishonourable Mention -5Pts Grape
BEAT TEAM MATE (QUALIFYING) Time Gap – Formula for % beaten team mate by
BEAT TEAM MATE (QUALIFYING) Position – 0.5 Pts for every position team mate is beaten by. 0 points for second car.
FREE PRACTICE HERO – 10Pts to 1Pt – Average Position across all three practice sessions.
WIN FROM POLE – Bonus 5 Points
WIN FROM POLE WITH FASTEST LAP – Bonus 10 Points
DNF Not Driver or Team Fault Minus 2 Points
DNF CAUSED BY DRIVER/TEAM INCOMPETENCE Minus 5 Points
SPRINT RACE POINTS – Points 8 to 1 as handed out in the sprint race.
SPRINT RACE CHANGE – 0.5 Points per change in end position to starting position.
SPRINT RACE QUAL – Points 8 to 1 as handed out in the order of qualifying 1st to 8th.

NRL | The NRL Donkey’s NRL Finals Week 2 Expert Tips and Opinion

Gurgler Donkey

September 16, 2024

The NRL Donkey’s NRL Finals Week 2 Weekly Rant

So the first week of the NRL finals passes without too much controversy, a few decent games, and eye catching performers in the ones that weren’t close. It all probably means that it will still be Penrith v Melbourne, but that works. A true test of the greatest modern club in the NRL, each with their own system, super coach, and super player/s.

What wasn’t eye catching was the lack of Mad Monday controversy, with a real lack of poorly themed dress ups being paraded around and tut-tutted by morning news breakfast shows around the country. Except for SBS, because they don’t care about rugby league. Nor should they, they’re laughing when the Football World Cup comes around every four years and then no one cares about Bulldogs v Wests Tigers, it’s all about Uruguay and Sweden, or similar. Maybe not the Socceroos given their efforts in qualifying so far.

Maybe the NRL have grown up, too scared to do anything because of the scorn they’d get on Twitter (followed by brackets), and while some of it has crossed boundaries of good taste in the past, a lot of it has also been very funny. Albeit on the edge. Much like that Aerosmith song. No, not that one from the meteorite movie.

Which is why the NRL should get involved in a Mad Monday dress up contest, offering up five spots per team knocked out after the final round of the season. Televising it live from Bali, to save time, and travel for most of the NRL teams. And fans. And give it prime time viewing. What a refreshing change from the Old Man Yelling At Clouds aka NRL360 it would be.

Limiting the contest to five players would allow some kind of quality control, to stop any potential historical dictators, offensive cross dressing, and anything involving animals. As ever. You could even get Todd Carney on board. If he disapproves then it really is a no-go.

Winners would be determined by an online voting system, that could and will be heavily rigged. Or allow the bunker to judge the winner and let them f—k something else up for a change.

Another idea for a TV Spin off for rugby league is inspired by recent trouble for a high profile winger who plays for a Sydney club.

Given the success of the reality TV show RBT, and some rugby league players unluckiness in getting caught on the wrong side of the law, perhaps you could get a specialised TV crew to follow around NRL players on Friday and Saturday nights, working with local police and pulling over as many rugby league players as possible to do the RBT. For Drink Driving and Drugs both. At least voiceover Tim Gilbert will be able to do rugby league again.

Or another Channel Nein staple reality show would be an NRL or Battle of the Codes of The Block. You could foresee the drama now. Rugby League players spending too much money installing 12 toilets around the house for social reasons, AFL Players filling up their house full of mirrors to constantly check their hair and tattoos, rugby union players would pay a minion to do it for them. Soccer players would fall over and writhe around in pain every time they hit the hammer on the thumb, and even if they don’t hit their fingers with the hammer, and if they were A League players another issue would be that no one knows who they are. That sounds way too ambitious.

