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As the combatants for next Sunday’s NRL grand final were confirmed on the weekend, a popular narrative surfaced that it was the season finale that no one wanted.
I had to plead ignorance and admit I wasn’t sure why this combination of clubs would equate to an unwatchable final. Surely having two of the season’s best teams in the grand final was a good thing, and would produce a game that everyone wanted to watch?
As the vitriol flowed – particularly in its home ground of Twitter – it became obvious where the sentiment was coming from. It wasn’t about this match-up being unwatchable; this game has been dubbed the ‘grand final no one wanted’ because Melbourne and Cronulla are two of the most unlikeable teams in the competition.
The Storm obviously reside outside of New South Wales and Queensland, which immediately puts them at odds with rugby league’s heartland. To some of the insular persuasion, Melbourne remains a pariah – an unwelcome outsider who has no right to be in the competition.
Which conveniently overlooks what the ‘N’ in ‘NRL’ stands for. However, rational thinking has never been close friends with hatred.(Click to Tweet)
Additionally, the Storm have been littered with Queensland State of Origin greats over the years, most notably, Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk, Billy Slater, and in the past, Greg Inglis. Considering the torment that the Maroons have inflicted on the Blues over the years, it ensures that the Storm will never be a popular team in NSW.
However, it is not just geography that prevents the Storm from being loved.
Their wrestling tactics irk many people, and gave birth to a new rugby league term: the chicken wing. The fact this agenda is driven by the media more than reality is another inconvenient truth for the haters, but you know what they say: never let facts get in the way of a good story.
News Limited’s backing of the Storm has been another source of scorn for the club, while the Alex McKinnon incident didn’t win them many fans – fairly or not.
It’s also worth pointing out that the club didn’t do itself any favours by being caught systemically cheating over a period of five years.
During that time, Melbourne were found to have purposely breached the NRL’s salary cap, and were subsequently stripped of two premierships in 2007 and 2009, and the minor premierships in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
Storm fans like to protest that these infringements happened in the past, and that people should get over it and move on. Which, let’s be frank, is utterly ridiculous.
The club made the NRL a laughing stock during that time and robbed every other team (that was under the cap) of a fair fight. To think people should just forget all that and swiftly move on is as arrogant as it is naive. If people want to hate you because you’re a cheater, not only do I understand it, I applaud it.
Having said that, not only do I not hate the Melbourne Storm, I love watching them play.
I’m an unashamed fan of Cooper Cronk fan, and the brilliance with which he executes a game plan. I have the utmost respect for Cam Smith, and his ability to control a game of rugby league.
Cameron Munster is one of the best young players in the game, and someone for whom greatness beckons. I also rate Craig Bellamy’s tactical nous.
Considering all that, and the knowledge I pick Melbourne to win almost every pre-season, their presence in the grand final is something I’m certainly not against.
However, the Cronulla Sharks are a different beast.
On two occasions this year, I have written that the Sharks wouldn’t win the premiership.
Such brazen predictions ensure I have an emotional investment in the Sharks losing, as I’d naturally like to avoid egg being rigorously applied to my face by a number of Cronulla fans, especially some good mates.
So I would have been quite happy if the Sharks didn’t make the final, and I’m far from alone in that stance. Despite having never won a premiership, the Sharks still fail to achieve the ‘loveable losers’ tag.
Whether it’s a hangover from the club’s ASADA drug scandal, the region they represent being the poster child for Australia’s racial tensions, or just an irrational aversion to the club, many people simply don’t like the Sharks organisation.
Some, like me, simply love sporting hoodoos and don’t want to see them broken. Yet for what seems like the majority, the real reason the Sharks were uninvited guests to this year’s grand final party is their current roster, which is full of polarising players.
Actually, polarising may be a little generous.
It all starts with their leader, Paul Gallen.
‘Gal’ has appeared before the NRL judiciary nearly 20 times, and been suspended in his career for over 20 weeks. He’s pulled at a player’s stitches, been accused of grabbing an opponent in ‘that’ tender region, and spent time on the sidelines for racial abuse.
His sportsmanship has been called into question a number of times, particularly at Origin level, with the NSW captain long being ‘Enemy Number 1′ north of the border.
He’s also an outspoken media personality, unafraid of an unpopular opinion.
Oh, and he was also found to be one of the Sharks players guilty of taking a banned substance in the ASADA scandal, and thus labelled – correctly – a ‘drug cheat’.
That’s only part of Gallen’s CV when it comes to applying for the role of NRL’s most unlikeable player, yet it’s quite an impressive one.
The irony is that his nearest competitors for the gig may all come from his own team.
There’s Michael Ennis, league’s biggest pest, and a man who certainly knows how to get under an opponent’s skin, not to mention opposing fans. Every great story needs a villain, and Ennis the Menace plays the role to perfection, and with great pride.
Andrew Fifita’s actions – particularly off the field – don’t exactly endear him to fans. Contract sagas, road rage incidents, abusing junior rugby league referees, publicly supporting a friend that killed someone, etc, etc. The big prop’s issue with common sense is that he doesn’t commonly exhibit it.
Many in the game have not forgiven Ben Barba for past indiscretions, and if the allegations are true, then it’s completely understandable.
Though not in the same class as the above individuals, James Maloney’s penchant for sledging makes him a target for opposing fans ire, while Jack Bird’s brashness rubs some people the wrong way.
All teams have baggage and skeletons in the closet, but the Sharks do feel like a team that is very easy to dislike. Which, when combined with the level of loathing towards the Storm, will make Sunday’s viewing hard to watch for a number of fans.
However, it’s not really the grand final no one wanted; it’s just the grand final without your team in it.
Fans whose teams were not good enough to make the final need little encouragement to bag those that did. It’s part and parcel of the little green-eyed monster taking over rational thought. Yet when the teams that did qualify for the grand final also happen to be extremely unlikable, it does take the jealousy to even more unpalatable levels.
So look at Sunday with a glass half full, and know this – a team you hate is going to lose.
Feel better?