The official NRL Grand Final 2011 Score was Sea Eagles 24 v Warriors 10

Manly had been favourites in the NRL betting markets to win the Grand Final at Luxbet for a number of weeks and didn’t disappoint the favourite backers on the weekend.

Sea Eagles fans were treated to a brilliant 2011 NRL Telstra Premiership season, their team one of the most consistent in the competition which earned them a spot in the Grand Final decider along with a similarly determined New Zealand outfit.

Fighting off a fast-finishing Warriors, who threatened to bring down the Maroon and Whites in the final quarter, Manly held on and their strong defence and brave attitude saw them secure their eighth premiership title, their second in just four years after their 2008 NRL Grand Final victory.

In the four-tries-to-two victory the Manly Grand Final try-scorers’ were Brett Stewart, Rookie of the Year Daly Cherry-Evans, the other Stewart brother Glenn and captain Jamie Lyon.

Scoring 10 of the Sea Eagle’s 24 winning points, Lyon also converted three from three while the final conversion was completed by the departing Michael Robertson who is off to play in the English Super League.

New Zealand’s grand final points kicked off with a James Maloney goal, which were the first points of the night, followed by tries from the always entertaining Manu Vatuvei and Elijah Taylor.

Warriors looked dangerous throughout the opening half and were trailing just 6 – 2 before Cherry-Evans’ extended Manly’s half-time lead to 12 – 2 with his 40^th minute try.

They were further put on the backburner after returning from the sheds when Will Hopoate flicked a sneaky pass off to Glenn Stewart to score.

New Zealand didn’t give up, however, and Vatuvie scored their first four-pointer of the night in the 62^nd minute.

Just six minutes later Taylor posted their second, but they were still behind by two tries as Maloney missed both conversion attempts.

The thousands of Kiwi fans in the crowd sat on the edge of their seats hoping for a miracle, but the only miracle delivered was to Manly who finished the scoring with Lyon getting their final of the night and the season in the 79^th minute to put the NRL Grand Final result beyond doubt.

2011 NRL Grand Final Results & Stats

• Score: Manly Sea Eagles 24 v 10 New Zealand Warriors
• Possession: Manly 55% v 45% New Zealand
• Completions: Manly 32/40 v 24/38 New Zealand
• Metres Gained: Manly 1336 v 1340 New Zealand
• Tackles: Manly 295 v 388 New Zealand

2011 NRL Grand Final Betting Info

• Manly were the Luxbet favourites and won for the punters
• First Points were a New Zealand Goal, which paid juicy dividends at Luxbet
• First Tryscorer was Brett Stewart, who was one of the $8 favourites to post the first four-pointer at Luxbet

While the NRL Season is over for 2011, there are still plenty of great Rugby League betting opportunities for fans and punters to see out the year with the Tri Nations Test Matches fast approaching.

You can also already bet on the State of Origin 2012 Series at Luxbet, a Darren Lockyer-less Queensland the narrow $1.85 favourites over New South Wales at $1.95.

Head to Luxbet now and open a new account with Australia’s favourite bookie to get in on the action.

Even better, bet on a horse race or sporting event of your choice for free with Luxbet’s $500 bonus bet offer open to first-time, depositing customers that quote the code BONUSBET.

But hurry, this is only available until the end of the 2011 Melbourne Spring Racing Carnival!

NRL Grand Final 2011 kick off time is scheduled as 5:20pm local time, which is AESDT, coverage from 5pm; 4:00pm for a 4:20pm kick off for Queensland viewers; and for all those nervous Warriors fans back in NZ coverage will be played live on Sky Sport from 4pm, with the Grand Final coverage starting at 7pm.

2011 NRL Grand Final Kick Off & Coverage Times:

AUSTRALIA

NSW and ACT (Channel Nine, WIN/NBN and Imparja)

• 5:00pm                 Telstra Premiership Grand Final

QUEENSLAND (Channel Nine, WIN and Imparja)

• 4:00pm                 Telstra Premiership Grand Final

NORTHERN TERRITORY (Channel Nine and Imparja)

• 3:30pm                 Telstra Premiership Grand Final

VICTORIA (Channel Nine, WIN and Imparja)

• 5:00pm                 Telstra Premiership Grand Final

TASMANIA (WIN)

• 5:00pm                 Telstra Premiership Grand Final

SOUTH AUSTRALIA (Channel Nine, WIN and Imparja)

• 4:30pm                 Telstra Premiership Grand Final

WESTERN AUSTRALIA (Channel Nine and WIN)

• 2:00pm                 Telstra Premiership Grand Final

NEW ZEALAND (Live on Sky Sport)

• 7pm                        Telstra Premiership Grand Final

Manly have been the most unswerving team in the NRL Telstra Premiership Finals this season and will start as the deserved favourite in the 2011 Grand Final odds at Luxbet.

