Bradbury (definition): To win as a result of miraculous circumstance, despite being in a losing position.
When it was safe to go back on social media yesterday afternoon after the post-election froth, one of the funnier memes doing the rounds was an image of Tony Abbot’s peculiar head atop the triumphant Stephen Bradbury’s body from his famous 2002 Winter Olympics victory.
And while it may be too much to ask all seven of their finals opponents to implode into a scrum of divisive in-fighting and backroom power plays, the odds of a similar meme popping up sporting a guffawing Johnathan Thurston are shrinking faster than the Australian Democrats’ primary vote.
For in 2013, the North Queensland Cowboys have well and truly taken on the Bradbury mantle of the semi-finals.
A bit like how a bloke who collects animatronic dinosaurs is now on the verge of being a publicly elected member of parliament, no one is 100 percent why or how this has happened, but are bloody interested to see how things evolve nevertheless!
There is nay a person who can say a bad word about the men from North Queensland, so to have seen them wallowing at the bottom of the ballot for most of the year was quite depressing, and utterly perplexing.
The last time something looked so good on paper and so useless in real life it was the pair of ‘X-Ray’ glasses you ordered from the back of a Phantom comic as a kid, only this time instead of just you getting a headache it was rugby league lovers in general.
After trudging on unsuccessfully, coach Neil Henry got told he had a couple of months to get out of town and, well, with the season on the home stretch that should have been the end of that.
I remember specifically writing following the move I was certain the players would all dig deep, and knuckle down at training to send Henry out a winner.
Unfortunately this was on a Twitter page called ‘Sh*t no NRL fan says’, but from the outside this appears to be exactly what has happened.
The Cowboys have been on fire, and have been the best performing side of the last month.
Granted, they have been playing sudden death football for a good while now, which generally will get a team to lift, but for a long time they simply did not look like they had it in them.
Now they get to play a side in the Sharks who they defeated just recently, have an entire state cramming onto the bandwagon and a coach who has gone from shy, mousey type to the hottest chick in the club.
Ever since the Tigers did the improbable in 2005 it has been realised a team can play and actually win, not just reach, the game’s biggest day after spending half the season picking out Mad Monday costumes.
With a superstar roster and a coach with nothing to lose there is little doubt the Cowboys can mimic Wests’ magic moment.
It’s just whether the rest of the competition is still on their feet.
Renegade
Guest
Yes bulldog, I know you love your conspiracy theories LOL :P
Bulldog
Guest
Renegade - you know how I like a good conspiracy theory and the games are influenced for the greater NRL end. Given the best thing for the NRL would be for the Sharks to exit finals asap I will predict some ref influence in Cows favour, especially if Klein is ref. After Cows win this round they will get booted out asap.We will then be back to NRL normal programming with a South vs Roosters GF the preferred outcome.
Bulldog
Guest
Usually I would agree but in this situation it will in the NRL interest for the Shark to get booted out of the finals asap. So I will predict rub of green ref decisions to go Cowboys way this game. After that they are screwed...
Elijah Weightman
Roar Guru
Well we don't exactly have a culture of winning akin to the Broncos or Storm, I guess I'm just happy we are making the finals and not winning wooden spoons every year anymore.
Griffo
Guest
In the AFL since the year 2000 when this system was introduced no team outside the top 4 has even made the grand final. Only twice in 13 seasons has a team made it to week 3. I would however say that my experience watching both codes has led me to believe that a roughie is more likely to knock off a higher side in a big match in the NRL rather than AFL. Not sure if there are stats to back this up but I'd suggest it has to do with the scoring system
Dean - Surry Hills
Guest
Thanks for the memories Chris. Just about my all-time favorite sporting moment. I have been using the You Tube clip that you selected as a motivational tool for quite some time. Steve is a living legend who has shown me why you should never give up - thanks go to Mum and Dad for the verbal lessons! The person I felt wholeheartedly sorry for at the time of Steve's epic victory was not any of his opponents, but fellow Aussie skier Alisa Camplin who was poised to enter the history books as Australia's first ever gold medalist at a winter Olympics. The finals are an absolute lottery this year. They're all good enough on their day.
