NRL - Round Twenty Four Preview

Cronulla star five/eight Greg Bird has been temporarily stood down from his club, the Cronulla Sharks, pending grievous bodily harm charges. The star is allegedly accused of glassing his girlfriend in the face. The NRL is in dire trouble off the field with players leaving the game in droves for greener pastures and this type of publicity is far from what the game needs.

It raises interesting questions about the modern day footballer. Is the modern footballer a more distasteful commodity than years gone past? The short answer is probably not, young men have done stupid things for many years. The pressure is, however, magnified these days with big money, hordes of fans and the media making household names of sporting icons one minute and then baying like hungry dogs for their blood at the first sign of any impropriety. This in no way condones bad behaviour but it appears that many young men given stardom and money, for some strange reason, find it hard to keep themselves out of trouble.

This weeks games look very interesting and I think there are some good value bets to be had. I think the Sharks will be far too disciplined for the Roosters. The Roosters struggle to put in good performances week in week out and the Sharks have played solid football all year. Souths should have too much class for the Raiders who have again overachieved this year with suspensions and injuries crippling a suspect list. Penrith desperately need to beat the Storm which appears to be near on impossible but expect them to come out firing at home. They might not win but I expect them to be competitive and stay within the handicap. Sportsbet.com.au is the best place to get your bets on the rugby league and make a little extra cash coming up to the finals.

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