I guess you could also do a rugby league version of FBoy Island too. Or even better, a Battle of the Codes FBoy Island. It doesn’t even have to be an island either. Just a dark corner of a nightclub could be hired for two weeks. The opportunities are endless.

Unlike the opportunities for this week’s four remaining teams in Week 2 of the NRL Finals.

The NRL Donkey’s NRL Finals Week 2 Expert Tips

CRONULLA v NORTH QUEENSLAND

Queenslanders (not We’re Queenslanders, that only refers to lame excuses for bad performances) (and not Queenslander!, that is reserved for Billy Moore to yell at people whenever, wherever he feels like it) will be jumping onboard the Cowboys bandwagon as quickly as they will chasing after the Brisbane Lions AFL train leaving the platform too. And why not, the Cowboys have to be among the most likeable NRL teams, or more so, the least hateable. And what a time to be jumping on any transport in Queensland with both parties promising to keep 50 cent Travel Fares after the upcoming election. It’s never been cheaper to slum it in Brisbane. Talking of nice, and least hateable, once again everyone is going to blame poor old Nicho Hynes, the nicest man in rugby league for Cronulla’s loss. There is something unlucky about Hynes when he dons light blue jerseys for big games, but it would be nice to see him have something go his way. Except I’ve got my ticket for the bandwagon/s, and it only cost fifty cents, so I can only half-heartedly wish him well awaiting the change of trains to head to Doboy.

Cowboys by 10

ROOSTERS v MANLY

Not a game for the neutrals. Most other fans will be hoping for a dour, bash fest that drains both sides and their chances for future 2024 finals success and they lose next week. That’s probably unfair, but in keeping with the overall tone of this weekly preview, admired by the many reader. Given since 2020 the Roosters and Sea Eagles have combined for four wins out 20 games against Melbourne, the next opponent, it’s probably all true.

Manly by 6

NRL | 2024 NRL Finals Week 2 Tips Predictions & Stats Preview

Max Layne

September 16, 2024

Two down, and another two NRL Finals pretenders are shown the door this weekend with knock out rugby league now the norm. Talking of Life Be In It, our 2024 NRL Finals Week 2 Tips Predictions & Stats Preview are ready is life ready and awaiting your reading activity.

2024 NRL Finals Week 2 Matches

Fri 7:50 pm – Cronulla v North Queensland @ Allianz Stadium
Sat 7:50 pm – Roosters v Manly Warringah @ Allianz Stadium

2024 NRL Finals Week 2 Tips

Here are our tips for the week ahead. How did we get to here? By going through all the visuals and stats below.

SEASON PROGRESS: 132/208 (63%)

READ MORE: Our 2024 Match Centre Home

2024 NRL Finals Week 2 Weekly H2H Stats

Looking for a cheat sheet for the weekend’s upcoming games?

Here’s as much information that we could cram into one size fits all visual.

Plus our famed barely interesting stats all in the one place for this week of fewer games.

North Queensland have won three of their last four at Allianz Stadium. Cronulla have lost three of their last four. North Queensland have won the last match v Cronulla at the ground. But Cronulla lead the H2H there by 2-1.

Overall Cronulla have won 11 of the last 13 matches v Cowboys.

Cronulla have also won 10 of the last 12 home games v Cowboys.

Cronulla have won 13/16 home games on a Saturday v Cowboys.

North Queensland have won three of four away games on a Saturday this season, all against Sydney teams.

North Queensland have beaten Penrith and the Roosters away this season, but were beaten by Cronulla.

North Queensland lead the Finals H2H by 3-2.

Roosters have won four straight home games v Manly, although only one has been at Allianz Stadium.

Roosters have won 4/5 at Allianz on a Saturday since it re-opened.

Since 2023, Manly have lost 6/7 away games on a Saturday to Sydney teams.

Manly’s win over the Bulldogs last Sunday was only their 2^nd win away from home in finals since 1998 from 15 games. The Sea Eagles have lost their last three finals games at Allianz Stadium on a Saturday.

