Best Grand Finals that never were..

[moffla]

07 and 08 GFs were massive blow outs. A third instalment would have been just as putrid, and it would have been recognised as the first legal version, but still wouldn't have felt right with Storm in the GF the year after they were caught cheating.

Glad we won in 2012 then knowing it probably still burns you inside

 

[JamesRustle]

Glad we won in 2012 then knowing it probably still burns you inside

Not really mate. I've spent more time at Storm home games and in their change room in the past 10 years than I have my own team. The players are good blokes, most of the Storm supporters are entertaining (a few absolute spanners, especially some red-headed seat sniffer at the game in 2014 - btw what colour is your mane?), but the 2006-2010 regime was a disgrace and I enjoy raking the coals from time to time, mainly to stir my mates from teams that feel aggrieved by losing PF and GF to the cheats... and if it rankles the Storm supporters then that's good too.

The way it played out, I'm forever grateful Storm couldn't play in 2010 and we didn't lose a GF to them in the cheating years.... that would burn.

 

[Rhino_NQ]

Adelaide v western reds

 

[Someone2]

Eels vs dragons 05 would of been epic

instead we got the Bradbury GF which just felt like a very average club game and goes down as one of the worst Gf’s ever

 

[roboshark]

Sharks vs Storm 1999

I still cry when I think of that year and that prelim loss

We were the best team all year by a mile

 

[Munky]

Sharks vs Storm 1999

I still cry when I think of that year and that prelim loss

We were the best team all year by a mile

Could be worse, Eels in 2001 and Penrith 2020 were the best regular season teams by a fair way and both had lost a grand final by half time.

I barely engaged with LU in the 2020 off season since I was so bummed out and thought the stars had aligned in 2020 and we blew our opportunity.

 

[Penrose Warrior]

Any answer with someone other the cheating purple f**ks from 2006-09 is correct.

 

[Chippy73]

I was fairly young at the time but it seems mental in retrospect that Saint George and the Bulldogs made every grand final from 1992 to 1996 while there was never a Manly/Canberra/Brisbane combination? Those Saint George teams in particular look pretty underwhelming on paper.

Those St George 92/93 sides were incredibly disciplined and well drilled...truly a case where the sum of the parts was more then the parts (or whatever TF that saying is)

 

[Jason Maher]

Brisbane vs Canberra early 90s would have been something to behold. Two teams equally cheating the salary cap and getting away with it, with so much firepower on both sides.

 

[kdalymc]

superbowl idea with the 2 1997 champs would have been sick. broncos by 40+ tho

 

[wittyfan]

Storm v Manly 2011

Warriors deserved their spot, don’t get me wrong - but the 3rd instalment of that rivalry would have been something else

Ha! I was a strong supporter of the MacIntyre system until 2011. Manly coasted through that grand final to win.

 

[Wizardman]

Brisbane v Canberra is the early 90s stuck out like dogs ball....93-94 in particular.

 

[Wizardman]

Eels vs dragons 05 would of been epic

instead we got the Bradbury GF which just felt like a very average club game and goes down as one of the worst Gf’s ever

THAT is why you hate the Tigers so much!!!!!!! Hahahaha!!!! It is all so clear now

The Eels choked so f**king hard against the Cows. Any team that chokes like they did that day doesn't deserve to be there.

As for the saints game.....to this day, that game was the greatest defensive performance I have seen from a Tigers team to this day.....one of the the greatest performances as well. We deserved a spot that year on that performance.....and we did finish in the top four that year.

 

[Penrose Warrior]

Ha! I was a strong supporter of the MacIntyre system until 2011. Manly coasted through that grand final to win.

Whilst the Warriors losing so heavily in round one was a joke, every team that didn't make the GF lost. The Tigers and Storm lost to a side that lost by 40 points in round one of the finals.

 

[mozza91]

Wests vs Adelaide Rams 1998.

 

[Reflector]

Cronulla v Wests, 1978 (f**king Greg Hartley)

Easts playing in any decider during Parra's 3-peat

Parra v Balmain, 1986

Souths playing in any decider between 1986-89

Norths v Canberra, 1991 (f**king Daryl Halligan and the one game his kicking game went to shit)

Steelers v Broncos, 1992

Broncos v Raiders, 1993

Raiders v Manly, 1995

Norths v Manly, 1996

Parra v Broncos, 1998 (Bulldogs played their GF a week early)

Parra v Cronulla, 1999

Knights v Broncos, 2000 (Roosters played their GF a week early)

Panthers v Cowboys, 2004 (I remember the commentators calling the Roosters v Dogs "the GF everyone wanted to see" which was bullshit. It was a decider between the two most despised teams in the comp at that point. Penrith v Cowboys would've been the biggest feel-good GF for years)

Dragons v Eels, 2005

Dragons v Storm, 2009

Manly v Storm, 2011 (would've been an amazing grudge-match, hot off the heels of the Battle of Brookvale)

Storm v Roosters, 2017 (Cowboys played their GF a week early. Worst GF I can recall seeing in years)

Roosters v Souths, 2019

 

[Reflector]

Brisbane vs Newcastle 1997.

We all know Broncos management would've demanded the GF be played at QE2 and then (when the request was denied) claim it was yet another example of the world being against the poor old Broncos...

 

[Reflector]

Any answer with someone other the cheating purple f**ks from 2006-09 is correct.

Dragons v Broncos, 2006
Parra v Manly, 2007
Cronulla v Manly, 2008
Parra v Broncos, 2009

 

[Fangs]

Eels vs dragons 05 would of been epic

instead we got the Bradbury GF which just felt like a very average club game and goes down as one of the worst Gf’s ever

That Eels prelim in 2005 was one of the biggest chokes I've witnessed live. They were absolutely diabolical that day. If my ticket wasn't free I would have asked for a refund.

 

[Munky]

Dragons v Broncos, 2006
Parra v Manly, 2007
Cronulla v Manly, 2008
Parra v Broncos, 2009

Given how Cronulla went in the 2008 prelim and Manly in the GF, it could have been a memorable game for the wrong reasons.