An era could come to an end tomorrow night but at least Nathan Brown can walk away from St George Illawarra with his head held high.
The Dragons coach has been a dead-man walking for much of 2008 after his club told him in April that his services were no longer wanted.
That didn’t deter the former champion hooker from leading his side into the NRL finals, although their seventh-place finish earned them a daunting must-win qualifying final with Manly at Brookvale Oval.
The Dragons enter the clash believing they can provide the surprise of the first week of the finals, but that confidence has not always been apparent.
A finals berth seemed unlikely after their round one 24-16 loss to Wests Tigers which sparked an extraordinary attack from Brown, whose words hit home more than his infamous face-slap on Trent Barrett in his rookie coaching year in 2001.
Brown labelled his side “disgraceful” and said his men were perceived as a unit which crumbled under sustained pressure.
He made it his final vow to change that perception.
“As a whole performance I have never been as disappointed in some people at the club since I’ve been coaching and even playing to be honest in my time,” said Brown after that loss.
“They waited for us to do what we’ve done in the past. Just stick with us and they’ll make errors and we’ll get field position and eventually we’ll wear them down.
“We’re going to change it (that perception). That’s the reality. We have to change it.”
And change it he has.
Four times this year the Dragons have come from behind at halftime to win.
Ten times they have led at halftime and only once have they then conceded the victory.
And they have won as many close games (by six points or less) as they have lost.
Veteran Ben Hornby insists Brown has achieved his goal this year of changing the perception of the club.
They won three of their last four games to secure a finals spot in the tight race for the top eight.
“As a side in the past some other sides have thought if they hang in long enough they’ll beat us,” said Hornby.
“This year I don’t think that’s been the case. We’ve turned up every week and been competitive the whole way through the game and we’ve finished off games really well.
“Our finals started four weeks ago, if we lost two or three of those games we were finished.
“It’s anyone’s chance to win it now.”
Just as Brown thought everyone expected his side to fold under pressure earlier in the year, many think they’ll crumble at Brookvale against the rampant Sea Eagles.
But Brown believes his side, having won nine of the past 12 clashes with Manly, are a good chance as causing the upset of the weekend.
“The expectation’s probably different from the outside but internally we’re confident of doing well and we’re expecting to do well,” said Brown.
“At the end of the day it’s sudden-death football and everyone’s excited … it’s all or nothing.”
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