Manly’s only away game in the finals on a Saturday was against the Roosters in 2013, where they lost 4-0.

Roosters have now lost four of their last five finals games.

Rooster have won five Saturday finals games in a row and 12 of their last 14.

Roosters lead the Finals H2H v Manly by 2-1.

2024 NRL Finals Week 2 – Finals Series Stats

FINALS RECORDS SINCE 1998 / 2020

WEEK 2 FINALS GAMES – FINALS H2H RECORDS SINCE 1998

2024 NRL Season Stats Summary

NRL | 2024 NRL Finals Week 1 Team of the Week & Player Stats

Max Layne

September 15, 2024

The first week of the finals has sorted out some of the wheat and chaff as we say goodbye to the Bulldogs and Knights for 2024. Talking about hello and goodbye, it is not The Beatles but our NRL Finals Week 1 Team of the Week & Player Stats.

First we have our Team of the Week, which takes some of the key player stats from the weekend and using various scoring methods come up with the best players in their positions from the latest round of the NRL.

For a more detailed full range of Player Stats for 2024 – visit our 2024 NRL Player Stats page.

2024 NRL Finals Week 1 Team of the Week

We’ve used the stats for each position and picked the best starting 13 players from the most recent round, the stats and points assigned are explained at the end.

On top of the best starting 13, we also include the best four interchange players of the week. Seeing who has provided maximum impact from the bench.

2024 nrl finals week 1 team of the week

2024 NRL Finals Week 1 Player Stats

Want to see which players topped the key stats for the latest round of the NRL this weekend?

2024 nrl finals week 1 player stats

How the Team of the Week works

Want to know how we come up with the numbers to rank the players, the below table should explain hopefully.

NRL 2022 Player Stats Explained

Want more Player Stats? Neeeeed more NRL data and stuff? Why not try our friends at Nothing But League for bite sized pieces of NRL Stats and more every day.

https://nothingbutleague.com/nrl-news-updates/

F1 | 2024 Azerbaijan F1 Grand Prix Result, Lap by Lap Summary and Ratings

Perry Thrust

September 15, 2024

Oscar Piastri produced a drive of quality past his experience to win the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, holding off Charles Leclerc for half a race. Talking of holding, why not grab our 2024 Azerbaijan F1 Grand Prix Result Summary.

This 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Result, Laps that Matter summary, Review & Ratings which gives you just enough to catch up with. With just a hint of cynicism, bias, opinion and colour. The perfect bite sized review for those who couldn’t be bothered, or don’t have enough time.

2024 Azerbaijan F1 Grand Prix Result Race Summary

Setting the scene – Street fighter Charles Leclerc secures another pole position between the walls, fresh from a big victory in Italy in front of his home fans. The Ferraris always looked likely and Carlos Sainz ended up third too. The pre-race talk of McLaren team orders meant bugger all after qualifying as Lando Norris was knocked out in Q1 with a combination of bad timing, bad luck, and an underwhelming first run. His team mate Oscar Piastri ended up second on the grid. Red Bull ended up fourth and sixth with Sergio Perez pulling something out of somewhere to head Max Verstappen. Truth be told, Perez has looked quite sharp all weekend and has won here twice unlike anyone else. In between George Russell qualified fifth and beat his team mate Lewis Hamilton again, who starts from pitlane. Some strong showings from the rookies in Franco Colapinto (8th) and Oliver Bearman (11th) who have two race starts between them before this weekend. Alex Albon could have been higher, but his team left a cooling device on his car as he exited for his final Q3 run. Alex Albon and Lando Norris are on the hard tyre, unlike most of the front runners.