Let’s take a look at the Sea Eagles’ NRL Grand Final journey:

• Finals Week 1 – Defeated the Cowboys 42 – 8
• Finals Week 2 – Enjoyed an advantageous week off
• Finals Week 3 – Showed off their premiership claims with a tidy 26 – 14 win over the Brisbane Broncos

It hasn’t been such an easy ride for the Warriors, but they have more than earned their spot as one of this year’s NRL Grand Final Teams, here’s how:

• Finals Week 1 – Lost 10 – 40 to the Brisbane Broncos
• Finals Week 2 – Played for their life in a thriller winning 22 – 20 over the Wests Tigers
• Finals Week 3 – Came out on top as the Luxbet underdogs in the semis in an upset 20 – 12 win over the Melbourne Storm

So after all the sweat, tears, injuries, screaming, cheering, hit-ups, tackles, tries, points, wins and losses it comes down to this, the toughest 80 minutes these teams may ever play for the NRL Grand Final 2011.

Fans will be pouring over the NRL stats and match-ups of these teams, when they last played each other, who has the better record on paper, but what everyone is really after are the NRL Grand Final betting markets.

NRL Grand Final 2011 Betting:

Match Odds -

• Manly Sea Eagles $1.48 – New Zealand Warriors $2.70 – bet now at Luxbet

There are over 130 different NRL Grand Final betting odds and options available at Luxbet for this Sunday’s supercharged showdown.

Other popular Grand Final NRL betting markets include:

• Winning Margin -

Manly by 1 – 12 is the shortest-priced result at $2.75 through Luxbet

New Zealand by 1 – 12 is at juicy odds of $3.80, better than them winning in the head-to-head markets

• First Scoring Play –

Manly to score a try to open points is at $2.05 through Luxbet

New Zealand to score a try first is at $2.55

• First Tryscorer –

Shortest-priced players in this market are

Manly’s Will Hopoate, Brett Stewart and New Zealand’s Manu Vatuvei at $8

This market is always an exciting one and more often than not throws out a double-figure result – for value on Sunday try Glenn Stewart from Manly or Feleti Mateo from the Kiwi side both at a juicy $23

So that’s the Grand Final time and betting lowdown, what about the NRL Grand Final Preview?

Which team will become this year’s NRL Premiers? Well all will be revealed on Sunday arvo, until then let’s take a look at what the sell-out ANZ Stadium crowd and the millions of fans tuning in around the world will be treated to.

One this is for sure, this is going to be a big clash.

Both of these teams have muscle power and strength by the bucket load, neither back down easily and every single hit-up on Sunday is going to be heard even by those way up in the rafters.

Manly like to get down and gritty, they also like to overpower their rivals.

Warriors have a similar style of play, but what makes them a genuine danger here is their unpredictability.

For the Sea Eagles, Glenn Stewart is back making their right-side attack one to really watch.

What Manly will have to look out for from the Warriors is their ability to offload. New Zealand has made 368 offloads this season, Mateo responsible for many, Manly only 284.

New Zealand has also defensively been top-class in the last two weeks. Over the season they have made over 1000 extra tackles than Manly.

Sea Eagles have the “home” ground advantage, but we are tipping at least half of the crowd to be donning the Black and White so although New Zealand have made the trip, they won’t be unsupported.

This really is anyone’s game, and while it will be close, if the Kiwis can reproduce their season-best game to knock out the Minor Premiers last week, the Sea Eagles could be in trouble here.

Remember, whatever your footy bet, whatever your team, Luxbet have your NRL betting needs covered.

Visit Australia’s ace bookie today and sign-up with Luxbet depositing the codeword [luxbetcode] when you make your first deposit to enjoy a $400 bonus bet!

