NRL footy tips Finals Week 1: Joey, Freddy and all of Nine's stars give their winners
Rugby league legends Brad Fittler and Andrew Johns are both backing an incredible trend that has tilted the NRL axis leading into this finals series.
Last time they met all four of the favourites to win this weekend's finals lost against the opponent they're matched up against.
Here's the tale of the tape:
Round 25: Rabbitohs 16 d Roosters 10
Round 22: Raiders 22 d Storm 18
Round 10: Sea Eagles 24 d Sharks 14
Round 24: Broncos 17 d Eels 16
Yet both Fittler and Johns are tipping all four of those results to be flipped in the first week of finals and those opinions are backed up by the bookmakers, with the Roosters, Storm, Sharks and Eels all favoured to get the job done.
While Friday night's match-up between the second-placed Roosters and the third-placed Rabbitohs looks too tight to call based on their recent clashes but the ins and outs after last week's game will prove the difference in the eyes of the pundits.
"Yeah, I'm going the Roosters," Johns told Wide World of Sports' Freddy & Joey's Tips. "If Sam was playing I'd maybe tip Souths but the Roosters will win this one."
For Saturday's afternoon game Johns admitted that the Raiders were a tricky match up for the Storm but not tricky enough to sway his tip.
"The Raiders are unorthodox, they offload the ball and they play in an unorthodox way which troubles the Storm," Johns said, then tipped Melbourne anyway.
Meanwhile both Johns and Fittler saw the Sea Eagles' overbearing injury toll as season-ending despite enjoying a big home advantage against the Sharks at Lottoland.
"The Taupau one's a big one I feel," Fittler said, with Manly's gun prop sidelined due to suspension.
"Up the middle, if you look at Cronulla at the moment, they've got Fifita and Hamlin-Uele all coming off the bench, so you've got Woods and Prior to start, so they've got a lot of depth there.
"I love Wade Graham as a player and I loved seeing his little touches on the weekend, he gets points..."
That leaves the Sunday afternoon clash between the Eels and the Broncos, and although Brisbane got the two points in a golden point thriller at Suncorp Stadium just a fortnight ago, both Fittler and Johns expect that result to be reversed.
Check out the tipping leaderboard and the full set of Finals Week 1 tips from Joey, Freddy and all our Channel Nine experts below!
NRL tipping leaderboard Nine
Andrew Johns
Roosters
Storm
Sharks
Eels
Brad Fittler
Roosters
Storm
Sharks
Eels
Wally Lewis
Roosters
Storm
Sharks
Eels
Billy Slater
Roosters
Eels
Sharks
Storm
James Bracey
Roosters
Storm
Sharks
Eels
Ruan Sims
Roosters
Storm
Sharks
Eels
Phil Gould
Roosters
Storm
Sharks
Eels
Darren Lockyer
Roosters
Storm
Sharks
Broncos
Mat Thompson
Roosters
Storm
Sharks
Eels
Allana Ferguson
Roosters
Storm
Sharks
Eels
Cam Williams
Roosters
Raiders
Sharks
Eels
Ben Glover
Roosters
Storm
Sea Eagles
Eels
Tim Elbra
Roosters
Storm
Sea Eagles
Eels