GRID (Starting Order) – LEC PIA SAI PER RUS VER ALO COL ALB BEA

Lap 1 – Charles Leclerc burns away from pole position and keeps Oscar Piastri at bay into the first corner and beyond on a confident first lap. Sergio Perez steals third from Sainz into turn two. Max Verstappen also gains a position at the expense of George Russell. Further back, Lando Norris has gained three spots to be 12th going into the first turn on lap one. Pitlane starter Lewis Hamilton is up to 17th, Lance Stroll pits, not sure who he collided with, but you know it was probably going to be a collision.

ORDER – LEC PIA PER SAI VER RUS ALO COL ALB BEA

Lap 3 – Charles Leclerc’s lead at the front has been reduced as Oscar Piastri is charging towards the Ferrari, and DRS is coming. Talking of fast moving McLarens, Lando Norris gets by Yuki Tsunoda for 11th into turn two. Nico Hulkenberg makes Tsunoda twice as mad a corner later.

Lap 4 – Yuki Tsunoda is either having a giant tsook after being overtaken, or something is more broken than usual on his RB. He’s down to 16th by the end of the lap. And answering a question (of sorts) it was Tsunoda that Stroll hit on lap one. Stroll said Tsunoda closed the door, Tsunoda will say that Stroll was nowhere near.

Lap 6 – Oscar Piastri is now within the magic one second shield of Charles Leclerc, which means he gets the DRS on one of F1’s best places for DRS. But Leclerc sets a fastest lap to point at least one finger in the direction of Piastri. And keeps the gap at > DRS.

Lap 8 – Point/s for Lando Norris as he gets by Oliver Bearman for 10th into the first corner. His hard tyre choice may play out quite nicely as most of the cars ahead will have to pit a lot earlier. A quick Championship check shows Max Verstappen in fifth and making very little impression of Carlos Sainz in 4th. The pace Norris is going, they may be racing for position soon. Although there is a sizeable gap between Alonso in 7th Russell ahead in 6th. Colapinto continues to impress in 8th, in a Williams, in only his second race.

Lap 10 – Charles Leclerc is now three seconds ahead of Oscar Piastri, who is being reeled in slowly by Sergio Perez. Max Verstappen complains over radio about having zero bite in his car. Perhaps that’s only because Red Bull gives you wings.

ORDER – LEC PIA PER SAI VER RUS ALO COL ALB NOR

Lap 11 – First tyre stop goes to Franco Colapinto. He’s on hard tyres, as a window into what other, faster cars might do. A point would be a decent and deserving reward for the rookie Argentinian driver this weekend.

Lap 13 – Max Verstappen pits. He’ll probably ask for a new car but will have to settle for new tyres. George Russell doesn’t want to miss out either and pits too. Verstappen rejoins in 10th ahead of Gasly. George Russell rejoins the other side of Gasly. A lap later he breezes past Daniel Ricciardo around the same spot that they ran into each other the last time they were team mates at Red Bull. At least one driver of those two wishes he could be back in those good ol’ days. Sergio Perez has pit as well as lap later.

Lap 14 – Oscar Piastri and McLaren decide not to pit and are losing the battle of the undercut. Which then leads McLaren to ask 5th placed Lando Norris to slow up Perez behind him is a reversal of the team orders announced earlier in the weekend. Piastri pits a lap later and the tactics have worked a treat. Perez gets by Norris down the straight but it’s only just not enough to get by Piastri.

Lap 17 – Charles Leclerc pits from the lead. He rejoins second behind his un-pitted team mate. Piastri, who is wearing Sergio Perez on his tail, is also behind Alex Albon, who is hanging out on his hard tyres. You could throw a blanket over the three cars, if you were quick enough to land it.

Lap 18 – Piastri gets in front of Albon, but not early enough down the pit straight to give Perez a chance to follow him through. By the end of Lap 18 Piastri is 2.2 seconds in front of Albon. Make that Perez, as the Red Bull sweeps by Albon going into lap 19.