Yesterday we previewed tonight’s emotion-charged Broncos v Manly clash, which will be followed on Saturday night with another blockbuster in Sydney with New Zealand Warriors travelling to AAMI Park to play the Luxbet premiership favourites, Melbourne Storm.

Last week the Warriors bought their season back from the dead with an upset win over the Wests Tigers, two points saving them from NRL Premiership elimination.

They survived a catfight with the Tigers and now they face an even more imposing task of bringing Melbourne down in front of a proud purple sea of Storm supporters.

Melbourne are fresh off a week’s rest, which they earned in week one of the finals after defeating the Tinkler-owned Knights.

In the NRL betting markets at Luxbet the Storm are the understandable match favourites for this paying $1.40 while New Zealand are out to $3 to go through to the big one.

Match Odds: Melbourne $1.40 – $3 New Zealand at Luxbet

They may be the underdogs here, but you can bet that the Warriors will still be feeling the adrenaline of last week’s win and they are injury free so $3 may be a little generous for them.

Even more generous are the NRL Grand Final odds on the Warriors who are the $7 long-shots at Luxbet of the four teams still in premiership contention.

The NRL club stats favour the Storm in every way when they are compared with the Warriors this season.

For example Melbourne have missed 681 tackles over the season while New Zealand have missed 982, a figure that reveals the Kiwis really need to lift their defence if they want to be Storm-tight for Saturday night.

Match Stat: The Warriors have missed 301 more tackles than Melbourne this season

There is a late-mail tip, however, that the Storm are sweating on the availability of Beau Champion and Rory Kostjaysen who have injury concerns.

New Zealand also hold no fears playing Melbourne in Melbourne with a good record here including their Round 7 win by four points over the Storm at AAMI Park.

Yes the Kiwis can attack, yes they have claims, but will they win this? It looks unlikely if Melbourne play in the same fashion they have throughout the season.

The Storm are just too smart, too clinical and too consistent not to back for this.

 Match Tip: Melbourne to Win by 1 – 6 points – $5.25 Luxbet

Whether it is Melbourne Storm by a big margin, the Warriors for an upset, or an exotic market like First Tryscorer that you are after odds on for this weekend’s NRL finals, Luxbet should are to ‘go-to’ bookie.

Offering over 85 individual NRL betting markets on the Storm v Warriors clash plus a range of NRL Finals Week 3 Specials including the Highest Scoring Team where New Zealand are the $9 roughies, Luxbet are Australian punters’ favourite online bookmaker.

Make them your bookmaker today and simply by opening a new Luxbet account, making your first deposit and quoting the codeword BONUSBET you will enjoy a $400 welcome bonus bet!

NRL Finals Week 3 – Game 2 Details:

• Fixture: Melbourne Storm v New Zealand Warriors
• Date: Saturday September 24, 2011
• Venue: AAMI Park, Melbourne
• Time: 7:45pm (local)
• Odds: Melbourne $1.40 – New Zealand $3.00 – Bet now at Luxbet

Finals Week 3 Team Lists Game 2

Melbourne Storm v New Zealand Warriors at AAMI Park, 7:45pm.

Storm: Billy Slater, Matt Duffie, Dane Nielsen, Beau Champion, Anthony Quinn, Gareth Widdop, Cooper Cronk, Jesse Bromwich, Cameron Smith (c), Bryan Norrie, Kevin Proctor, Sika Manu, Todd Lowrie. Interchange (from): Ryan Hinchcliffe, Rory Kostjaysen, Adam Woolnough, Jaiman Lowe, Troy Thompson, Sisa Waqa, Maurice Blair, Atelea Vea.

Warriors: Kevin Locke, Bill Tupou, Lewis Brown, Krisnan Inu, Manu Vatuvei, James Maloney, Shaun Johnson, Sam Rapira, Aaron Heremaia, Jacob Lillyman, Feleti Mateo, Simon Mannering (c), Micheal Luck. Interchange (from): Lance Hohaia, Russell Packer, Ben Matulino, Elijah Taylor, Steve Rapira

Everything these teams have been working on and playing for comes down to this Sydney Football Stadium showdown, a spot in the October 1 Grand Final up for grabs.

Match Odds: Manly $1.40 v $3 Brisbane at Luxbet

Manly have the home crowd advantage and are fresh off a week’s break after earning a green pass straight through to this after their big 42 – 8 annihilation of the Cowboys back in the opening finals.

