The details of week one of the NRL finals have been revealed, with the top eight locked in following the final round of the regular season.
In the opening game of the finals, minor premiers Melbourne will face fourth-placed Manly in a qualifying final at Sunshine Coast Stadium on Friday night.
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The Storm have again been prolific in 2021, equalling the record 19-game winning streak of the 1975 Eastern Suburbs outfit.
But the Sea Eagles are packed with firepower and their chief destroyer is superstar fullback Tom Trbojevic, who produced another incredible performance in yesterday’s 46-18 win over the Cowboys, so an upset could be sprung.
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Following the Storm-Sea Eagles opener, the fifth-placed Roosters will meet the eighth-placed Titans at Townsville’s Queensland Country Bank Stadium on Saturday evening.
The Titans knocked the Sharks from eighth on the ladder in their last game of the regular season.
Tasked with beating the Warriors by 11 points to steal eighth position from the Sharks, Gold Coast hammered New Zealand 44-0 in a fiery clash.
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Making for a Saturday double-header, second-placed Penrith will square off against third-placed South Sydney at Queensland Country Bank Stadium on Saturday night.
And week one of the finals will be capped with the sixth-placed Eels clashing with the seventh-placed Knights at Rockhampton’s Browne Park on Sunday afternoon.
Week-one NRL finals match-ups
Qualifying final: Melbourne Storm (first) v Manly Sea Eagles (fourth), Sunshine Coast Stadium, 7:50pm Friday
Elimination final: Sydney Roosters (fifth) v Gold Coast Titans (eighth), Queensland Country Bank Stadium, 5:40pm Saturday
Qualifying final: Penrith Panthers (second) v South Sydney Rabbitohs (third), Queensland Country Bank Stadium, 7:50pm Saturday
Elimination final: Parramatta Eels (sixth) v Newcastle Knights (seventh), Browne Park, 4:05pm Sunday
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