Elijah Weightman
Roar Guru
+1 I think the Cowboys have the upper hand given form and the fitness of their star players, barring Matt Scott. Keep everyone in camp upbeat and fly under the radar until Saturday. I think playing in the afternoon timeslot will also advantage the Cowboys given the damp conditions usually seen on Sydney pitches for the night games. The Cowboys attack is better than the Sharks and their defence has been top notch the past few weeks, I think they will win.
Elijah Weightman
Roar Guru
What a champion, he deserved that gold regardless of the misfortune of the other competitors. If the other 7 teams fall over in the finals series and the Cowboys come through on top, they just need to remember everything the club has been through the past 18 years to remember why they deserve to win. Plus, Matty Bowen deserves to be sent out a winner.
Glenn Innes
Guest
The Cowboys have done you proud - this club have been chronic under achievers for about four years now, they sack the coach and the playing roster suddenly decjde to have a dig with an eye to the thought that the next coach will be watching and deciding who to punt.
Fran_Gipani
Guest
Apologies...paranoia. Different thread... and bizzaro censoring. I vote #1 Manly #2 NQ less than 0 care for the rest. Just want to laugh at my VIC neighbour when the Storm fizzles. :D
up in the north
Guest
I can't see the Sharkies getting up either. Too much bad karma going around on the peninsula. And we got raped in the finals loss to bloody Manly last year.
up in the north
Guest
Right about now I would expect the Cowbies to be on a solid media blockout - as much as it be possible- don't let the crap in. They've got everything to win and bugger all to lose after the pi$$poor start to the season. Plus do it for mango ;- )
Matt
Guest
Right, so the strategy "just sit behind everyone in last place, and don't worry everyone will fall over and you'll go straight through to win" is quite popular? Works well? That is NOT a strategy. He was getting beaten, shouldn't have won, a few guys fell and took everyone out, and he won. It's extremely lucky and I'm sure he is the first to admit he won that particular race with luck, not ability. This is not boxing where your opponent may tire if you defend and conserve and they constantly attack. He was just going through the motions knowing he was behind, and then as luck would have it, everyone else got tangled and fell over giving him a free passage to the line. If you actually think that is a strategy, wow haha. Maybe Cowboys should just hold the ball as much as they can and wait for Cronulla to all break their legs and then they can go win.
Nomonous
Guest
Nine network got their wish so expect to see lots of underdog Cowboys stories this week....
DingoBob
Guest
+1 Matty Bowen is a great player and a good bloke and deserves to be seen playing in October
Elijah Weightman
Roar Guru
Win or lose, the Cowboys have done us proud for this season after it looked dead and buried months ago. 3 finals series in a row is a great acheivement for them, hopefully they can build on this form and be a top four team next year. However, they are in the finals now and I would love to see them make the semis at least. The stats for teams winning the comp from outside the top four say it's impossible, but when the Cowboys are on fire, they can generally do the impossible. At least we all get to see Bowen play one more time.
Elijah Weightman
Roar Guru
Mango or Lui?
Tiger
Guest
No.. Yes Thuston is outstanding but shut him down (if you can) and who steps in???
I Know Everything
Guest
Matt, I feel I must reply. Where does Bradbury "getting flogged" come from? He won!! One of the greatest sporting tactics "rope a dope" won Muhammad Ali what many thought was an unwinnable fight, and during that contest most thought he would lose when he applied this tactic - "getting flogged" in your parlance. More support for a true Australian champion wouldn't go astray. Your condescending "he was good enough to get to the finals" comment doesn't cut the mustard.
Matt
Guest
Not sure where you're getting your stats from. NQ vs Cronulla. Home: P 17, W 7, L 10 = 40% Away: P 15, W 5, L 10 = 33%