Brisbane, however, are not only away from the sell-out crowds at Lang Park that they have been blessed to have played in front of for their past four, but are also without their inspirational skipper.

Darren Lockyer made the announcement yesterday that his final every NRL game, the champion retiring at the end of the season, may actually already be behind him after a horrific cheek injury he sustained in last Saturday night’s nail-biting 13 – 12 golden point win over the St George Illawrra Dragons would rule him out of playing this week.

For obvious reasons then, the Sea Eagles are the short-priced $1.30 favourites at Luxbet to win on Friday night.

Brisbane have blown out in the NRL odds to a quote of $3 since the news Locky won’t be there to guide they boys through what is sure to be a gripping game between two of League’s best.

The Broncos do get captain in waiting and this week’s stand in skipper Sam Thaiday back after he served a two-week suspension, however, and Matt Gillett has been called in to replace Locky in the now iconic No. 6 Brisbane jersey.

Match Stat: Manly haven’t lost a Grand Final Qualifier since 1975!

While Manly are the deserved favourites based on the above, Brisbane go in with no pressure now.

No one expects them to win and perhaps this will work in their favour, as they are the kind of team with the depth of talent that you don’t want to face with a complacent attitude.

The Sea Eagles are not full strength either, Glenn Stuart not being there likely to have more of an impact on their halves ability to shine than many think.

Statistics usually don’t lie and the statistics say Brisbane will lose this.

Their win rate with Locky on side is an impressive 66.8 per cent, without him in the line-up this drops to a dismal 28.6 percent.

There is also one that Manly fans will savour, the Sea Eagles not having lost a grand final qualifier since 1975.

That said, football isn’t played on paper it’s played on the field when guts and determination go further than any historical data will take a team and the Broncos really do want this more after Locky said he would right to play in the Grand Final should his team get there without his help.

Match Tip: First Tryscorer Daly-Cherry Evans at a juicy $17 through Luxbet!

Whether it is the Head-to-Head markets you are after or the 85 other match markets available on this Friday night’s Broncos v Manly thriller, Luxbet are the online bookmaker for you.

Try their always popular first tryscorer markets where no player is under $8!

We like Dally M Rookie of the Year Daly Cherry-Evans, who is noted for setting up for the Sea Eagles, to go over himself and go over first at a juicy price of $17 at Luxbet.

So sign up with Luxbet today and enjoy a $400 bonus bet to use on any horse racing or sporting event you like, including the NRL Finals 2011, buy quoting the codeword BONUSBET when you make your initial deposit with the Tabcorp-owned and trusted Luxbet!

NRL Finals Week 3 – Game 1 Details

• Fixture: Manly Sea Eagles v Brisbane Broncos
• Date: Friday September 23, 2011
• Venue: Sydney Football Stadium
• Time: 7:45pm (local)
• Odds: Manly $1.40 – Brisbane $3 – Bet now at Luxbet

Finals Week 3 Team Lists Game 1

Sea Eagles: Brett Stewart, Michael Robertson, Jamie Lyon (c), Steve Matai, Will Hopoate, Kieran Foran, Daly Cherry-Evans, Joe Galuvao, Matt Ballin, Brent Kite, Anthony Watmough, Tony Williams, Shane Rodney. Interchange (from): Tim Robinson, Jamie Buhrer, Vic Mauro, George Rose, Terence Seuseu

Broncos: Gerard Beale, Dale Copley, Jack Reed, Justin Hodges, Jharal Yow Yew, TBC, Peter Wallace, Josh McGuire, Andrew McCullough, Ben Hannant, Alex Glenn, Sam Thaiday, Corey Parker. Interchange (from): Matt Gillett, Ben Hunt, Scott Anderson, Ben Te’o, David Hala

New Zealand are the $7 NRL Grand Final outsiders at Luxbet but plenty suggests they shouldn’t be discounted just yet!

The premiership dream has come to an end for the two NRL Week 2 losers with the ever-entertaining Wests Tigers and the defending champions, St George Illawarra Dragons, both knocked out of the competition.

This means that after over 160 minutes of the hardest-hitting footy of the year, the New Zealand Warriors and the Brisbane Broncos came out on top in the NRL week two finals results and are through to the next round.

Here’s what went down so you can see how your NRL finals bets went at Luxbet!

