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Ninety-four years ago the North Sydney Bears, one of the foundation clubs of the league, won their last premiership. In fact it was their second consecutive title and the last and only glorious period in their history.
The club managed nine wooden spoons throughout their 91-year involvement in the NSWRL, ARL and NRL. Eventually the failed merger with Manly and subsequent severing of ties left them in the minor leagues for good.
The Bears’ average finishing position throughout their history is a motley 6.8 (remembering that for the good part of this time they played in a nine, ten or 12-team competition.)
The club produced wonderful international stars such as Cec Blinkhorn, Ken Irvine, Harold Horder and Mark Graham, to name but a few. Yet towards the end of their existence, demographic changes in Sydney and difficulty in attracting players and corporate interest, left them as something far less than what they once were.
As the Cronulla Sharks attempt to break their hoodoo this weekend, Bears fans (well certainly the one who inspired me to write this piece) will be hoping for a typical and clinical Melbourne Storm performance.
That would keep alive any hope of the Bears eventually being able to pass on the dubious mantle of the longest run without a premiership.
The Sharks really are the last chance for the Bears. Fifty-one years and counting, it either ends this week or the streak continues. Only two other teams could possibly take the mantle one day, yet both seem unlikely.
The Warriors and Titans have relatively short histories and one would be a very brave individual to bet against the Warriors eventually breaking their duck. Many feel that when they do, the floodgates may indeed open.
With the majority of the Kiwis’ World Champion squad to choose from, the Warriors will surely find a way in the next decade or so.
The Titans are only on a ten-year streak at this stage and could be a chance for the Bears, however, one would think that in these days of the salary cap and a potential draft system in the future, the men from the party capital will eventually stop gallivanting, running amok and retain enough focus to claim a title at some stage.
Once troublemaker Greg Bird leaves, the chances of that illusive title should increase. With the egotistical human headline Jarryd Hayne, on board the premiership might come sooner rather than later.
Either way, logic suggests that it is Cronulla who hold the Bears’ fate in their hands. So in support of the Bears I would like to provide an extensive list of reasons as to why the Sharks don’t deserve to break the hoodoo and why the little flicker of light in the sitting rooms of Bears supporters might be kept alive for at least another year.
#1 The Sharks have far too many irritating lunatics in their team
Michael Ennis and Andrew Fifita could quite possibly be the two most annoying turkeys to have ever played the game. I will not use the ‘g’ word to describe Ennis for two reasons.
Firstly, I am a Bulldogs supporter and developed a liking for him when he played at Belmore and secondly, I wrote an article about the unfairness of the ‘grub’ label, Michael Ennis is not a grub, and I need to be consistent.
However, he is an annoying clown.
Fifita is a different kettle of fish altogether. He reminds me of a 90kg 12 year old playing against 50kg opponents in a junior match in which my child is playing. The entire game I cringe as this oversized buffoon threatens to snap my kid in half at any moment due to his reckless approach.
#2 Cronulla fans only attend games as a warm-up for Northies
Attending a Dogs versus Sharks game in the Shire many years ago, my girlfriend at the time was propositioned by bourbon-induced lunatics on the hill.
They politely shouted ‘show us your tits’, to which she turned to me and said ‘Imagine how gutless they would be if I did it.’
She waved at them, they roared in unison, oblivious to the score, opponent or ladder position of their team. I struggled to find words, she lost interest and hooked up with a tall blonde fellow who may or may not have been Australian surfer Tom Carroll when we arrived at the infamous hotel a few hours later.
I never got over it.
#3 The Stadium name changes so frequently that my GPS gets me lost every time
How can fans be expected to attend NRL games when the brilliant technology available to us cannot be used to get us to the games?
I tried to attend three games this year at Cronulla. Each time I couldn’t remember the name of the stadium and typed in things like Shark Park, Remondis Stadium, Cleanaway Stadium, Caltex Field, Ronson Field, Toyota Stadium or whatever the hell the stupid place has been called in years gone by. The GPS went nuts, I followed it trustingly and I never saw a minute of NRL footy.
For first game in May I ended up watching a state league hockey game at Doonside, the second attempt saw me end up at Woolhara Golf Club watching some senior citizens playing croquet and my third attempt led me to Tunks Park in North Sydney watching, of all things, schoolboy rugby union.
#4 These are not the players who should break the hoodoo
Names such as Chad Townsend, Valentine Holmes and Wade Graham should not be the names that break the hoodoo for the Sharks.
Legends such as David Hatch, the wild Sorensen brothers, Kurt and Dane, Martin Raftery, Dean Carney and Michael Speechley should have had that honour. Others like Andrew Ettingshausen, Jonathon Docking and the great Arthur Pappas should have been the men to be immortalised in the anxiously awaiting trophy cabinet in the leagues club.
#5 Up, Up Cronulla is a really silly song
What is this ditty that has suddenly started to emerge from the mouths of seemingly reasonably minded, intelligent people? Wouldn’t it be more natural to say ‘Go, Go Cronulla’ or ‘C’mon, C’mon Cronulla,’?
Up, up sounds like the verbal accompaniment to a one or two-fingered salute. Surely the NRL should crack down on these sorts of things.
The final logical reason for an extension of the Sharks winless history to continue is the most compelling of all.
#6 The Melbourne Storm are the model team and from such a great city
Why can’t all NRL teams play the game the way Craig Bellamy’s team does? The way they release the tackled player quickly in order to ensure a free flowing contest.
The respect and courtesy shown by their captain, his refusal to participate in gamesmanship and their squeaky clean record, and image, places them well above the other 15 teams when it comes to the moral high ground.
Coming from the most glorious sun-drenched city in the nation, with incredibly knowledgeable league fans that have turned their backs on their native code in order to embrace league with such vigour and enthusiasm, makes them the sentimental favourites.
The convincing nature of the argument I have laid out before you cannot be ignored. Sunday will see one team with an annoying group of players, a unfindable stadium, a corny song and party-orientated fans without etiquette, take on a well-groomed team of men dripping with integrity and class.
I, for one will be cheering on the Mexicans, not so much for them, but for the mighty North Sydney Bears.