Which team would be the worst for your mental health to support?

[Apey]

It's time to have a decisive poll on an important question in our game and in particular this forum - which team would be the worst for your mental health to support? Try to keep petty hatred out of your decision as much as possible (I know, big ask). Here are your nominees:

DRAGONS
Pros: Won a comp 13 years ago, shortest drought on this list
Cons: Has largely been an absolute basket case since then

EELS
Pros: Have had more recent success than the rest on this list, made a GF recently (3 since 2000) and make the finals regularly
Cons: Made 3 GFs since 2000, 37 years since the last win

KNIGHTS
Pros: Never lost a GF. Good crowds?
Cons: Last comp 22 years ago, 3 wooden spoons in a row, rarely make the finals, anything that looks promising turns to shit (Tinkler, Ponga, etc)... okay I'm a little biased and could go on.

RAIDERS
Pros: Made a GF in 2019, usually make finals every 2nd year
Cons: 29 years. The epitome of a Boys Club.

TITANS
Pros: Haven't been around quite long enough to have a con list as impressive as the rest of the candidates
Cons: Consistently average for their entire existence

WARRIORS
Pros: Looking pretty good this year so a bit of a rough inclusion, have made a couple of GFs
Cons: Haven't won a comp, many years of mediocrity

TIGERS
Pros: They'll always have 2005.
Cons: One of the biggest basketcases on this list and nearing 20 years since their one and only glory. Tim Sheens.

All the fans of these clubs will be desperate to win something so get voting.

 

[gerg]

I am Spartacus.

 

[I Bleed Maroon]

......Newcastle lol

No seriously I love and respect the support the Hunter gives the game, but jesus christ. At least the Tigers have won a premiership this century. Those 3 straight spoons would have been the end of my soul.

 

[Marshall_magic]

Tigers: your listed pro is also the clubs marketing and recruitment strategy

 

[footy75]

Dragons and Tigers.

 

[Apey]

Tigers: your listed pro is also the clubs marketing and recruitment strategy

don't forget operational plan

 

[Munky]

......Newcastle lol

No seriously I love and respect the support the Hunter gives the game, but jesus christ. At least the Tigers have won a premiership this century. Those 3 straight spoons would have been the end of my soul.

LMAO at the fact checking.

You never heard of Andrew Johns or Ben Kennedy?

 

[mozza91]

Knights followed by the Raiders.

 

[mxlegend99]

Honestly I would say Eels. Their last premiership was the year I was born. So many times they have had sides that looked capable or went close. Only to miss out and nearly be irrelevant the following year.

I mean in some senses being fairly successful reasonably often might be better. But I feel like actually expecting to be a threat and then being let down would be worse.

Plus they cheated the salary cap to win a spoon. Not sure when they will be a genuine threat again. This year i suppose every team has looked shit at times and any side could go on a run. But i wouldn't put them in my top 5 most likely sides to do so.

 

[alexwilliams_66692007]

The Knights destroyed my mentality long ago.. She's an abusive lover but I just can't seem to let her go

 

[Wb1234]

Parra haven’t won a comp the longest 37 long years

it’s a tough question bc they’ve made a lot of finals whereas a side like the tigers have been a basket case pretty much for 30 years but won a grand final

then clubs like the warriors and titans that have never won it and miss the finals most years

the issue is many nrl clubs are a rabble and a handful of clubs dominate the competition

if I had to pick the worst team it’s the tigers they are a total basket case

 

[some11]

Raiders.

Knowing your coach basically has a job for life regardless of results would do me in. On top of that, knowing there won't be any criticism because mates in the media are busy running cover.

 

[AlwaysGreen]

I'm taking a different tack.

Supporters of these loser teams show great mental health resilience. It's tough now but it can only get better, and when the good times come they'll be celebrated even harder.



Well that's what I've written on the wall of my padded cell anyway.

 

[Babyface O'reilly]

I'm taking a different tack.

Supporters of these loser teams show great mental health resilience. It's tough now but it can only get better, and when the good times come they'll be celebrated even harder.



Well that's what I've written on the wall of my padded cell anyway.

I was gonna say you just described delirium until I saw your last sentence lol

 

[Fangs]

In the shithouse years for Penrith you kind of got used to losing. Almost felt right. It made the wins even more special. But what killed you was comeback losses. And always from an annoying lead of like 8, 14 or 20 points. The kind of games you shouldn't lose.

So which ever of those teams has had the most comeback losses.

 

[Evil_Mush]

Warriors have been specialties at snatching defeat from the jaws of victory over the years.

Even the quick turnaround from last year's constant give-ups to a semblance of hard-nosed resilience this year in the face of key injuries and the everlasting joy that is ref/bunker, it's hard not to wonder when the fall is going to come again.

#thisyearisouryear

 

[GAZF]

Supporters of these loser teams show great mental health resilience. It's tough now but it can only get better, and when the good times come they'll be celebrated even harder.

The damage tends to present in the follicles instead.

 

[yobbo84]

Dragons or Tigers without a doubt. It would do my head in, purely for the sheer wasted potential.

Tigers, with the demographics of the whole Campbelltown/Narellan/Macarthur area at their disposal, should be a powerhouse. Their junior development should rival Penrith's.

Likewise, the Dragons with all the Illawarra. A true RL heartland.

But both clubs are plagued with awful administration that doesn't show any signs of improving.

It's not a coincidence these are both the merged clubs either.

Time for both those clubs to stop hedging bets. Tigers should be full-time out of Campbelltown and the Dragons should be full-time out of Wollongong. Give them their 2 legacy matches per year at Leichhardt/Kogarah but be done with it.

 

[Babyface O'reilly]

I’d imagine there’s still a number of ex Steelers and fans in general down the coast that haven’t fully adopted the club due to the takeover fashion of the merger as well as not committing to the region. They’d feel a more ownership of the team if the club fully embraced the Illawarra.

 

[gerg]

We’re all striving to be the best in this competition and in this case the best of the worst. I think Parra and Raiders fall into a slightly different category here, in that those cruel bastards have given us hope.

There’s been moments where, as a Raiders supporter, I think we’ve turned a corner and we’re no longer shit but then that reality check kicks in. Whether it’s some ridiculous player pact, where they publicly declare they’re not shaving their beards until they lose a game … * lose next 5 games *. A coach and playing group stating they are focusing on ‘peaking for the finals’.

Then there’s those 5 year deals and subsequent knee injuries, the Todd Carneys, Bogan Dugan and Fergo on rooftops. The unsackable Dave Furner - who was then sacked and the new/current unsackable one. But then you have those moments of pure joy, Campo lighting up the comp. 2019 … hey we’re a good side again - only to be ripped apart by Sticky fighting with those two soap dodgers.

Parra have been very similar.

Those other shit teams have been shit for a long time. I feel sorry for the Warriors because the NRL doesn’t seem to care about that market, but at the same time gift everything to the Storm.