When the Brisbane Broncos were installed as the premiership favourites by bookmakers for next season, many fans automatically assumed that the team’s success was all but guaranteed.
However, while the Broncos do boast a quality playing roster, and a coaching mastermind in Wayne Bennett, they should not be resting on their laurels.
In previous years, it has been proven, time and again, that expectation seldom turns into reality. In fact, it can often lead to the downfall of heavily-favoured teams.
In the following list, I outline the three biggest disappointments of the last decade in the NRL.
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs (2005)
The 2005 season was an unusual year in the NRL. Traditional powerhouses such as the Roosters, Knights and the Panthers were usurped by teams who had seldom featured previously at the business end of the season.
In one of the true fairytale stories of rugby league, the Wests Tigers defeated the North Queensland Cowboys in the grand final to win their first premiership (as a joint venture), which was made all the more impressive by the fact that they had been $151 to win the competition halfway through the campaign.
Almost as surprising as the Tiger’s rise to prominence, however, was the Bulldog’s swift fall from grace. After recovering from the salary cap scandal that rocked the club in 2002, the Bulldogs bounced back quickly and won the premiership in 2004.
With their only major loss being club captain Steve Price, who departed for the Warriors following the grand final triumph, many pundits assumed that the Bulldog’s era of dominance had only just begun. With break out stars such as Braith Anasta, Willie Tonga and a young Sonny Bill Williams, as well as a number of seasoned veterans, the blue and whites had the recipe for success in 2005.
The excitement soon led to disappointment, however, for the defending premiers. After being named RLIF International Player of the Year, Sonny Bill Williams barely had an opportunity to live up to his tremendous hype, sustaining a knee injury in the opening game of the season, and went on to play only four more games that year.
Further injuries to key players such as Anasta, Willie Mason and Luke Patten resulted in the club winning only three of its opening 10 games, and they were never truly allowed to get out of first gear. After mounting somewhat of a comeback toward the latter end of the season, winning three consecutive games, the Bulldogs capitulated as they went on to lose their last six games of the season, finishing in a disappointing 12th place.
Ironically, after going into the following season with low expectations after their disappointing 2005 campaign, the Bulldogs defied the critics and finished second, making it all the way to the preliminary finals.
Brisbane Broncos (2007)
Despite being installed at a low $6.50 to win the premiership during the 2007 pre-season, the Broncos never looked like a team that would win consecutive titles. For the previous two seasons, the teams who had won the competition, the Bulldogs and Tigers, failed to make the finals the following year.
The Broncos, who hadn’t missed a finals series since 1992, look like continuing this trend for the majority of their 2007 campaign.
Despite entering the season confident that they would become the first team of the NRL era to successfully defend a premiership, the Broncos lost their opening three games for the first time since 1999, and failed to string two successive victories together for the first half the season.
Following 10 weeks of competition, Brisbane found themselves equal last. Boasting the likes of Darren Lockyer, Justin Hodges, Petero Civinoceva and Shaun Berrigan, all Australian representatives, as well as super coach Wayne Bennett at the helm, it was easy to see why such disappointing results came as such a surprise to both fans and players alike.
Ironically, during what had traditionally been a difficult time of year for the Broncos, the club managed to lose only one game during the State of Origin period, despite many of the club’s players taking part in the series. After defeating the Knights by a record scoreline of 71-6 in Round 11, Brisbane began to regain their confidence, and went on to string together five consecutive victories from Round 14 until Round 18.
However, during their Round 18 win over the North Queensland Cowboys, Lockyer tore his anterior cruciate ligament and was ruled out for the remainder of the season. It seemed as though the Origin series did, in fact, take a toll on the club, with representative stars Brent Tate, Karmichael Hunt, Berrigan and Hodges all missing games through injury during the latter stage of the season.
Despite showing a glimpse of promise earlier in the year, amidst a mounting list of casualties, the Broncos won only two of their last eight games, limping into the finals at eighth place. The Melbourne Storm, who had finished as minor premiers, put the final nail in the coffin, as they soundly defeated Brisbane 40-0, thus eliminating the defending premiers and exacting revenge for their grand final loss a year earlier.
Although it was perhaps a more spirited title defence than the previous two seasons, Brisbane never truly displayed the talent and ability that had led them to a premiership in 2006.
Parramatta Eels (2010)
In hindsight, looking through the lenses of rose-coloured glasses, it was easy to understand why the Eels never truly made an impact in 2010. However, that doesn’t make their lacklustre performances any less disappointing. For you to truly grasp the agony felt by many Parramatta fans and players after their 12th placed finish, I must preface this by rewinding the clock to 2009.
In 2009, or at least during the latter stages of the season, the Eels were everyone’s second team. It didn’t matter who you were, or where you were from, everyone was mesmerised by the audaciously exciting performances of the Parramatta side, which at times mesmerised both players and fans alike.
While many do not discount the importance of the team aspect in the Eels’ success, it would be amiss of me not to pinpoint one man as the focal point of their incredible run to the finals: Jarryd Hayne. While touted as a young prodigy, Hayne had never truly lived up to his potential. Then, all of a sudden, he began turning in a succession of amazing performances which led many to call him the world’s best player, and earned him the Dally M Player of the Year medal.
Ten wins from their last eleven games set Parramatta, who hadn’t even been in the running as finals contenders earlier in the season, up for an unlikely finals appearance. After upsetting minor premiers the St. George Illawarra Dragons, the Eels continued their incredible run all the way to the grand final, where they ran into a red-hot Melbourne Storm side. Against a more experienced, disciplined team, Parramatta struggled to find their feet on the big stage, and lost 23-16.
Following an off-season shopping spree which included the signings of New South Wales representatives Timana Tahu and Justin Poore, the Eels were in a prime position to win their first premiership in 24 years.
But in an all too familiar story, the Eels failed to live up to the admittedly enormous expectation placed upon them. It was almost as though they didn’t expect opposition sides to prepare for them during the off-season, and their lack of structure, as well as discipline, led to their ultimate demise.
Jarryd Hayne, while turning in some memorable performances, struggled to match the displays of his incredible 2009 season. Furthermore, Tahu, one of their marquee signings, failed to find form, and duly left the club at the end of the season.
The contrast between the club’s performances in 2009 and 2010 was vast, and highlighted the importance of momentum, as well as expectation, or lack thereof, in a side’s success.
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
My American mate wants a Canberra Raiders jersey. If someone had told me a couple of months ago that I’d have friends in the…
Derbies are often rated on intensity rather than quality, and that was very much to the fore at Suncorp for the third Battle of…
The Panthers might have the bye this weekend, but that has not stopped them from suffering injury issues, with reports in the Sydney Morning…
Josh Schuster's days at Manly could be numbered after the big-money second-rower was granted permission to open negotiations with NRL rivals. Just 10 months…
Somebody call Mr Chow, there’s a fourth version of The Hangover playing out. All four teams who took part in the NRL’s Las Vegas…
If Melbourne sports fans in AFL heartland aren’t convinced that rugby league is a sport of skill and athleticism by Thursday night’s showpiece clash…
