Your clubs biggest wasted year?

[Knightmare]

When you think about your teams' history, what is the one year you think of where they should've gone all the way and won the comp, but didn't? Perhaps not even making a Grand Final? The one year where your team had all the right personnel and performances to raise the trophy, but ultimately didn't and wasted a whole season. For me, it would have to be the 2000 Knights team, just edging out the 1998 side. In the forwards we had Rauhihi, Butterfield, Simpson, Kennedy, Fairleigh playing his great one season for us and Peter Shiels, with the experiencec Peden at lock. In the backs were O'Davis, Tahu, Hughes, Gidley, Mad Dog and the Johns brothers. Wok was the coach. At their best, the Knights that year were a match for anyone but ultimately they threw it away because of issues off the field (the Matthew Johns saga, relations with the Wok) and because the team got too carried away with the emotion and the belief that they didn't have to concentrate because they were morals. Never was this more evident than in the major semi against Easts. Leading 16-2 at half-time, their atitude should've been to score the next try in the 2nd half, shut-up shop for the night and maye rest a key player or two in preparation for the big one next weekend. Instead, Newcastle lost concentration and ruined a perfectly good year because of it. Thankfully, the year after Newcastle showed balance and level headed concentration and knocked off the record-breaking Parramatta side in the Grand Final. What (in your opinion) is your team's biggest wasted year?

 

[jc155776]

1999 for sharks fans.

f**k me dead we choked massive that year.

 

[borat]

Oh dear, I am a Dragons fan...................how long have you got?

 

[Utey]

2001 was a killer, I think 2000 should've been our year as well. A few preliminary final losses still hurt way to much...

2005 was just an absolute sh*t fight.

 

[Walt Flanigan]

1993 for Canberra. Had it in the bag.

Ricky Stuart wanted to stay on the field in the last game of the regular season. In the last 10 mins while beating Parramatta 68 - 0, Stuart snapped his ankle.
Easily the best player in the comp that year, was in outstanding form. Needles to say we got cleaned up by St George and Brisbane because we offered nothing in attack.

 

[coolumsharkie]

1999 for sharks fans.

f**k me dead we choked massive that year.

Ditto, we were the best team in the comp by a mile.

Melbourne last year

Parra in 2000 or 2001?

 

[yobbo84]

1989. Lost only 3 games all year leading up to the finals. Souths form had been building through the eighties making the finals in 80, 84, 86 and 87. Had a team with great players like Coleman, Roberts, Blake, Fenech, Boyle, Andrews, D'Jura... then Piggins refused to fork out money to keep these guys and it all went to sh*t creek from there!!

 

[mxlegend99]

Panthers, haven't really been chokers as such. They usually make the most of the chance on the rare occassion they have one. And aren't ever the heavy favourites.

But i guess 2004 we were in a good position to win it and got belted by the eventual Premiers the round before the Grand Final. Not that i consider it a choke, as we just weren't as good as the Dogs.

 

[jimmythehand]

easy one for Bulldogs fans - 2002.

I thought Parra fans would be talking more of 1998

 

[skeepe]

1993 was hard for the Raiders, as was 2003... we were a Jason Bulgarelli dropped ball away from meeting the Panthers in the preliminary final, a team we had the measure of.

 

[Timmah]

Dogs - 2002, 2006. One for obvious reasons - the other for the biggest choke apart from Parra in finals history.

 

[Bomber]

2003 - several very close losses (I think at one stage we lost five games in a row by a combined 14 points), missed out on the finals by just four points.
2006 - hot start, fell to sh*t

 

[Estoboy]

2000 - People forget that the Wests Tigers skyrocketed to second place for much of their first season. Then we played Melbourne.

2001-2003 - Garbage. The list of "issues" is huge.

2006 - Premiers; came 11th, nuff said

2004, 2005 were great years to be tigers fans. 2004 could perhaps take the crown of being the biggest year wasted as we were THAT close to finally making the 8. But at the same time, 2004 really did see some huge improvements that left a good feeling in the club and ultimately gave us the 2005 crown.

so yeah, i'd say 2000

 

[Walt Flanigan]

1995 was a bad one for Canberra aswell.

Only lost 2 games all year, finished equal 1st and had one hell of a team. Then choked against the 6th place Bulldogs who were the giant killers in that finals series knocking off Brisbane (3rd) Canberra (2nd) and Manly (1st) to win the premiership.

95 sucked ass.

 

[Phillips]

97, 98, 99, 00, 01, 05

 

[KeepingTheFaith]

2004 was one of the worst years for the Warriors.

2002 - Grand Final
2003 - Preliminary Final
2004 - Premiership favourites in a lot of betting markets, 26 rounds later we scrape ahead of Souths on points differential to avoid the spoon. Ali and Anderson both gone halfway trough the year, other players getting cleaned out so we can buy Price and Wiki only to later find out those moves by management were in part to blame for us cheating the cap. 2004 - Easily the worst year and we're still feeling some of the effects now.

 

[ozzie]

1989. Lost only 3 games all year leading up to the finals. Souths form had been building through the eighties making the finals in 80, 84, 86 and 87. Had a team with great players like Coleman, Roberts, Blake, Fenech, Boyle, Andrews, D'Jura... then Piggins refused to fork out money to keep these guys and it all went to sh*t creek from there!!

but you guys are good at that - look at the situation when the Roosters bought Coote - he refused to play with Souths for what they offerred and had sat out for a few weeks. Roosters threw him a lifeline and saved his career. Also have a look at all the players that left to go to Manly because of the money and the blockhead situation they took to not bending to the players demands. That was the start of the end for Souths, something they are still trying to right.

 

[mongoose]

1993 was hard for the Raiders, as was 2003... we were a Jason Bulgarelli dropped ball away from meeting the Panthers in the preliminary final, a team we had the measure of.

i thought we were a long way behind the panthers and roosters in 2003. we should have beaten the warriors though.

 

[ozzie]

Roosters 2003 and 2004 - full of promises and fancy losing a game to Canterbury after leading 13-6 at half time. The obstruction rule put the end on Roosters premiership aspects. Carpet getting run down by a lock also hurt in 2003

 

[Grail]

'98 Eels had it all over the Broncos and started celebrating the premiership 95 minutes too early.
'01 Eels were the best team by a country mile. Someone forgot to tell them that they still had to turn up to win though.
'05 Eels were a better team than the Cowboys but took it for granted. Had the wood on the Tigers, probably started celebrating the premiership 160 minutes too early this time.