Cameron Smith has labelled North Queensland the team to beat for the NRL premiership.Captain Smiths minor premiers Melbourne meet fourth-placed North Queensland in a qualifying final at AAMI Park on Saturday.The game is a rematch of last years preliminary final at the venue, won by eventual premiers the Cowboys.No doubt it is a massive challenge for us, Smith said at the launch of the NRL final series at Allianz Stadium on Monday.They are the reigning premiers and we believe they are still the benchmark of the competition.We played them twice this year, both in Queensland and we have come away with two victories but it is a different prospect come finals time.Whatever has happened in the last 26 weeks is out the window.These guys dont have any fear coming to Melbourne. They beat us in the prelim final down there last year.They are a world-class side and they have the best player in the world playing for them (in Johnathan Thurston).The NRL playoffs kickoff on Friday night at Suncorp Stadium as fifth-placed Brisbane host eighth-placed Gold Coast in an elimination final.It is a good way to start the finals with a local derby, retiring Broncos skipper Corey Parker said.Fortunately I get to play one more game there (at Suncorp Stadium). The Titans have played some really honest football this year.Second-placed Canberra host third-placed Cronulla in the nations capital on Saturday afternoon.It pits the competitions form side in Canberra, who have won 10 games in a row, against the side with the worst recent streak. The Sharks have won just one of their last six games.We need to fix our ball control up, Sharks skipper Paul Gallen said.We know we can score points and we can defend. We just need to make sure we hold onto the ball.The first week of finals conclude with sixth-placed Penrith hosting seventh-placed Canterbury at Allianz Stadium on Sunday in the other elimination final.The Bulldogs will be without fullback Will Hopoate who will sit out the game due to his religious beliefs.Bulldogs skipper James Graham said he supported Hopoates decision.The Dogs lost their last three matches to drop out of the top four. Graham said they needed to embrace sudden-death football.The most important thing is that we are playing finals football, it is something we have worked so hard for, he said.It is an exciting time to be playing football and we need to take that energy out there.We have to put the last few weeks behind us and remind ourselves why we are here. NFL Jerseys China . Coach Mike Munchak says Fokou stretched ligaments in his left knee Oct. 13 against Seattle, which could keep out up to five weeks even though the linebacker didnt need surgery. Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping . The 20-year-old Pelicans big man glanced up and smiled widely at the well-wishers -- a fitting end to a day he wont soon forget. Davis responded to his selection earlier in the day as a Western Conference All-Star with 26 points and 10 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 98-91 on Friday night. http://www.cheapjerseysapp.com/ . The Vikings announced Thursday that Priefer will be one of seven holdovers from the previous staff, along with offensive line coach Jeff Davidson, wide receivers coach George Stewart and others. Norv Turner will mark his 30th year of coaching in the NFL as the offensive co-ordinator, as widely reported for weeks, and George Edwards will be the defensive co-ordinator. Authentic Jerseys Cheap . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. Wholesale Jerseys . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. DENVER -- Cam Newton will get a few extra days to recover from his latest beating by Von Miller and crew. At least he wont have to seethe for seven months.Denvers dominant defense came up big against Newton again, and the Broncos escaped with a 21-20 victory over the Carolina Panthers?on Thursday night when Graham Gano missed a 50-yard field goal with four seconds remaining.The Broncos collected three sacks and hit Newton eight more times, not counting the abuse he took on his 11 runs.We wanted to make sure we got to him, safety T.J. Ward said. Every time he ran we tried to put helmet and shoulder pads on him. If youre not going to slide, were going to put something on you. We saw him limping throughout the game, so that running stuff, you cant do that all game.A few of the hits were of the helmet-to-helmet variety, but none resulted in any penalty yardage.Miller hit him high when DeMarcus Ware was taking him down, and linebacker Brandon Marshall hit him in the face just as he released a pass. Safety Darian Stewart was flagged for leveling him in the final minute, but because Newton was whistled for intentional grounding on the play, the penalties were offsetting.Its not my job to question the officials, Newton said after emerging from the trainers room. I really like this officiating crew, so it wasnt something I know they did intentionally. But its not fun getting hit in the head.A wobbled Newton appeared to have done just enough to get a measure of revenge for that bludgeoning in Super Bowl 50, when Miller stripped the ball and the Lombardi Trophy from his grasp.Newton put the Panthers on the cusp of victory with a 16-yard pass to Kelvin Benjamin at the Denver 37 in the closing seconds, and another short pass to Ted Ginn Jr.?put Gano well within his range.Gano, whose practice kick hugged the right upright after Denver had called timeout, missed wide left moments later.I was going to drill it, no doubt in my mind, Gano said. But this happens. Its not going to define my season.Newton, the NFLs reigning MVP, was 18-of-33 for 194 yards with one touchdown and one interception.Just as he did over and over in the Super Bowl, Miller made a big play late, sweeping past right tackle Mike Remmers and sacking Newton at the 2-minute warning. A penalty on fourth-and-21, however, kept the Carolina drive alive until Newton retreated to the sideline when Gano camee in for the potential game-winner.ddddddddddddHis miss only piled on the pain for Newton, who stayed on one knee in disbelief as the stadium rocked and Trevor Siemian trotted out for one victory formation snap and a win in his first NFL start.Weve got a heck of a team, a resilient team. I think you saw that tonight, said Peyton Mannings successor, who finished 18-of-26 for 178 yards with one touchdown, two interceptions and two sacks.The Panthers took a 17-7 led into the fourth quarter of the first Super Bowl rematch to start a season since 1970, but Siemian hit running back C.J. Anderson for a 25-yard touchdown on the next snap.Newtons next pass was intercepted by Harris at the Carolina 23. Ten plays later, Anderson bulled his way in from the 1 to give Denver its first lead at 21-17 with 9:26 remaining.After Ganos 36-yard field goal brought the Panthers to 21-20, Carolina forced a three-and-out and got the ball back at its 40 with 3:06 remaining.TAKE A KNEE: Marshall, a college teammate of Colin Kaepernick, knelt?during the playing of the national anthem. Kaepernick refused to stand for the anthem during San Franciscos preseason games, explaining it was to protest racial oppression and police brutality in the United States. Im not against the military, Im not against America, Marshall said. Im against social injustice.OLD TIMES: Manning made his first appearance at Mile High as a retiree, walking through the tunnel with the Lombardi Trophy. Manning said he spoke with Siemian on the eve of the game and told him he was in his corner.POACHING PANTHERS: Carolina led the league with 39 takeaways last season and had three in the opener, including two on Denvers first two drives. Shaq Thompson recovered rookie Devontae Bookers fumble at the Carolina 29, and Bene Benwikere intercepted Siemians pass at the Panthers 10.FIELD FLIP: Punter Andy Lee, who surrendered a Super Bowl-record 61-yard punt return to Jordan Norwood in February, pinned the Broncos back with a franchise-record 76-yard punt in the third quarter. His next punt traveled 61 yards.FULLBACK FUN: Rookie Andy Janovich was brought in to bore holes for Anderson, but he surprised the Panthers with a 28-yard touchdown run after Denvers first two drives ended in turnovers. 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