NRL SEMI FINALS 2011 – WEEK 2 RESLUTS

Semi Final 1 Result: Wests Tigers 20 – 22 New Zealand Warriors

• What’s Next: After fighting back in a sudden-death thriller, the New Zealand Warriors’ determination saw them score a match-winning try in the final two minutes of last Friday night’s match, pushing them into week three of the NRL finals. They will now take on the minor premiers, Melbourne Storm, down at AAMI Park on Saturday night (September 24), a team they have a surprisingly good record against.

• What are the Odds: Melbourne are the $1.40 Luxbet favourites to knock New Zealand out this week, but history shows that the Kiwis have claims and there will be plenty taking the juicy $2.95 odds on an upset Week 3 NRL finals result here.

• NRL Grand Final Odds: The Warriors are the outsiders of the four teams left in the competition, Luxbet paying $7 to win the Grand Final on October 2. Melbourne are the $2.75 co-favourites in the NRL futures odds for the Grand Final with Manly.

Semi Final 2 Result: Brisbane Broncos 13 – 12 St George Illawarra Dragons

• What’s Next: This was the game of the season so far, a high-class clash between two of the best in the business. After getting a tight early lead, the Broncos found it hard to really push open that gap as the Dragons’ defence was more than commendable. St George kept coming and scored a match equaliser in the final few minutes to push this blockbuster into golden point. And in traditional Broncos style, the fairytale continued with an injured Darren Lockyer battling through a smashed cheek to kick the drop goal and put Brisbane into the preliminaries. No back-to-back premiership wins for the Dragons folks. Now it is up to the Broncos, Lockie or no Lockie, to travel down to Sydney and take on the Manly Sea Eagles on Friday night at the SFS.

• What are the Odds: Fresh off a week’s rest and at home Manly are the $1.55 Luxbet favourites to put an end to Brisbane’s dream run and move through to the Grand Final. But with the movie script swangsong season continuing to play out for the Broncos’ skipper and his crew, the $2.45 NRL odds on the boys from the sunshine state are very tempting. And, if you fancy Brisbane to go all the way and score their first premiership win since 2006, Luxbet are paying $4.25 on them in their Grand Final betting markets.

Whether you fancy the Sydney clubs to show the visitor’s what’s what or you are looking at those juicy outsider odds, Luxbet are the online bookmaker for all your NRL finals needs this September.

Visit Luxbet today and open a new account quoting the codeword BONUSBET, and you will get your first deposit matched dollar for dollar up to $400 to use on ANY sports, horse racing or special event market you please, including the 2011 NRL Grand Final.

Week one of the NRL Telstra Premiership finals saw the Newcastle Knights and North Queensland Cowboys cut from the competition while the Melbourne Storm minor premiers and the Manly
Sea Eagles got a green pass straight through to week three.

This leaves four teams to fight it out in the NRL Week 2 semi-finals, four teams with everything to play for and everything to lose, four teams that could potentially be playing in the NRL Grand Final come the first Sunday in October and four great teams to get behind in the NRL betting markets at Luxbet.

NRL Semi-Final 1: Wests Tigers v New Zealand Warriors

Friday 16^th September – Sydney Football Stadium – 7:45pm (local)

• Match Odds: Tigers $1.32 – Warriors $3.45 – bet now at Luxbet

• Match Preview:

The Warriors got smashed by Brisbane last week, but don’t worry, they’ll bring their best to the SFS tonight. Meanwhile the Tigers came back in a big way to win their opening finals clash against the Dragons a week ago and will have plenty of confidence in front of a big crowd of Sydneysiders for this. New Zealand are always dangers, but just haven’t been consistent enough. These are the two big entertainers in the competition, both teams are about attack, attACK, ATTACK! Expect a high scorer of a semi lead by Benji and Manu. Close in the stats here Tigers 10 and Warriors just one behind on nine wins from their 19 played against each other, always close, but for us you can’t go past an on-fire stipes.

