adamkungl
Immortal
- Messages
- 42,971
Rugby League is not a game that lends itself to a freak upset.
Any weaknesses are quickly pulled apart by a better, fitter, faster team. (<-- there's a historical quote on League v Union along these lines, it's in someone's sig on here but I can't for the life of me remember who or what. Help anyone??)
It's not a game that can be defended negatively - you can't park the bus, you can't win on field goals, you can't keep the ball out of play for very long, and you can't waste significant time on either side of the ball.
So when an upset happens, it's all the more special. A perfect storm of luck, daring and execution.
What are the greatest of all time? Do we have a Leicester City, a Bradbury, a Uruguay?
Some recent ones that come to mind:
The Eels 2009 almost-premiership.
5 wins after 18 rounds, in the thick of the spoon race. Round 19-25 won 7/7, taking down favourites Storm and Dogs, racking up huge scores against everyone else, Hayne in a run of untouchable form not seen by anyone since. They drop a game against St George in round 26 but scrape into the finals in 8th. Take down 3 big scalps to make the Grand Final.
It's a pity they lost given the winners were then found to be cheats, but it was a glory run nonetheless.
The Newcastle double.
1997, taking down Manly in the dying seconds to win their first.
2001, a Grand Final shellshocking over a Parra team that had run through one of the most dominant seasons in recent memory. Went into half time at 24-0 and won the game.
Warriors 2008 giant-killing
Week 1 in the McIntyre-format finals sees 1st place Melbourne vs 8th placed Warriors in Melbourne. 1v8 had always been a gimme for the team in 1st place. Not so here - Warriors scored a match winner in the dying minutes to win 18-15. One of the great ambushes. Melbourne went on to make the Grand Final, and the 2009 season saw Parramatta repeat and exceed the Warriors 8th place heroics.
Tonga and Fiji knocking off NZ in the 2017 RLWC.
The Tonga story of backflips and defections to pull together an awesome team on the eve of the Cup will go down as International RL legend, but the Fiji one shouldn't be forgotten. The quiet achievers of Rugby League, knocked NZ out of the quarter finals in a gritty, frustrating 4-2 tryless affair (if I'm correct, the first 0 try game in top flight football since a 2-0 Cronulla def Illawarra game in 1991).
Another zero try surprise on the other side of the world
In 2018's Million Pound Game Super League promotion final, Toronto came in as clear favourites over London. A wealthy backer had a team stacked with former NRL and SL talent and promotion was basically a done deal. Not so - London's team of home grown underdogs defied the odds yet again and stole the show with a relentless defensive effort. Final score, 4-2 with no tries.
The NZ tournament double.
2005, flogged Australia in the Tri-nations final to win their first tournament over Aus since 1952, and Australia's first tournament loss since 1978. The start of a new era for international Rugby League.
2008, went even bigger by ambushing the Kangaroos in the 2nd half of the final to win the World Cup.
Of note is that Wayne Bennett was the Roos coach in 05 and the Kiwis assistant coach in 08.
Any weaknesses are quickly pulled apart by a better, fitter, faster team. (<-- there's a historical quote on League v Union along these lines, it's in someone's sig on here but I can't for the life of me remember who or what. Help anyone??)
It's not a game that can be defended negatively - you can't park the bus, you can't win on field goals, you can't keep the ball out of play for very long, and you can't waste significant time on either side of the ball.
So when an upset happens, it's all the more special. A perfect storm of luck, daring and execution.
What are the greatest of all time? Do we have a Leicester City, a Bradbury, a Uruguay?
Some recent ones that come to mind:
The Eels 2009 almost-premiership.
5 wins after 18 rounds, in the thick of the spoon race. Round 19-25 won 7/7, taking down favourites Storm and Dogs, racking up huge scores against everyone else, Hayne in a run of untouchable form not seen by anyone since. They drop a game against St George in round 26 but scrape into the finals in 8th. Take down 3 big scalps to make the Grand Final.
It's a pity they lost given the winners were then found to be cheats, but it was a glory run nonetheless.
The Newcastle double.
1997, taking down Manly in the dying seconds to win their first.
2001, a Grand Final shellshocking over a Parra team that had run through one of the most dominant seasons in recent memory. Went into half time at 24-0 and won the game.
Warriors 2008 giant-killing
Week 1 in the McIntyre-format finals sees 1st place Melbourne vs 8th placed Warriors in Melbourne. 1v8 had always been a gimme for the team in 1st place. Not so here - Warriors scored a match winner in the dying minutes to win 18-15. One of the great ambushes. Melbourne went on to make the Grand Final, and the 2009 season saw Parramatta repeat and exceed the Warriors 8th place heroics.
Tonga and Fiji knocking off NZ in the 2017 RLWC.
The Tonga story of backflips and defections to pull together an awesome team on the eve of the Cup will go down as International RL legend, but the Fiji one shouldn't be forgotten. The quiet achievers of Rugby League, knocked NZ out of the quarter finals in a gritty, frustrating 4-2 tryless affair (if I'm correct, the first 0 try game in top flight football since a 2-0 Cronulla def Illawarra game in 1991).
Another zero try surprise on the other side of the world
In 2018's Million Pound Game Super League promotion final, Toronto came in as clear favourites over London. A wealthy backer had a team stacked with former NRL and SL talent and promotion was basically a done deal. Not so - London's team of home grown underdogs defied the odds yet again and stole the show with a relentless defensive effort. Final score, 4-2 with no tries.
The NZ tournament double.
2005, flogged Australia in the Tri-nations final to win their first tournament over Aus since 1952, and Australia's first tournament loss since 1978. The start of a new era for international Rugby League.
2008, went even bigger by ambushing the Kangaroos in the 2nd half of the final to win the World Cup.
Of note is that Wayne Bennett was the Roos coach in 05 and the Kiwis assistant coach in 08.
