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Opinion
As a Dragons supporter, I like to take a very close look each year at the contenders for that most unwelcome “trophy” of them all – the wooden spoon.
Not that I want St George Illawarra to ever end up with the loathsome ligneous ladle, it’s just that under the consecutive coaching reigns of Steve Price, Paul McGregor and Anthony Griffin over the last 11 seasons, it has been far more likely that the Red V would end up with the dreaded booby prize rather than the Provan-Summons Trophy.
The Dragons have been the punters’ favourites for the spoon on more than one occasion in this time, and came close enough to smell the varnish in both 2013 and 2019, only to be saved at the 11th hour by Parramatta and the Gold Coast respectively.
So, what are the Dragons chance of running last in 2023, and if it’s not going to be them, who else looks the most likely? Let’s look at the contenders to finish bottom of the table this year, beginning with last year’s cellar dwellers.
Surprisingly, Wests have only picked up one spoon in the NRL era, but it was last year so they certainly know what’s required.
This year they’ve both beefed up their coaching roster and recruited well, and you’d have to think that the addition of the likes of quality performers in Api Koroisau, John Bateman, David Klemmer and Isaiah Papali’I, together with the offloading of some passengers from last year’s squad, will see them climb off the bottom of the ladder in 2023. Surely they couldn’t pick up back-to-back spoons, could they?
John Bateman is back in the NRL (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
The Warriors have looked pretty ordinary for the last three years, winning just 32 per cent of their games in that time, but perhaps they deserve some consideration in the light of their COVID disruption. Last year, they won just six games, conceding an average of nearly 30 points per game, their worst result since 2004, and their 2023 recruitment looks like a Paddy’s Markets bargain shopping list.
They’ve so far avoided picking up the spoon since they debuted in 1995, but this could very well be their best opportunity yet.
The Knights crept into the finals in both 2020 and 2021, but fell seven positions on the ladder last year to finish third-last. Kalyn Ponga holds the key to the team’s success as usual, but his history of missing games through injury must be a worry for under siege coach Adam O’Brien. The Knights have the most spoons in the NRL era with four, and there’s absolutely no reason why they can’t add to that tally in 2023.
After finishing a respectable eighth and ninth on the ladder in 2021 and 2020 respectively, the Titans looked like they were well and truly headed for the spoon last year before redeeming themselves with three wins from their last four games. Their spine will be improved with the addition of both Kieran Foran and Sam Verrills in 2023, and they have enough quality in the forwards to once again finish in the better half of the bottom eight.
So, how about the rest of the teams who finished in the bottom eight in 2022?
The Bulldogs just missed out on the 2020 spoon on for-and-against, finished last in a canter in 2021, and were well in contention again last year before winning three of their last seven games under stand-in coach Michael Potter and finishing 12th.
The change in the team’s outlook since the departure of Trent Barrett has been refreshing, and no team has recruited better than them in the off-season. They’ll get away to a slow start under new coach Cameron Ciraldo, but finish strongly and well out of contention for the spoon.
Fun fact: Manly have not once finished with the wooden spoon since entering the competition in 1947. Pretty impressive, but never say never. They finished 13th last year, losing their last seven games following the rainbow jersey embarrassment, and no coach will be under more pressure than Anthony Seibold, who knows what riding a team all the way to the bottom looks like.
Their off-season recruitment has been virtually non-existent, with losses outweighing the gains, and if talisman Tom Trbojevic doesn’t make it back onto the paddock in some sort of form, then it could be a bleak year ahead. Manly could pick up their first spoon this year!
The Dragons seem to have taken up permanent residence in the bottom eight in recent times, with last year’s 10th place being their best finish since 2018.
Things haven’t gone well in the off-season either, with injuries and stand downs likely to keep two of their young spine players in Talatau Amone and Cody Ramsey out for some time, and perhaps permanently, some embarrassing glitches at club management level, while their off-season recruitment looks to be their worst effort for some time, and that’s saying something.
A lot rests on Ben Hunt’s shoulders, but with his 33rd birthday just around the corner, it may be too much to ask. Saints are a real chance to finish last this year.
Can the halfback save St George from the spoon? (Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)
The Broncos fell in a heap towards the end of last season, losing five of their last six games to just miss the finals, and that comes on the back of a 14th-placed finish in 2021, and their first wooden spoon in 2020.
Kevin Walters is a good bloke by all reports, but some of his squad aren’t yet convinced that he can coach. You get the sense that all is not well at Red Hill, and if the Broncos don’t get off to a good start, the toys may be thrown out of the cot. The Broncos are definitely an outside chance to pick up another wooden spoon in 2023.
So, what about the new kid on the block?
There have only been four clubs join the competition in the NRL era, and happily none of them ended up with the wooden spoon in their first season. Melbourne finished in third place in 1998, St George Illawarra went as far as the Grand Final in 1999 after finishing sixth on the ladder, the Wests Tigers finished 10th in 2000, while the Gold Coast Titans finished 12th in their first hit-out in 2007.
So, history is on the side of the Dolphins, plus they have Wayne Bennett pulling their strings, and enough experienced players to avoid the bottom of the pond.
Could any of last year’s finalists fall off the cliff?
Surely that would never happen, right? But you’d be surprised, as it’s occurred nine times in the NRL era, or 36 per cent of the time for those of you without a calculator.
Cronulla went from the semi-finals in 2013 to last in 2014, Parramatta’s most recent spoon in 2018 came after a semi-final appearance in 2017, Penrith did it in 2001, the Roosters went from fourth in 2008 to the bottom of the table in 2009, the Titans were just one game away from a Grand Final appearance in 2010 then finished last the following year, while Canterbury’s wooden spoons in both 2002 and 2008 came on the back of semi-final appearances the year before.
Even the mighty Storm managed last place in 2010 after finishing fourth the season before, but then again, they were playing for no points in 2010 due to their salary cap breach.
So, it does happen, and if I had to pick just one 2022 finalist to fall all the way to the bottom in 2023, it would be Canberra. They’ve lost some experienced performers this year, and will be relying heavily on some of their young guns to lead the way. If the Raiders do fall off a cliff and get the spoon this year it won’t be a first for coach Ricky Stuart, as he led Parramatta to just five wins from 21 starts in 2013 to see them pick up their 13th piece of timberware.
So, there we are, nine possibilities to pick up the 2023 wooden spoon, but there can only be one loser, and my top five contenders, in descending order, are:
1. NZ Warriors
2. Newcastle Knights
3. The Dolphins
4. Manly Sea Eagles
5. St George Illawarra Dragons
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