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On Saturday night, two of the greatest rugby league teams in the world face off in a battle that will have everyone north of the Tweed foaming at the mouth.
In a rivalry that has almost become the standard for rugby league matches, my father claimed, “If only the Cowboys and Broncos could play every week, you’d never get bored of the footy”.
He’s not a Queenslander, he’s been a Roosters supporter for the last 50 years. We live in the middle of the NSW coastline. And even now, there is no doubt, Queensland has no flaws in rugby league.
Enter the Titans.
Why? It doesn’t make any sense to me. For the last ten years, Queensland has been the pinnacle of Australian rugby league. Nine series wins in State of Origin, the Broncos and the Cowboys have both won a premiership apiece and competed in eight and seven of the last ten finals series respectively.
Even the majority Queensland side, Melbourne, have won three premierships and competed in nine of ten finals series, the only one they missed was in 2010 after they weren’t allowed to get any points. Even then they would have finished fifth.
The Titans have made just two finals series out of a possible nine, and have claimed one wooden spoon.
For the most talented area of rugby league in the world, the Titans are a sorry bunch. They are often forgotten. Long gone are the days when they fell short one game of the 2010 grand final, when they made consecutive top four finishes.
I don’t have the answers to their woes. I don’t think anyone cares. The amount of times I have seen fans outright call on the NRL to just get rid of them and add another Sydney team is incredible.
So now, we enter 2016. The Titans have been the surprise packets of the season. Wooden spoon favourites are now in the logjam that is the middle of the NRL table.
Nathan Peats has signed on, and could be the buy of the season. The guy’s one of the in-form hookers in the comp. Ashley Taylor is firming up as the rookie of the year favourite, an honour he deserves, and every player is making the small percentage plays that belted a star-studded Roosters side on Monday night.
If the Titans take down the Panthers on Sunday, perhaps it’s time for Gold Coast fans to begin dreaming of their first finals appearance in six years.
And maybe then the Titans will be remembered, because god knows they need it.
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