Graham Lowe: No brain, no gain at playoffs time

When I was a coach, I lost count of the number of times I wished for a hybrid footballer, a bloke who had all the attributes to be a wrecking machine on the field.

Funny thing was, the prototype I had in mind wasn't always of a Tarzan-like character with the search-and-destroy powers of a colony of great apes. Maybe I've seen too many Tarzan-types who, when it comes to the crunch, actually perform like Jane.

What I really wanted was a player with the chassis of a good big man, and the engine of a good little man. Because in my experience, the biggest hearts belonged to the little guys.

It was the Shane Varleys, Gary Freemans, Peter Sterlings and Geoff Tooveys who threw their bantam-like frames around the field, punching well above their weight and doing all the constructive thinking.

As men have been saying for ages, size isn't everything. And this year's NRL final series will only serve to illustrate this.

The television commentators made much of the Broncos' overpowering of a formerly red-hot Eels outfit last Sunday.

Too much, in my humble opinion. Even though the Broncos looked like an unstoppable juggernaut, the way they stomped all over the Eels will not be enough to win the premiership.

The Broncos have had a mixed season by their own standards, mainly because their forwards have played too much of the one-off-the-ruck type of footy.

Because of this their backs have been starved of the ball for a lot of the season.

But on Sunday their big men, led by Shane Webcke, Petero Civoniceva, Brad Thorn and Sam Thaiday, smashed the revived Eels out of their dream run at Parramatta Stadium.

Although it all looked very effective, what was their strength last Sunday could be their undoing during their finals run.

Big forwards running one out can do some damage against physically inferior opponents, as Parramatta found out. But against a team who are physically equipped and mentally prepared to match them in the middle of the ruck, the forwards must have the ability and intelligence to use the ball. This is the Broncos' Achilles heel.

It looks to me like you'd need a crowbar to get the ball off Thorn, Civoniceva and even Webcke.

None of them are ball players. In fact, the Broncos don't have a ball player in their forwards at all.

The Broncos can be beaten by quick thinking and mobility through the forwards, and the Warriors could expose this area this weekend.

The Broncos forwards have a pretty simple plan - they just run hard and straight. Against a smaller pack this does take a bit of handling but the Warriors are by no means a little pack.

But these tactics give skipper Darren Lockyer and his backline an ideal platform to attack from.

A win against the Warriors should ensure a home semifinal for the Broncos. But I would imagine that coach Wayne Bennett will use it as a trial for the semis because the Warriors are in good form and capable of causing an upset.

Bennett will also know that to match the likes of the Knights, whom they will probably play in the first semifinal, they need more variation around the ruck.

The bubble may well have burst for the Eels after the hiding the Broncos gave them and Jason Taylor's dream start to his coaching career looks shaky.

To regain their confidence, they need a good win against the Cowboys tonight but I think they are on mission impossible up there in Townsville.

Manly's match-up against the Storm tomorrow night could well be a forerunner of what we could see in the grand final, and I still give Manly a big chance.

I'm sticking to my early season confidence and prediction that the Sea Eagles will be lifting the premiership trophy. The only thing that will cost them a premiership is if they lose key players through injury.

Although the Storm are blessed with a line-up of players any club would welcome, it is the extraordinarily talented Greg Inglis who gets my heart thumping.

This kid is as good as any back I've seen for years.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if he is fast-tracked by the Aussie selectors into the Tri-Series.

The Storm are still hot favourites with the bookies to go through and win the grand final so tomorrow night's game has an even greater importance.

All eight coaches involved in the finals will be hoping to use this last round of fixtures to springboard them into the play-offs on the back of good form.

If the Eels fail up in North Queensland, I think they are gone after next week.

And if the Broncos are not good enough to win well against the Warriors on Sunday it is hard to see them lasting long in the semis.

Bennett's kicking plan will target Manu Vatuvei on the wing. They will force him to turn and pick the ball off the ground. It is a tactic that should expose the big winger's weaknesses but it could also backfire if the ball is presented to him cleanly.

I'm picking this to be a game that produces the most intensity the Warriors have faced this year but their form in the back half of this season suggests they are up to it.

The Warriors forwards have a menacing look about them and it is here the Broncos face their biggest test.

But the Warriors backs do not stack up as well against Lockyer's mob. They just don't have the same class.

Ricky Stuart's year has ended in drama with his sacking as the Roosters coach last Monday. Cronulla Sharks coach Stuart Raper is another who is on dicey ground and I'll be surprised if he hangs on to his job for next year.

It's a tough business, coaching, and it's a pity club chief executives and chairmen aren't held just as accountable. My mail tells me former Roosters coach Phil Gould has been working away in the background trying to snare the Sharks coaching job for his longtime mate and former Roosters captain Freddy Fittler.

While the September semifinals bring a quality of footy to the NRL that fans can't wait to see, there is another, much bigger league tournament due to start on the Gold Coast and running from September 23-29. The Masters of Rugby League Tournament will host 1200 players aged from 35 to 72 and there will be plenty of transtasman rivalry between the 31 teams from New Zealand and the 19 from Australia.

It's crunch time this week in the Fox Memorial finals race as Mt Albert take on Papakura and Northcote face Otahuhu.

The winner of the Mt Albert v Papakura game goes straight into the Grand Final, and has next week off. The loser plays the winner of the Northcote v Otahuhu game which is sudden death.

Papakura have a powerful pack and, as I have previously signalled, good playmakers in Tristan Waipouri and Thomas Zwart. Mt Albert have a couple of young props in Tony Tuia and Sam McKendry who are showing form beyond their years. At hooker they have a clever playmaker in Fale Talaepa and with the dangerous Savi Hafoka at fullback they are a well-balanced side.

All season Mt Albert have been the form team in the Lion Red-sponsored competition, and have the home ground advantage so I'll go with them.

The other match-up, at Birkenhead Memorial, should be a great game. The raw ability of fullback Kevin Locke has often sparked a number of Northcote's victories this season and because of this it is easy to forget that he's playing in a well-rounded unit.

Otahuhu struggled all season to stay in touch with the top five, but they are hitting their straps at the right time. Being an Otahuhu man I'll stick my neck out and predict them to win.