• Match Tip: Tigers by 2

NRL Semi-Final 2: Brisbane Broncos v St George Illawarra Dragons

Saturday 17^th September – Suncorp Stadium – 6:45pm (local)

• Match Odds: Broncos $1.62 – Dragons $2.35 – bet now at Luxbet

• Match Preview:

This really is Darren Lockyer’s swansong at Suncorp, no ifs and or buts. And there’s also no ifs ands or buts that this clash between the defending premiership winners currently coached by Bennett and his old club will be a cracker. Brisbane get the confidence boost of playing at home thanks to their victory over New Zealand last week, but they CANNOT be complacent. Sure, the Dragons have seemingly been in a slump but if there is ever a time to get out of the ditch the semis are it. Griffin has left the Broncos squad unchanged from last week, so too have the Dragons, with Brisbane shooting for nine straight at Lang Park. It’s neck and neck looking back at the history between these two, 13 wins each from the 26 times they’ve met. They are also four all from their past eight so really it is any-ones, but the Broncos have this one in the bag for the fans and for Locky.

• Match Tip: Broncos by 4

This could be your final chance to back you team to win so don’t let the opportunity slip by, get in on the action now at Luxbet.

Luxbet have the hottest NRL odds and options all throughout the finals time including their REFUND BET OFFER if your team loses in the final 20 minutes of the match.

They also have futures betting open on the Grand Final NRL result, odds to firm following the semi results so back you favourites for the overall premiership now.

So sign up with Luxbet today and remember to make your first deposit and enter the code BONUSBET for a $400 bonus bet these finals!

After scrolling through the NRL betting odds and offers on the coming finals fixtures, we have discovered the hottest offer from any online bookmaker in Australia!

With the NRL finals often going down to the wire, mere minutes deciding who goes through and keeps their NRL Grand Final dreams alive and which team is forced to bow out of premiership contention for another year, we know just how much punters and fans have riding on the closing 20 minutes of the matches.

This is where Luxbet and their awesome NRL Footy Finals offer comes in!

Not only do Luxbet have the ultimate NRL odds on every finals game for 2011, offering the juiciest prices and premium range of betting markets, they also have an unbeatable MONEY BACK NRL REFUND BET OFFER.

Luxbet guarantee that while you’re team may lose in the last 20 minutes of an NRL finals match, you can’t.

That’s right – with Luxbet you cannot lose your money in the final quarter of any NRL finals game this season!

Simply have a bet on the NRL and get a REFUND BET up to $250 as a BONUS BET if your team gets rolled in the last 20 minutes of play.

So if you are sitting on the edge of your seat sweating on the NRL live finals scores, one thing you won’t be sweating on is your bankroll because Luxbet have you covered!

How to take advantage of the Luxbet $250 REFUND FOOTY BET OFFER:

• Visit Australia’s No. 1 online bookmaker Luxbet
• Take five minutes out of your day to open a new account with Luxbet
• Make a deposit between $25 and $400 and get it back as a BONUS BET up to $400 by quoting the codeword BONUSBET
• Hit up their NRL finals betting markets
• Pick your teams and place an NRL bet
• If your team goes down in the final 20 minutes of the match, get a REFUND BONUS BET up to $400

Of course some terms and conditions apply, like you actually have to have a bet! But full T&C’s can be found at Luxbet.

As the two lowest-ranked losers from the opening NRL Finals week matches, the New Zealand Warriors and the North Queensland Cowboys have bowed out of the premiership race for this season.

Both teams were thrashed by two of the in-form sides in the competition, the Warriors going down 40 – 10 to the Brisbane Broncos in front of a capacity crowd of Brisbanites at Suncorp Stadium followed by a 42 – 8 fight back from the Manly Sea Eagles that left the Cowboys out of contention on Saturday night.

As the two highest-ranked winners from the NRL Week 1 Finals, the Manly Sea Eagles and the Melbourne Storm, who beat a fast-finishing Newcastle Knights 18 – 8 at AAMI Park on a supercharged Sunday arvo clash, have a rest this weekend before fighting it out for a spot in the NRL Grand Final 2011 the following week.

That means this weekend for the NRL Week 2 finals the Wests Tigers, who beat the reigning premiers St George Illawarra Dragons last Friday night 21 – 12, will take on the New Zealand Warriors while the Brisbane Broncos face their former coach Bennet and his Red and White army at the official final ever Darren Lockyer NRL home game.

Only two will move through the next round to face the benchmark teams in the competition and keep their NRL Premiership dreams alive.