Lap 19 – Piastri seems to like his new tyres more than Charles Leclerc and the McLaren zooms up to the back of the Ferrari. Piastri gets close enough, and with the help of DRS gets by Charles Leclerc for the lead in the first corner. It was late, late dive under braking. Leclerc tried to fight back over the next few braking zones, but Piastri hold firm, with a bit of a jink left not hurting his chances.

ORDER – PIA LEC PER ALB NOR SAI VER RUS ALO COL

Lap 21 – Leclerc uses his own form of DRS to get close to Piastri into turn one, but Piastri holds on. Leclerc also has to worry about Sergio Perez on his tail too. It’s a triumphant trio in front all within DRS of each other.

Lap 24 – A championship battle between Norris and Verstappen is now raging for 6th place. Norris has yet to pit, Verstappen has. Norris uses plenty of Verstappen tactics to stay in front, and the Red Bull driver makes a small mistake, which he puts down to his brakes are not working, which TV evidence agrees with.

Lap 28 – The battles continue with Piastri holding off Leclerc for now despite the Ferrari constantly staying with DRS range. Perez is staying close as well, but not DRS close. Further back Alex Albon is leading a train of Norris-Verstappen-Russell. George asks his team how much longer they expect the hard tyre drivers in Albon and Norris to hang out for. Ten laps the team says, which won’t thrill him. Problem is, Albon is over ten seconds behind fourth placed Sainz. Albon pits on lap 32.

Lap 29 – Somehow Piastri holds off Leclerc going into turn one. The Ferrari looked a certainty to get past but Piastri moves left and late enough to keep him behind. Close but no cigar the next lap too for Leclerc. And the next lap, which was the closest yet.

ORDER – PIA LEC PER SAI ALB NOR VER RUS ALO COL

Lap 32 – Alex Albon has pitted which gives Lando Norris some fresh air in fifth. He still needs new tyres himself but is certainly not losing out to Max Verstappen behind who does have newer tyres.

Lap 33 – Somehow Oscar Piastri is keeping Leclerc behind him. Somehow they aren’t running into each other, Maybe because they are both great drivers. Sergio Perez has really joined the party now and is right on Leclerc’s tail. How good has 2024 become? A genuine three way battle for the lead. And Max Verstappen’s Red Bull no longer the only car guaranteed of winning.

Lap 34 – Charles Leclerc continues to pressure Piastri, who doesn’t seem too bothered by it. Although Piastri doesn’t ever seem to be bothered by anything. Including winning.

Lap 38 – Lando Norris pits for new tyres finally and rejoins the race in 7th place. What a drive on the older, hard tyres.

Lap 40 – Lando Norris sets fastest lap, and is 7th behind his Championship rival Verstappen in sixth. The gap is only 12 seconds, which could be doable. The stats on screen say it could happen with two laps to go.

Lap 42 – Piastri v Leclerc still rages, and the Aussie still remain in front somehow.

Lap 45 – Another DRS inspired dive from Leclerc and another successful defence from Piastri. A driver of many more seasons may have cracked by now, but not Oscar Piastri. Who is more ice man than the previous ice man Kimi Raikkonen. Further back but staying with McLarens, Norris is within five seconds of Verstappen with six laps to go.

Lap 46 – Carlos Sainz is inviting himself to the first place battle party as the three cars ahead of him become a fast moving accordion.

Lap 47 – Oscar Piastri offers up an Up Yours to Charles Leclerc as he smashes out the gap to 1.7 seconds. This now means Leclerc is now more under pressure from Perez and Sainz rather than pressuring Piastri for first. It could all go belly up for Leclerc as he struggles on tyres. Either way it’s going to be entertaining.

Lap 48 – Piastri can taste champagne that hasn’t been soured by McLaren strategy circus, and is now 2.5 second in front. Leclerc is now just hanging on in front of Sergio Perez.

Lap 49 – Lando Norris gets past Max Verstappen for 6th, which will chip away at the Championship lead, and he also hold fastest lap, which could be a critical point. George Russell is too far away for stealing 5th.

