The Rugby League Gods are nothing if not inscrutable. LB should know, we tried to scrute them last year and then after they picked a winner, they decided six months later that there wasn't really a winner after all, and neither was there in 2007. The AFL Gods also appear to be fans of the "Nobody Wins" school of thought.
To many, if not all fans of rugby league, this year's grand final is further proof that the League Gods wish only death and destruction upon their worshippers. Here at League Blog we take a more enlightened approach.
Subsequent movement in mysterious ways notwithstanding, the final outcome of this year's decider offers many rich and compelling storylines for lovers of league:
- another loss for Brian Smith
- another choke for the Dragons
- a first grand final loss for Wayne Bennett
- Todd Carney's rags to riches redemption revivalist saga bitterly crushed
- a loss to the Roosters
- a loss to the Dragons
LB could go on and on, and we invite our readers to do so, but the point is clear: regardless of who wins, at least some of the joyous things above will come to pass, oh verily yea.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Immortals
Whatever happens in the final two weeks of the season, the Roosters of 2010 will go down as one of the finest sides to have ever played rugby league.
Sunny days are here again
In Brian Smith's crowning achievement, he has guided the side to a stunning victory over the Panthers in the elimination final played at the SFS on Saturday night. In a game few thought the Roosters would win, they absorbed some early hits but finished all over the top of the Mountain Men. Smith must surely rank this as his best coaching performance ever.
As good as it gets
Think about it for a moment. This is virtually the same Roosters side that finished dead last last year. And now they stand on the cusp of immortality - grand final victory. When was the last time a wooden spooner made it past the third week of September? Unlike the lightning in a bottle success of the Raiders this year and the Eels last year, Smith's Roosters are built to last, with key players and positions occupied by young but increasingly brilliant players.
Remarkable turnaround
But back to the game.
The Roosters were simply unstoppable. Pearce, Carney, Anasta. Myles, Warea-Hargreaves, Ryles. Too strong, too quick, too clever. And we haven't even mentioned Anthony Minichiello, back in the form that earned him a Golden Boot as the game's greatest player almost a decade ago. Speaking of vintage performances, Anasta has of late been playing like the up and comer many thought would be a future Australian captain. Is it too late in his career for this accomplishment? Surely not, if the Roosters continue their mesmerising ways, as most expect they will do.
The Roosters now play the Titans in the grand final qualifier, and surely they must be approaching the game with both eyes on who they will meet in the grand final. The Roosters will fancy their chances against the Tigers or the Dragons, but are more likely to blow out the Tigers than the Dragons in the big game.
Watching from above
As we stop and reflect on this peformance - indeed these performances - we should count ourselves lucky to be witnessing rugby league of this quality. It is not every year that a competition has a team stand out so far ahead of the pack - that a team presents so few weaknesses, and displays so many weapons.
And thus the play of the Roosters in 2010 is a gift - not just to their thousands upon thousands of fans, who turned out in droves tonight and last week in rugby league's spiritual heartland, but to all fans of good footy - be they in Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney or Swasiland.
File footage
A grand final victory to the Roosters, as seems perhaps inevitable now, will carry with it a groundswell of community support that few teams in any code have mustered, ever.
I take my hat off to Brian Smith and the boys - congratulations on a mission almost accomplished.
Sunny days are here againIn Brian Smith's crowning achievement, he has guided the side to a stunning victory over the Panthers in the elimination final played at the SFS on Saturday night. In a game few thought the Roosters would win, they absorbed some early hits but finished all over the top of the Mountain Men. Smith must surely rank this as his best coaching performance ever.
As good as it getsThink about it for a moment. This is virtually the same Roosters side that finished dead last last year. And now they stand on the cusp of immortality - grand final victory. When was the last time a wooden spooner made it past the third week of September? Unlike the lightning in a bottle success of the Raiders this year and the Eels last year, Smith's Roosters are built to last, with key players and positions occupied by young but increasingly brilliant players.
Remarkable turnaroundBut back to the game.
The Roosters were simply unstoppable. Pearce, Carney, Anasta. Myles, Warea-Hargreaves, Ryles. Too strong, too quick, too clever. And we haven't even mentioned Anthony Minichiello, back in the form that earned him a Golden Boot as the game's greatest player almost a decade ago. Speaking of vintage performances, Anasta has of late been playing like the up and comer many thought would be a future Australian captain. Is it too late in his career for this accomplishment? Surely not, if the Roosters continue their mesmerising ways, as most expect they will do.
The Roosters now play the Titans in the grand final qualifier, and surely they must be approaching the game with both eyes on who they will meet in the grand final. The Roosters will fancy their chances against the Tigers or the Dragons, but are more likely to blow out the Tigers than the Dragons in the big game.
Watching from aboveAs we stop and reflect on this peformance - indeed these performances - we should count ourselves lucky to be witnessing rugby league of this quality. It is not every year that a competition has a team stand out so far ahead of the pack - that a team presents so few weaknesses, and displays so many weapons.
And thus the play of the Roosters in 2010 is a gift - not just to their thousands upon thousands of fans, who turned out in droves tonight and last week in rugby league's spiritual heartland, but to all fans of good footy - be they in Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney or Swasiland.
File footageA grand final victory to the Roosters, as seems perhaps inevitable now, will carry with it a groundswell of community support that few teams in any code have mustered, ever.
I take my hat off to Brian Smith and the boys - congratulations on a mission almost accomplished.
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