NRL Finals Qualifiers – Week 1 Results

NRL Finals Week 1 – Game 1 Result

Wests Tigers 21 – 12 St George Illawarra Dragons

• What It Means: Both move through to next week, Tigers to play Warriors and Dragons to face Brisbane

NRL Finals Week 1 – Game 2 Result

Brisbane Broncos 40 – 10 New Zealand Warriors

• What It Means: Both move through to next week, Brisbane have home ground advantage over Dragons while Warriors travel to Sydney to face the Tigers

NRL Finals Week 1 – Game 3 Result

Manly Sea Eagles 42 – 8 North Queensland Cowboys

• What It Means: Cowboys are out of the competition while Manly enjoy a week’s rest before playing the second highest-ranked winner from the second round of finals the following weekend

NRL Finals Week 2 – Game 3 Result

Melbourne Storm 18 – 8 Newcastle Knights

• What It Means: Newcastle are out of the premiership race, Melbourne rest this weekend before taking on the highest-ranked winner out of the two second round finals week winners at AAMI Park the next weekend

Every NRL Finals winning team from week one were the favourites in the NRL betting markets at Luxbet, meaning punters that followed the form and the NRL odds came up trumps.

Will there be upsets in the NRL Week 2 Finals? Stay tuned to NRLleague.com.au for the NRL Semi Finals match and betting previews.

In the meantime, get ready for the action by signing up with Australia’s favourite online bookmaker Luxbet.

You can bet on the NRL Finals right now at Luxbet, Tigers and Brisbane the clear favourites to win their respective matches.

For even more value NRL futures betting is also open at Luxbet on the Grand Final Winner with Melbourne the narrow $3.25 favourites to take out the premiership for 2011, followed in the NRL odds by Manly at $3.85.

New to bet at Luxbet? As a new depositing customer you are eligible for a $400 bonus welcome bet simply by quoting the promo code BONUSBET, so don’t delay, join Luxbet today!

There are eight NRL teams left, and every single one has a chance to go all the way to the blockbuster NRL Grand Final on the first Sunday of October, but can you pick who?

Four super-charged NRL 2011 qualifying finals are set to light up tellie screens around the country this weekend and every real footy fan will be placing a bet on the NRL results.

The best place to head for all the footy final betting odds and options is to the true blue online bookie – Luxbet.

Below is a brief rundown of the NRL qualifiers for 2011 so you don’t miss a minute of the action!

NRL Final 1 – Wests Tigers v St George Illawarra Dragons

Friday 9^th September – ANZ Stadium – 7:45pm (local)

• Match Odds: Wests Tigers $2.12 – St George $1.74 – bet now at Luxbet

• Match Preview:

It’s four v five in possibly the most important of all of the qualifiers. Can the defending premiers rise to the occasion and put the Tigers to sleep, or will some Benji Marshall magic work it’s trick tonight and show Bennett his boys aren’t going to go back-to-back easily. A rematch of last year’s preliminary thriller, there’s only one thing hotter than this one, the NRL odds at Luxbet. The Tigers are on fire and have come from a mid-season slump to genuine premiership contenders. The Dragons have done a lot of work late too, winning their last two regular round matches. Both have skills, both have confidence but what will win – exciting plays from Wests or the clinical moves of the Dragons? St George also have the winning record at the venue, but stats mean nothing in the face of consistency.

• Match Tip: Tigers by 4

NRL Final 2 – Brisbane Broncos v New Zealand Warriors

Saturday 10^th September – Suncorp Stadium – 6:30pm (local)

• Match Odds: Brisbane $1.68 – New Zealand $2.22 – bet now at Luxbet

• Match Preview:

The fairytale finish to Darren Lockyer’s NRL career continues when the third-placed Broncos take on a scary looking Warriors (6^th) outfit. New Zealand travelled to Brissie not long ago and only just lost in a golden point extra time thriller, Broncos taking the cake thanks to a Wallace field goal. They did it without Lockie that time and they are again depleted with soon-to-be skipper Thaiday copping a two-match ban and boom fullback Hoffman out with injury, Beale a nice replacement though.  Hodges makes a well-timed return however, and there is plenty of depth and passion in Brisbane to explain their favouritism in the Luxbet markets. There’s no denying the Warriors claims but Brisbane are on a six-game winning streak and are undefeated at Suncorp in seven, unlikely to end in front of a capacity crowd.

