The greatest regret in modern rugby league history? There have been a few.
Balmain supporters will tell you it was the 1989 grand final loss to Canberra. Certainly, Wayne Pearce deserved to finish his career with a title.
Parramatta fans will say something similar of Nathan Hindmarsh.
For mine, it’s that we never witnessed the wonderful Canberra and Broncos of the 1990s square off in a decider.
Imagine it: the likes of Laurie Daley, Mal Meninga, Ricky Stuart, and Bradley Clyde rocking and rolling against Allan Langer, Steve Renouf, and Julian O’Neill. Or Raiders’ hooker Steve Walters up against his brothers, Kevin and Kerrod. Or Broncos prop Glenn Lazarus trying to do a number on his former club.
These were teams who played football. They attacked from scrums on their 20-metre line. They kicked early in the tackle count. They weren’t being told what to do from the sideline or the trainers.
They were stacked with international and Origin players and weren’t afraid to take the various Ferraris out of the garage for a spin, especially on dry tracks on a sunny afternoon. I could have watched them play all weekend.
For whatever reason, they never met each other in the Big Dance, either falling to other teams or each other during the finals.
In 1990, the Raiders beat the Broncos in the prelim — then won the comp. In 1993, the Broncos flipped the result in the semi — then won the comp.
The breakaway Super League competition in 1997 seemed like the perfect time for these giants of the game to rip each other a new one on the biggest stage … right up until the Sharks beat Canberra 10-4 in the preliminary before losing to the Broncos in the decider.
Canberra and Brisbane have undergone many revolutions since those days, but their rivalry still bubbles away. It will be no different when they meet at GIO Stadium on Saturday night.
There’s much to like already about Michael Maguire’s transformation in Brisbane. His side’s demolition of the Roosters was impressive.
And the Raiders, led by the relentless Ricky Stuart, showed in Las Vegas against the Warriors they have plenty of points in them.
Maybe not as many as the Green Machine in the 1990s when he was pulling the strings as a cranky halfback, but there’s something there for the always passionate coach to work with.
And another thing …
What would you do if someone offered you $13 million to play footy for a decade?
I’d crash tackle them, hold them down with one hand and sign the contract with the other.
Parramatta five-eighth Dylan Brown does not deserve any criticism whatsoever for signing his mega-deal with the Newcastle Knights. It is a life-changing decision.
Will it be a premiership-winning decision for Newcastle?
The attacking triumvirate of Brown, Kalyn Ponga and Fletcher Sharpe should have Knights fans salivating over their Henny Penny, but they’re not going to be together for a decade.
My concern is what happens in the final years of the deal. Let’s hope he’s playing with the same enthusiasm as Daly Cherry-Evans has been at Manly these last few seasons.
