I had a feeling after they uploaded all the Origin games they'd turn their attention to the Grand Finals. Hopefully it won't be long before we see entire seasons picked up.
I decided to check out a Grand Final I hadn't seen in 14 odd years, the 2005 Grand Final. I have such fond memories of that season and I have the impression that it's generally considered one of the best seasons of the modern era. Partially because every fanbase, even the Knights, had something to be happy about moving forward and it seemed like the salary cap was giving the fans what they wanted - an unpredictable competition where anyone could win it.
The Cowboys were valiant but just made too many errors on the night. The Bowman to Bowen gaffe was the most memorable but just about everytime they made their way inside Wests' territory they'd make an unforced error early. Down by 12 mid-way through the second half it looked like the game was going to get away from them only for JT to work a nice play with Norton. There was a small window of opportunity to level the scores and make a game of it, but Firman came up with two awful end of sets and the Tigers were barely fazed. The forwards worked their backsides off and Bowen/JT tried hard but they just didn't have enough support. Under all the pressure JT wilted and spent more time giving Cecchin a gobful than playing the game.
Wests were a more realised side. Everybody in that team knew their role and while they didn't have the quality of other premiership winning sides, they knew which players to prop up. I loved how Sheensy used Benji. Marshall wasn't just a five-eighth, he'd actually find himself on the wing for kick returns which helped energize the Tigers start of sets. It paid off beautifully with that Pat Richards try. That was a beautiful example of turning defence into attack and credit to Sheens understanding how vital it was to get Benji involved in those early plays.
Prince handled the kicking game brilliantly. Gave his chasers plenty of opportunities to compete for the ball to put the Cowboys under pressure early. And when the game was there to be won, kept pinning the Cowboys down inside their own half. I thought he struggled with his general play, but he did set up the match-winner getting around Firman to set up the 2-1 down the right.
Where I think they really had it made was around the ruck. It wasn't as pronounced, but that 1-2 combination of Farah and Halatau kept the Cowboys on the back-foot and was vital in their win against the Dragons a week earlier. Their work around the ruck and ability to keep the ball alive played to the strengths of the better players and made them such a tough team to handle.