• Match Tip: Brisbane by 8

NRL Final 3 – Manly Sea Eagles v North Queensland Cowboys

Saturday 10^th September – Sydney Football Stadium – 8:30pm (local)

• Match Odds: Manly $1.40 – North QLD $3.00 – bet now at Luxbet

• Match Preview:

Premiership favourites Manly take on the Cowboys in an SFS showdown not to be missed. Sea Eagles will be keen to bounce back after their loss in Brisbane, where they showed plenty of grit and were far from disgraced. They sit second on the ladder for a reason, their boom young halves are on fire and they are starting to be known for more than just Gorgeous George. North Queensland fired early and have suffered a bit of a fizzle out of late, but they know Manly aren’t at full strength and with JT’s pace will be ready to capitalise on it. Sea Eagles stay calm, they win. Cowboys ride into town with the right attitude, an upset could be on the cards.

• Match Tip: Manly by 12

NRL Final 4 – Melbourne Storm v Newcastle Knights

Sunday 11^th September – AAMI Park – 4:00pm (local)

• Match Odds: Melbourne $1.24 – Newcastle $4.15 – bet now at Luxbet

• Match Preview:

Seemingly the easiest of all four to tip, No. 1 v No. 8. This is do or die for Newcastle, however, who enter a new era under the coaching of Bennett next year and won’t want to go out in 2011 without a fight. They will get a fight though facing the Storm at AAMI Park. Knights got away with plenty of points against South Sydney last week, but will this be enough to allow them to bring down a weakening Melbourne outfit? Storm easily account for the recent record between these two with eight wins in the past 10 meetings, and it has been a very long time between drinks for Newcastle who haven’t got the better of the Storm since 2004. Newcastle will get over the line early, but then Slater and Co. will turn the lights out on the Knight’s season.

• Match Tip: Storm by 13

Ready to place your footy bets and get the hottest NRL odds? Visit Luxbet now and open a new account depositing and quoting the codeword BONUSBET and kick off your finals footy in style with a $400 bonus bet!

Must Bet Match: Manly Sea Eagles v Melbourne Storm

Friday 26^th August – 7:35pm – Brookvale Oval

Friday night footy doesn’t get any better than the top of the table clash scheduled to kick off this supercharged weekend of rugby league, the Minor Premiership frontrunners Melbourne Storm vying for their incredible 13^th straight win when they play the second-ranked Manly Sea Eagles at Brookvale Oval tonight, August 26.

Round 25 Tip: Take the over-priced odds on Melbourne Storm at Luxbet to beat Manly!

This is the game to watch if you can only catch one on the weekend, and it is also the game to bet on at Luxbet.

Of course, with so much on the line, all eight matches are must-bets for us!

Surprisingly, the home ground advantage has had a massive influence on the NRL betting markets with Manly the firming $1.59 favourites at Luxbet while punters are shying away from the imposing Storm who are out to $2.40 to win.

Melbourne are still clear $3.10 favourites to win the Premiership come the first Sunday of October, but the attitude that they “need” to lose in order to recharge going into the finals is swaying votes here.

While this is the match getting all the pre-round attention, every game this week has something to offer fans and punters.

Final spots in the NRL Top 8 will be decided with the ninth-placed Rabbitohs taking on the Brisbane Broncos at Lang Park on Sunday arvo and team No. 10 on the ladder, Canterbury, set to make the most of their chance to sneak into finals contention when they play the Knights at ANZ Stadium Saturday night.

Our other “Upset Bets” of Round 25 are:

• Penrith ($2.45) v Canberra ($1.57) Luxbet – Saturday 7:30pm Canberra Stadium: Tipping Penrith, who nearly got the better of the Warriors despite the 26 – 12 score last round, to show some grit down in Canberra and defeat a Raiders outfit that have been anything but good this year.

• St George ($1.48) v New Zealand ($2.70) Luxbet – Sunday 2:00pm WIN Stadium: Under $1.50 for a club that hasn’t won since July seems odd to us. The Dragons may be the reigning premiers and they may have a master coach up in the box but the proof is in the pudding and not the recipe. If the Raiders and Roosters can beat ‘em then you can bet that a Top 4 team like the Warriors can DEFINITELY beat them.

For the full list of NRL Round 25 games and access to literally hundreds of NRL betting options on the current and futures fixtures, head to Luxbet and open an account with the online bookie offering all new depositing customers that quote the promo code BONUSBET a $400 bonus bet!