As a lifelong Dragons fan, last year was one of the toughest seasons Dragons fans have had to endure in a while.
The team was moving on from arguably one of the most successful periods in the club’s history and many senior players were either already retired or were nearing the end of their careers (the latter being the case with Ben Hornby and Dean Young).
The Dragons have had a history of underachieving, until Wayne Bennett coached the club for three years in 2009-11 and delivered a promised premiership in the middle of this era.
The Nathan Brown era was a very frustrating one for Dragons supporters. The club was ravaged by injury in his first season and by the end of it almost half of their regular squad were out.
This forced Brown, 30 years old at the time, to field a virtual reserve grade side for the team’s final match of that season, against the Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium.
The Dragons had nothing to play for, as they were unable to make the finals, however, were able to beat a full-strength Brisbane side which featured Lockyer at fullback, Prince at halfback and Webcke and Civoniceva in the front row.
It was that night when Mark Riddell made a name for himself, scoring most of the team’s points including a pressure penalty kick minutes before the final siren. It was the latter penalty shot that gave both the Dragons a famous 26-25 victory and fans hope for the 2004 season.
The club made the finals in three of the five years in which Brown was in charge, the only other year they missed out was in 2007 when the club endured its worst ever season finishing 13th and also being ravaged by injuries and the departure of many of its top players.
Subsequently, Brown found himself under immense pressure to perform in 2008, and after a slow start the Dragons successfully chased Wayne Bennett, who I like to call “Mr. Broncos” for his success at the club.
The peak of this period, though, was the 2005 season. At the start of the season I correctly predicted that they would lose their first four matches of the season (against the Bulldogs, the then-defending premiers, Storm, Panthers and Raiders).
After those four losses, the Dragons were dead last on the ladder, but this would spark their best season under Brown and they would only double that amount of losses for the remainder of the regular season. Unfortunately the season ended in a disappointing preliminary final defeat to the eventual premiers, the Wests Tigers.
The Wayne Bennett era was one of the most successful in the history of the Dragons. They were minor premiers in 2009, but crashed and burned towards the end of the season and fell out of the finals in straight sets.
Following their finals flop, questions were asked about whether Bennett was able to deliver the Red V a first premiership in almost 30 years.
The criticism they received during the 2009/10 off-season set the tone for what would be one of the most dominant seasons by a club in recent NRL history.
The Dragons won their first three matches of the season, and were premiership favourites right from day one.
Their premiership odds shortened dramatically following the Melbourne Storm salary cap scandal, and there were no other rivals that could really threaten the Dragons, except for the Penrith Panthers (who in fact defeated them in the middle of the season), who finished second on the ladder behind the Dragons that season.
However, losses to the Titans, Broncos and Raiders in the space of five weeks started to raise concern among fans and the media, but the Dragons were able to bounce back from this setback and clinch the minor premiership for the second year in a row.
They entered the finals in good form, and established themselves as premiership favourites throughout the playoffs. They demolished the Sea Eagles before being sternly tested against the Wests Tigers in the preliminary final, the very same stage where the Dragons’ 2005 premiership hopes were dashed.
The Dragons won through and ultimately went on to win the Grand Final against the Sydney Roosters, 32-8.
That was one of the greatest sporting moments of my life and one that I will never forget. Several years of failure were finally buried on that one October night in 2010.
It was thought in 2011 that the Dragons would once again be dominant, and all went to script in the first half of the season with the Dragons losing just once before the dreaded State of Origin period. However, that and injuries to key players started to take its toll and the Dragons ultimately finished the season outside the Top Four.
What followed was a straight sets dismissal from the playoffs, losing to the Wests Tigers and Broncos in what would be a bitter end to the Wayne Bennett era.
Despite their finals disappointment in 2011, hopes were high when Steve Price was announced as their coach for the 2012 season. Several key players moved on, but names from other clubs came in such as Daniel Vidot, Josh Miller, Jeremy Latimore and Denan Kemp (only Vidot remains at the Dragons today). Darius Boyd was the biggest loss and the Dragons lacked choices at fullback to replace him.
It was thought that the Dragons’ period of success enjoyed under Bennett would carry on into 2012, and this was underlined by a first round, golden point win over Newcastle.
However the dominance and success the Dragons had enjoyed in the last three years quickly diminished in the very next round, when they were thrashed by the Bulldogs, now coached by Des Hasler.
It was one of the Dragons’ worst performances in recent history.
Although they fought hard to stay in finals contention throughout the year, the Dragons ended up missing the playoffs for the first time since 2007, finishing ninth on the ladder and just one win behind the Broncos.
Now, Steve Price will find himself under pressure as the Dragons attempt to return to the finals this season. And experts haven’t been kind either, with many forecasting what could be the Dragons’ worst ever season.
It would be hard to imagine that they would be considered as wooden spoon favourites given they were premiers just three years ago.
The club has been severely weakened by the retirements of Ben Hornby and Dean Young, and the departure of Beau Scott to Newcastle. However, Michael Weyman returns after a knee injury ruined his 2012 season and Gerard Beale is a valuable recruit who will no doubt be the Dragons’ most needed replacement at fullback for Darius Boyd, whose run from the back was the backbone to the team’s success in 2009-11.
As much as I would love to see the Dragons back in the playoffs this season, it’s very unlikely this will happen this year. However, fans can only hope.
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