Looking Back on the Year in League

It was a tale of two stories for rugby league in 2009. On the field it was a fantastic year with spectacular rugby league being played. Off the field it was a disaster with scandal after incident after controversy.

It began even before a match was played when Brett Stewart was pulled up following the season launch. The champion fullback’s indiscretion caused the commercials the league had filmed to be altered as Stewart was the star of them.

As the year progressed there was no respite, in fact it got far worse. A 10 year old incident with Matthew Johns was brought to the surface meaning that Johns had to resign all of his positions. Nate Myles defecated in a hotel corridor and Greg Inglis had to face charges of assaulting his girlfriend.

If these three weren’t enough, countless players were fined for drink driving and getting into various types of trouble.

As bad as that, it was breathless on the field.

Once again the State of Origin was incredible. Queensland have won four series in a row but New South Wales bounced back when they won the last match in a very fiery display.

In the domestic competition, Wayne Bennett’s arrival at Kogarah took the Dragons to the top of the ladder. They won the minor premiership for the first time in 24 years. They were playing aggressive, passionate football and were looking good for the title. Elsewhere, the Bulldogs had a remarkable season. They bounced back from a poor 2008 to finish second on the ladder. Gold Coast Titans also did well to finish third. The Melbourne Storm weren’t as dominant as they were in recent years but still finished fourth. Then followed the Sea Eagles, Broncos, Knights and Eels.

The finals series began with a bang when the defending champion Sea Eagles were eliminated following the Dragons’ defeat to the hands of the 8th placed Eels. Not only did this give the Storm the week off but gave them a home preliminary final.

In Week 2, both the Titans and Dragons would go out without winning a final. The Eels and Broncos both advanced to the final four. With the Eels having to play the Bulldogs for a place in the Grand Final, a wave of nostalgia followed. Everyone was excited for the game by previous Eels-Bulldogs encounters and it resulted in the biggest ever crowd a non Grand Final. The Eels continued the dream while the Storm were simply too strong for the Broncos.

The experienced Storm had too much for the Eels in the Grand Final and made it two from four Grand Finals. The Eels will be better for the experience and are a favourite in NRL betting for 2010.

David Wiseman writes for this blog. He is looking forward to the next Melbourne Cup.

Storm to Face Eels in Premiership Decider

Once again the season has flashed by and we are at another NRL Grand Final. The fourth placed Melbourne Storm and in their fourth straight Grand Final while eighth placed Parramatta are in their first Grand Final for eight years.

The Eels have done it the hard way defeating the first, second and third placed sides on the way to the Grand Final. As for the Storm, they only had to defeat the fifth and sixth best teams. They also had the benefit of having a week off. Can they win to have their second title in four years?

The Eels are looking for their first title in 23 years. They last won in 1986 which signalled the end of their purple patch. They won three straight titles in 1981-83, lost in 1984 and then won in 1986. The team in those days consisted of the household names of Sterling, Kenny, Price, Grothe, Cronin and Ella. They were a star-studded side and the fans are happy to see that the side is back in the big time.
Of course they were the red-hot favourites in 2001 against the Newcastle Knights and were absolutely hammered. Nathan Hindmarsh, Nathan Cayless and Luke Burt are the only survivors from that side but it isn’t sure that Cayless will take his place due to a hamstring injury.

The bookmakers aren’t sure what to make of the game. The Storm are the favourite as far as NRL betting goes but the Eels are riding a huge crest and who knows how far it will take them? They have been written off in each of their three previous finals and dominated all three.

For the Eels, superstar and Dally M Player of the year, Jarryd Hayne is going to be the key. He is an excitement machine and is capable of doing anything. Of course the Storm boast several of those players. Billy Slater and Greg Inglis will keep the Eels hands filled and that may open things up for the others such as Cooper Cronk, Steve Turner and Brett Finch.

Ultimately the Storm’ s superior experience at this level and easier lead-up should see them take the title. They still have unfinished business from last year while with the Eels, there is a sense that coming this far is already a huge achievement. They may already have played their Grand Final.

After the conclusion of the NRL season, David Wiseman is looking forward to planning his Melbourne Cup betting.