Words can not describe the emotion felt by seventeen New Zealand Warriors who withstood pressure and defied history to claim minor premiers the Melbourne Storm in their hallowed turf of Olympic Park. If it has taken 100 years to produce upsets like this, then it was worth the wait.
Prior to the Warriors-Storm game, the eighth-placed team has never defeated the minor premiers since the McIntyre finals system was introduced.
In many cases it was a game not worth watching on a Sunday afternoon, such was the inevitability of defeat awaiting the weakest finals qualifier.
Come Sunday afternoon.
If there was ever one team that could end the chain of certainty experienced in the NRL finals series, it was always the Warriors.
Despite Melbourne winning 40 of the past 42 clashes at Olympic Park and claiming three straight minor premierships, the Storm were faced with arguably the toughest 1st v 8th battle in the history of the game.
The Warriors boast strength and flair all over the park. Their forwards are filled with class, while their backs are among the most exciting in the competition.
Although their record away from home this season was terrible, stats in finals football don’t mean anything.
And at last the Warriors made that fact come true.
From the opening moments of the match, where the Storm let the ball run dead from the Warriors kick-off, the game had the scent of an upset.
As the minutes passed by, the scent got stronger and the 15,000 Storm fans grew worried.
The fear of a loss at the graveyard was compounding with every Melbourne dropped ball and every conceded penalty.
Eventually, the aura of distress around Olympic Park was felt by all as Jerome Ropati scored on the stroke of half-time for an 8-8 all scoreline heading into the break.
Storm coach Craig Bellamy was swearing more than Eminem and Ivan Cleary was quiet. Who would have thought his troops would be where they were at halftime.
As the Channel Nine commentators and fans waited for normality to take its place, the Warriors kept coming.
And when Warriors winger Manu Vatuvei swooped up a grubber from Grant Rovelli, the upset that has never been finally looked a reality.
But as true champions do, Melbourne responded swiftly with a try to Israel Folau, a penalty conversion to Cameron Smith and then a field goal from Greg Inglis.
Surely those three superstars combining together would be too much for the Warriors.
As the eye of the Storm started appearing on New Zealand’s season, history was about to be made.
Ropati carts the ball up-field with the Storm defence in two minds. He offloaded to Vatuvei to produce the biggest diamond in NRL history as he passed to Michael Witt to seal arguably the biggest win for the New Zealand club.
And didn’t Witt let the Melbourne faithful know about it.
No doubt the centenary of Rugby League has been filled with its fair share of controversies.
But cheers to the Warriors for providing the ultimate moment so far in season 2008.
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