Lap 50 – Perez dives at Leclerc and gets past briefly but Leclerc gets back in front at they get through the first corner. Leclerc shuts the door, which allows Sainz to sneak past for third. But it all ends in tears a few corners later as Perez hits Carlos Sainz and puts both of them into the wall. At least they can swear at each other in the same language.

VIRTUAL SAFETY CAR DEPLOYED

FINAL LAP – The Virtual Safety Car helps Oscar Piastri cruise around the final lap to soak up his second win. Charles Leclerc probably thankful his last lap was less eventual than the one before. Norris does a fine job from 15th to get fourth and Max Verstappen limits the Championship damage in fifth.

FINAL ORDER (Across the line) – PIA LEC RUS NOR VER ALO ALB COL HAM BEA

Here we go through the field and highlight the very best (Great) of the race, and the plodders, the over-ambitious, the out of luck, and simply hopeless (Grape).

THE GREAT-EST – OSCAR PIASTRI

Qualifies second, makes a super move to get past Charles Leclerc after the first pit stop, and handles the pressure brilliantly from Leclerc and scores a deserved victory. On the weekend where McLaren team orders were meant to first be implemented this weekend. Drives like a pro, and easy to forget this is just his second season.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

CHALRES LECLERC – Another street track pole position, and another Street Fighting race which ended in a second place and included a mega battle with Oscar Piastri for the lead. Then he held of Sergio Perez right at the end, which was a good thing for him, but not so good for his team mate.

SERGIO PEREZ – A welcome return to form for the Mexican driver. Outqualified his team mate and miles better in the race. His late race crash should drop him into the Grape section, but the upturn in form deserves a pat on the back.

GEORGE RUSSELL – Boxes ticked. Thrashed team mate. Benefit from late race incompetence further ahead to seal another podium.

ALEX ALBON – Sold race for solid points.

FRANCO COLAPINTO – First points in just his second race. Outstanding for most of the weekend. Deserved result.

OLIVER BEARMAN – Another stand in points drive for Bearman, who has well earned his drive for Haas next season.

THE GRAPE-EST – LANDO NORRIS

Controversial for a fourth place finish and an excellent drive but…..Overlooking his great race on the alternative strategy, given the pace of his team mate, and the lack of pace for Verstappen, this was a race where Norris should have used his newly agreed team orders and won by a street from his team mate and slashed the Championship lead. Based on this weekend, and the other little mistakes that have crept in since Miami, he will find it hard to win the World Championship.

DISHONOURABLE MENTIONS

MAX VERSTAPPEN – Another weekend of under performance, highlighted in being outqualified and out-raced by Sergio Perez. A driver most expected to be already sacked. His only upside is that Lando Norris was cut in Q1. Without that, his Championship lead may have really suffered.

WILLIAMS – For leaving a cooling device on Alex Albon’s car as he head off for his final qualifying run.

YUKI TSUNODA – First DNF of the race and retired after driving around with a Lance Stroll tyre sized hole in the side of his RB after lap one.

LANCE STROLL – Refer above. Might be disappointed that incoming design genius Adrian Newey’s strength is building faster front wings not stronger front wings.

LEWIS HAMILTON – George Russell continues to thrash Hamilton in H2H qualifying, then Hamilton starts from pitlane and makes minimal impact on the race. That Ferrari can’t come quick enough. Pity for him, neither is Adrian Newey to Ferrari either.

SAUBER – Last and obscure again.

CARLOS SAINZ – A quiet-ish weekend ruined by Perez.

Was it a good race, loads of action, a tense ending, a surprise result or DNF, or just a big, fat, snooze-fest?

We rate the big race itself, so we know which races to go back and watch in the off season or one to simply remember the winner for the post season quiz nights.

ON TRACK ACTION – 9 / 10

Overtaking for the lead, and a constant three way battle for the same position is easy to rate highly. Enough overtaking further down the grid to keep the race lively.

