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I have genuine sympathy for the Bulldogs’ inspirational skipper Michael Ennis that he’ll miss the NRL grand final tonight through injury.
Ennis had been included in the side pending a fitness test, but it was crystal clear the 30-year-old’s foot – fractured in two places – wasn’t anywhere near fit enough for such a big game.
What makes missing the decider even crueller was the injury was a result of ‘friendly fire’, a run in with a teammate.
Not the same story at Redfern.
Issac Luke would have gone head-to-head with Ennis, but the Rabbitoh rake will also miss the decider as a result of his own stupidity. He put a dangerous throw on Sonny Bill Williams that earned him a two-match holiday.
How any rugby league footballer can make a dangerous throw after the seeing the hell Newxastle forward Alex McKinnon has been through, deserves to miss a grand final – and a lot more.
Two matches is equivalent to being bashed with a feather, even if it results in him missing the biggest match of the season.
But the outpouring of grief and comments from Luke that he was “devastated” to miss out on the big one have been way over the top.
Luke should have thought about the obvious repercussions at the time, when he was upending Sonny Bill.
Luke’s damn lucky the NRL let him attend the grand final breakfast, and will allow him to do the lap of honour if South Sydney is successful.
That luxury was never afforded to Artie Beetson in 1969 when the Tigers beat Easts 11-2, although many others ‘on holiday’ at grand final time were from the losing clubs.
Like Steve Bowden (Newtown in 1981 beaten by Parramatta 20-11), Steve Roach (Balmain in 1988 beaten by the Dogs 24-12), Luke Ricketson (Roosters in 2004 beaten by the Bulldogs 16-13) and Cameron Smith (Storm in 2008 flogged by Manly 40-0 – the biggest winning margin in history).
So we set for what promises to be an epic 80 minutes.
With Michael Ennis ruled out, teak-tough Englishman James Graham and crack half-back Trent Hodkinson will co-captain the Dogs.
And that will make Graham the first Englishman since Tommy Bishop in 1973 with Cronulla to lead a grand final side.
But there’s a difference, as Bishop and the Sharks failed to win Graham wants to become the first Englishman to captain a winning grand final side – Cronulla lost 10-7 to Manly in 1973.
My pick? The running Rabbits to bring glory, glory to South Sydney.