As the countdown begins for the 2010 rugby league finals, the heated and fiery battle for the top eight is without a doubt producing some of the best football seen so far this year.
Despite the top two taking satisfying wins in round 16, the rest of the competition is proving that the top eight is nowhere near close to being finalized as many games came down to last minute heroics, gutsy try-savers and eighty minutes of pure rough and tough footy.
The question is, however, who has the will to take it that extra step and break free from the close knit grouping of all the teams below second place? Even fourteenth and fifteenth placed Bulldogs and Cowboys still have the chance to scrape their way into the eight.
Which teams have the momentum to carry them through and who will bow out gracefully?
Unfortunately for some it seems their time may be over before they even realise it, as they are struck with the curse of the one-man team.
The main victims of this curse are the Parramatta Eels and the North Queensland Cowboys, with the Bulldogs not far behind.
Despite the talent that is available in each of the aforementioned teams, they all look to one man to pull them from the bottom of the ladder and produce superhuman performances to take them to the top.
While every team is feeling the pressure it seems the likes of Jarryd Hayne and Jonathon Thurston carry the weight of the whole world on their shoulders as they try to bring their respective teams back into finals contention.
Hayne in particular has come under major scrutiny for his inability to lift Parramatta and his somewhat less than average form.
People are quick to point the finger at the young fullback and blame his ego for his lacking performances and Parramatta’s inconsistency.
These are the same people who last year praised Hayne, inflating his so-called ego and labeling him as Parramatta’s saviour. Now that he can not do the same for them this season, he is overrated and petty.
Whilst some of his comments do make him seem self-indulged and unable to cop criticism, anyone who watched the Broncos-Eels match could see how much Hayne would beat himself up over the smallest of mistakes.
The only mistake Hayne is making is trying too hard as he lets the pressure of winning overtake his ability to play good footy.
The disappointment felt by fans on Saturday night as the Eels went down to the Broncos in an all out battle, was magnified ten times on the face of Hayne every time he contributed or even did not contribute to a Parramatta mistake.
Forget the fact he was the only try-scorer for the Eels. “He is useless now. Dismal. Simply not good enough.” Forget the fact he was stepping up and trying to make things happen for his halves. “He didn’t do this, or didn’t do that, or was never where he should of been. He’s a lazy player. Plays only for himself.”
What about the rest of his teammates? It’s not Hayne’s sole responsibility to drag them from the depths of despair.
Things for the Cowboys are not much better. The golden point match against Cronulla saw twenty minutes of the most exciting football played this season. As Trent Barrett shot the ball through the posts to take the win, Thurston collapsed to the ground, head in hands.
He was a man destroyed by the pressure placed on him and his inability to be the one who took the golden point. He missed the sure-fire penalty goal that would have seen the Cowboys win and the emotion poured out of him.
For the Cowboys, the statistics speak for themselves. In their last nine games, Thurston has played all but two games, sustaining an injury in one game.
Of these nine, the Cowboys have lost seven and won two. The two they won are the two where Thurston was MIA.
This is not a statistic saying that it is Thurston who brings his club down, that without him they are much better off. What this statistic subtly shows is that when Thurston is there the Cowboys are happy to sit back and let him take the reins.
They do not support him. When he is not there they panic and step up to the plate and perform above their normal standard.
And so again the pressure of the sporting world is thrust upon this man in the hopes that he can captain his team to a series of wins and magically make the eight.
Unless both Parramatta and Cowboys take some of the pressure and edge of their two superstars, they won’t even get a look in at the eight.
Parramatta are a lot closer than North Queensland, but the co-captains are right. Unless they start playing like a unit, they won’t make it this year.
The people that placed Hayne and Thurston on their pedestals are ready to rip them down. It almost makes you wonder if these two men wish they had never been stand outs in the first place.
Finally, the Bulldogs are about to follow down the same path as the Eels and Cowboys if they are not careful.
Already a team known for their culture of idolizing one man above all others only to have it thrown back in their face are again placing the outcome of their season on the shoulders of one person. Ben Barba.
The youngster is yet to even play a full eighty for the Dogs, despite coming close on Monday night. But the supporters of the Bulldogs and critics of the game claim he is the X-Factor, the one to bring the Bulldogs success.
There is no denying Barba’s talent and impact, but he is still young and this is all becoming reminiscent of last year’s resurrection of the Eels.
Maybe Kevin Moore is right in trying to shield and protect Barba from first grade even at the expense of the Bulldogs’ success. Maybe, despite what everyone says, Moore knows exactly what he is doing by keeping Barba benched or totally out of the first grade team.
Moore has watched Hayne’s downfall from the sidelines and as the ghost of Sonny Bill Williams still hangs slightly over the Canterbury club, maybe Moore doesn’t want Barba to be the next Thurston or Hayne or even Williams.
In a time where winning is suddenly becoming more important than all else, maybe people need to step back and look at the bigger picture. To stop the images of Hayne’s broken face or Thurston’s emotionally crippled figure lying on the ground people need to remember that they are not superhuman.
To stop Barba from following in these footsteps it’s time people remember that behind it all they are still young boys just trying to play football. It is a team responsibility to win games not a sole responsibility.
It’s time to cut the criticism and let them play the way they know best, without the shackles of expectation holding them back.
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