Round of the Decade Shakes up NRL
August 28th 2009 03:11
Round of the Decade shakes up NRL
Round 24 of the 2009 NRL season was promoted as the “Round of the Decade” and it certainly lived up to all the hype. In many ways it even surpassed it.
Starting with the blockbusters of Friday night, the game of rugby league showcased that despite all the off-field dramas and the issues with referee’s and their interpretations, the game will always excel based upon its product alone. It truly is the greatest game of all, and as the weeks towards the finals only narrow, that statement’s validity will only be strengthened further.
The recent appeal and interest surrounding the 2009 NRL Premiership at the moment must be attributed to the Top 8 finals system currently in place. Despite its many detractors, the Top 8 has injected life and drama into the current makeup of the premiership. With the top three positions on the ladder secured, eight teams are left to fight for five spots in the finals with only two rounds to go.
Friday night saw two of those teams, the Parramatta Eels and the Wests Tigers, trying to secure a place in one of those remaining five spots. The most intriguing aspect of it all is the severity of the Tigers loss. Coming into the game on the back of a six game winning streak, Wests Tigers sat at fifth position on the NRL Premiership ladder. After a hard fought loss against Parramatta, the Tigers have slipped to tenth, and now sit outside the Top 8.
Variances of that degree are usually reserved for the opening rounds of the season, not two weeks out from the finals.
Likewise, if Melbourne were to lose their next two games they could drop out of the top 8 altogether. The reality that a team sitting in fourth place two rounds out from the finals ultimately missing the finals altogether would surely be unprecedented. However, with the Storm meeting the Sharks this weekend, their place in the top 4 seems all but secured.
However, it was the match between the Brisbane Broncos and the St. George Illawarra Dragons that epitomised the unpredictability of the 2009 NRL season. Despite a win against the hapless Sharks the week before, the Broncos were considered to be almost doomed after a string of embarrassing losses. In contrast the Dragons had only lost six games all season and were sitting at the top of the table. What resulted was a disciplined display by the Broncos which saw them keep the Dragons try-less throughout the game. Now the Dragons, who had dominated the competition for the majority of the season, face the prospect of losing the minor premiership to the Bulldogs, while the Broncos have reasserted their push towards the finals.
Whatever the ultimate makeup of the Top 8 however, the interest and intrigue of the Glory Bound rounds, in particular the “Round of the Decade” can be attributed to its success. It seems at this stage each team still competing for the premiership must win every one of their last remaining games, as even a single loss may prove to be devastating.
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