ANY SURPRISES? – 3 / 5

If you weren’t so used to Oscar Piastri being so unflappable you would be surprised at how Oscar Piastri kept Leclerc behind him for so long. The lack of pace for Max Verstappen is a dangerous surprise for him and his fans.

SEASON IMPORTANCE – 4 / 5

Red Bull continue their fall, and Max Verstappen has a mediocre Grand Prix. Meanwhile his competitors grow stronger, Lando Norris forgot to take advantage with a Q1 exit, but his race proved he’ll be back for more vs Verstappen’s title lead. The Championships close. Stand by for the remaining races.

ENDING 9 / 10

The battle for the lead was riveting with Piastri holding on. Then the battle became Leclerc-Perez-Sainz with the latter two of those drivers crashing with a lap to go. So much happening it was hard to keep up.

OVERALL RATING 25 / 30

A quality race on a track that always offers something. An Australian win, in a more social timeslot also helps.

2024 F1 Race Rankings

R16 – Italian Grand Prix…21/30
R15 – Dutch Grand Prix…15/30
R14 – Belgian Grand Prix…23/30
R13 – Hungarian Grand Prix…19/30
R12 – British Grand Prix…25/30
R11 – Austrian Grand Prix…27/30
R10 – Spanish Grand Prix…19/30
R09 – Canadian Grand Prix…22/30
R08 – Monaco Grand Prix…17/30
R07 – Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix…23/30
R06 – Miami Grand Prix…23/30
R05 – Chinese Grand Prix…15/30
R04 – Japanese Grand Prix…18/30
R03 – Australian Grand Prix…23/30
R02 – Saudi Arabia Grand Prix…9/30
R01 – Bahrain Grand Prix…13/30

2024 F1 Season Power Rankings

Stay tuned for our Power Rankings from the race soon as it is currently being calculated and will be ready on Monday.

Why not check the latest race ratings – 2024 Italian Grand Prix Ratings

Or our 2024 F1 Half Season Report.

Or check out our 2023 Season Driver Rankings and Stats

NRL | 2024 NRL Finals Week 1 Results Stats Summary & Stuff

Max Layne

September 15, 2024

Want more NRL information than just the draw, results or the current ladder? Then you are in the right place and the right time with the home of Stats and Stuff via our 2024 NRL Finals Week 1 Results Stats Summary for the weekend that was.

Each week we compile and keep up to date a wide range of stats from the latest weekend of NRL action plus the best 2024 NRL Season Stats to help you to the top of the tipping competition, land a few responsible winners or even make your Supercoach team better. And now with a match by match summary full of all the stats you need and/or want.

It’s all stats, and never Slats. Never.

2024 NRL Finals Week 1 Results

Fri – Penrith 30-10 Roosters
Sat – Melbourne 37-10 Cronulla
Sat – North Queensland 28-16 Newcastle
Sun – Bulldogs 22-24 Manly Warringah

2024 NRL Finals Week 1 Results and Match Summaries

Want or need a quick summary of every game from last weekend? Well here they all are.

Penrith have won ten in a row v Roosters. They haven’t been beaten since Covid.

It’s five in a row on a Friday too for Penrith v Roosters.

Penrith have won ten finals games in a row. Their last loss was in 2021 to Souths in North Qld.

Since 2020, the Roosters Finals record is W2 L6.

Cronulla have lost seven straight finals games on a Saturday.

Cronulla have won only one of the ten finals games they’ve played since their 2016 premiership.

North Queensland have won nine in a row at home v Newcastle. The Knights last win in Townsville was in 2015. And seven in a row on a Saturday.

Newcastle have lost their last five our away finals games and lost 12/14 overall away since 1998.

Manly have won 11 of the last 12 games v Bulldogs. And five of the last six away games.

NRL Finals Week 1 Playing Stats

1...565758...401 Page 57 of 401