NRL finals Footy Form: The stats that matter, what’s been backed

CANBERRA and Penrith both take flawed finals records into their do-or-die showdown at GIO Stadium. And history says this game is going to go down to the wire.

History tells us to expect another tight contest between Canberra and Penrith.

GET the inside Footy Form mail for the second week of the NRL finals.

Check out all the best stats, what’s been backed and where the money is going in order to find a winner.

Canberra v Penrith, Saturday 7.45pm, GIO Stadium

DÉJÀ VU?

Canberra have won just two of their past 12 and five of their past 20 finals games but three of those wins were against Penrith. The Raiders have never won a week two final in an eight-team finals series. They have progressed past week one on five previous occasions since 1998 but have lost in week two in all five.

TRAVEL SICKNESS

The Panthers have never won a finals match outside of Sydney, with both losses coming in Canberra.

History tells us to expect another tight contest between Canberra and Penrith.

CLOSE CONTEST

Since 2005, 17 of the 24 matches between these two sides have been decided by 12 points or less, with seven of them by four points or less.

HEAD TO HEAD

History between these two teams is extremely close, just one point separates the two across 69 matches with each team winning 34.

Betting summary: Early money is running 2:1 in Canberra’s favour.

Market

Originally published as NRL finals Footy Form: The stats that matter, what’s been backed