NRL finals, week one schedule: Des Hasler's Bulldogs v Sea Eagles in blockbuster weekend

DES Hasler's Canterbury will face Geoff Toovey's Manly in a Friday night blockbuster to kick off the NRL finals series. See all the fixtures.

THE NRL cannot believe their luck.

Week one of the play-offs throws up some of the most intense, spirited and enthralling individual match-ups in finals history. What about these:

CANTERBURY coach Des Hasler lines up against Manly, the team which he left last year under controversial circumstances;

SEA Eagles coach Geoff Toovey confronts the man who taught him the coaching trade, Hasler;

SOUTHS coach Michael Maguire will plot the downfall of Melbourne, where he was an assistant coach under Craig Bellamy;

MANLY forward Tony Williams will be out to impress Canterbury, the club he will represent in 2013;

RABBITOHS superstar Greg Inglis is ready to rip into Melbourne, his former club;

MANLY five-eighth Kieran Foran will face Canterbury, the team he rejected to stay at Brookvale;

SOUTHS centre Matt King will be out to spoil the finals campaign of Melbourne, a team he starred for before moving to England;

RABBITOHS forward Michael Crocker will also front-up to Melbourne, his former club;

CANBERRA'S Blake Ferguson aims up against the club he walked out on, Cronulla;

CRONULLA'S Todd Carney will play Canberra, the club who sacked him; and

FORMER Bronco and current Cowboy Brent Tate faces his former side.

The match-ups will ensure a stellar start to the new finals format.

The new finals system will be more beneficial to the sides finishing top four.

Canterbury and Manly will play Friday night at ANZ Stadium - giving them two additional days of recovery.

The Raiders have received a boost by finishing sixth, and will enter their match against the Sharks as $1.60 favourites. TAB has listed the Sharks as $2.35 outsiders in the first market posted last night.

In other TAB markets, the Cowboys are $1.45 favourites against the faltering Broncos ($2.75). The Sea Eagles are premiership favourites as well as being $1.67 favourites to knock off the Bulldogs ($2.20) at ANZ Stadium. The Storm are ($1.65) favourites against the third-placed Rabbitohs ($2.25).

NRL FINALS, WEEK ONE

FRIDAY, Sept 7

Qualifying Final 1

1-Canterbury v 4-Manly at 7.45pm, ANZ Stadium

SATURDAY, Sept 8

Qualifying Final 2

2-Melbourne v 3-South Sydney at 5.45pm, AAMI Park.

Elimination final 1

5-North Queensland v 8-Brisbane at 7.45pm, Dairy Farmers Stadium

SUNDAY, Sept 9

Elimination Final 2

6-Canberra v 7-Cronulla at 4pm, Canberra Stadium