Winning a premiership in the NRL is no mean feat, but winning
two in a row is a seemingly insurmountable task. Why is
a dynasty so hard to achieve in the modern game? By WILL EVANS
Staying
summit
PHOTOS:
NRLPhotos.com: Grant Trouville (Friend), Archive (Broncos);
Quinn Rooney/Getty Images (Hawthorn)
I
T began as an anomaly, became a fixation
and has developed into a full-blown hoodoo
– and it looms as the Roosters’ biggest mental
hurdle as they set a course for another grand
final assault.
No club has won back-to-back premierships
for more than a quarter of a century, with
a successful title defence morphing into
a seemingly unattainable symbol of dominance
in the NRL era of salary cap-driven parity.
The last 16 NRL grand finals were won
by 11 different clubs, while only Melbourne
(who had two titles stripped) prevailed more
than twice during that time.
In contrast, the first 40 competitions after
the introduction of mandatory grand finals
in 1954 were shared among just 10 clubs, and
there were also 20 successful title defences.
St George’s record
run of 11-straight
triumphs from
195 6 - 6 6 u n d e r p i n s
that tally, but Souths
(195 4 -55 , 19 67- 6 8
and 1970-71), Manly
(1972-73), Easts
(1974-75), Parramatta
(1981-83), Canterbury
(1984-85), Canberra
(198 9 - 9 0 ) a n d
Brisbane (1992-93) all
went back-to-back.THE PRICE OF SUCCESS
The influence of the salary cap – specifically
the roster turnover and even spread of talent
it facilitates – is the most obvious reason
behind the so-called curse. But the AFL,
which operates under similar constraints,
has witnessed five successful premiership
defencessince1993.Brisbane(2001-03)and Hawthorn (2013-15) produced
three-peats, something Super Rugby
heavyweights the Crusaders (twice), EPL
giants Manchester United (twice), and NBA
outfits the Chicago Bulls and LA Lakers
have all achieved in the past 25 years.
But injuries, maintaining the requisite
motivation after scaling the game’s peak,
and rivals’ desire to knock the premiers
off their pedestal have all played significant
roles in stymieing NRL title defences.
Runaway champs in 1992, Brisbane
came back to the chasing pack the following
season, but ultimately found a new challenge
to spur them on. A final-round loss to St George
saw the Broncos drop from second to fifth
– a position no team had won a premiership
from. They walked a sudden-death tightrope
to the grand final,
where they subdued
the Saints 14-6.
“(Coach) Wayne
(Bennett) got us up
for the grand final,
it was a defensive
game and we did
it the hard way.
But there was
self-belief that we
could do it because
of the quality in
the team,” Kerrod
Walters, the Broncos’
1992-93 premiership hooker, tells Big League.
“You train all year to win a premiership,
that’s what the group’s striving for. It was
a bit easier for us because we had such
depth and quality, so much strike-power
across the paddock. But while we were
known as an attacking team, our defence
won us a lot of games.at the
UNBEATABLE LEGACY:
The 1993 Brisbane Broncos.20 BIG LEAGUE 2019 Round 19