Imagining the NRL over the past two decades if the Grand Final loser won

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FuiFui BradBrad
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Imagining the NRL over the past two decades if the Grand Final loser won

Post by FuiFui BradBrad »

Imagining the NRL over the past two decades if the Grand Final loser won...

Saw this over on Reddit, and I thought it might be worth discussing on here as well.
For the sake of sanity scores will just be switched, assuming team performances are mirrored. Man of the match will be awarded to the real winners opposite number. Any player/coach movement (e.g. Cronk to Roosters, Bennett leaving Broncos etc) will still happen and any GF results prior to 2000 will be as per normal.

2000: Roosters 14 def. Broncos 6

Roosters win their first title in 25 years and Freddy gets his first with the Roosters (and 2nd overall). Broncos miss out on getting 3 in 4 years, with Bennett losing his first as a coach after winning the previous 4. CCM - Luke Philips

2001: Eels 30 def. Knights 24

After a stellar season the Eels deliver when it counts and secure their first premiership since 86 after holding off a spirited Knights comeback. Hindmarsh gets a ring, as does Brett Hodgson and Jamie Lyon. Knights players like Danny Buderus miss out and will not get another chance. CCM - Jason Taylor

2002: Warriors 30 def. Roosters 8

Warriors win their first title sending NZ into raptures. Ivan Cleary and Stacey Jones get a ring. Roosters miss out on going 2 in 3 years. CCM - Awen Guttenbeil

2003: Roosters 18 def. Panthers 6

The Roosters avenge their loss from the previous year and win their 2nd title in 4 years. Panthers miss out after waiting for a chance since 91. Players like Ryan Girdler and Craig Gower miss out. CCM - Michael Crocker

2004: Roosters 16 def. Bulldogs 13

Roosters go back to back, the first team since the 97/98 Broncos to do so. Freddy gets his 3rd ring with the Roosters and retires. Ricky Stuart wins second title as coach. Bulldogs are runners up in their first grand final since 98, players like Willie Mason and SBW miss out. CCM - Peter Cusack

2005: Cowboys 30 def. Tigers 16

Cowboys win their first premiership with Thurston getting a ring 10 years earlier than the real timeline. Matt Bowen also gets one. Tigers miss out on their first chance since 89. Players like Benji Marshall and Robbie Farah do not get another chance. CCM - Jonathan Thurston

2006: Storm 15 def. Broncos 8

A Storm outfit led by a fresh faced Cam Smith, Billy Slater, Cooper Cronk and Greg Inglis win the Storm their 2nd overall title, but it is later stripped following salary cap breaches. Lockyer will not get another chance and will eventually retire with 2 rings instead of 4. CCM - Cameron Smith

2007: Eagles 34 def. Storm 8

Storm are unable to go back to back and Eagles pick up their first title since 96. The Stewart brothers get a ring and Lyon gets another after winning with the Eels. Des Hasler gets his first title as coach. CCM - Jamie Lyon

2008: Storm 40 def. Eagles 0

Storm avenge the previous years loss and thrash the Eagles by 40 points, even without Smith. However as with 2006 the title is later stripped due to cap breaches and the biggest margin in grand final history is stricken from the record. CCM - Jeff Lima

2009: Eels 23 def. Storm 16

Eels win their second title of the decade, Hindmarsh gets his 2nd ring, while Jarryd Hayne and Tim Mannah get one as well. Storm lose their 2nd grand final whilst breaching the cap. CCM - Jarryd Hayne

2010: Roosters 32 def. Dragons 8

Braith Anasta captains his side to premiership glory. Wayne Bennett’s move to coaching the Dragons from the Broncos comes up just short. Todd Carney and BJ Leilua get a ring and a few other big name Roosters like Jake Friend and JWH get one, but will not get another to date. CCM - Anthony Minichello

2011: Warriors 24 def. Eagles 10

Warriors triumph to win their 2nd title, downing the Eagles. Simon Mannering and Sean Johnson get a ring, as does James Maloney, who will not win another. Ivan Cleary wins a title as coach. CCM - Michael Luck

2012: Bulldogs 14 def. Storm 4

Michael Ennis leads the Dogs to a title, their first since 95. Josh Jackson, James Graham, Josh Reynolds and Ben Barba get a ring. Finucane gets his first with the Dogs as well. Storm still looking for a 2nd title. CCM - Kris Keating

2013: Eagles 26 def. Roosters 18

After losing their previous 2 grand finals the Eagles get their first since 07. DCE and Foran get a ring, as does Geoff Toovey as coach. SBW misses out again. Mitchell Pierce wins man of the match despite playing on the losing side. CCM - Mitchell Pierce

2014: Bulldogs 30 def. Rabbitohs 6

Dogs get their 2nd in 3 years even missing Ennis through injury and Souths fail to break their 40+ year drought. David Klemmer gets a ring and Hasler gets his 2nd as Dogs coach. Greg Eastwood goes down in folklore by fracturing his cheekbone in the first hit up and goes on to win man of match. Greg Inglis misses out and will eventually retire with zero rings. CCM - Greg Eastwood

2015: Broncos 17 def. Cowboys 16

Broncos get their first title since 98. Skipper Justin Hodges goes out a winner. Darius Boyd gets a ring after missing out twice before. Anthony Milford also gets a ring, as does Ben Hunt, who slots the game winning field goal in golden point after Thurston fumbles a kickoff. Bennett wins another title as coach after losing the previous 3. CCM - Ben Hunt

2016: Storm 14 def. Sharks 12

Storm at long last get their 2nd (legitimate) title in a tense match. Smith and Cronk get their first ring (again), but Slater still misses out through injury. After 50 years of waiting the porch light stays on for the Sharks. Players like Paul Gallen miss out and Luke Lewis and Chris Heighington miss out on their second chance and will not get another. CCM - Kevin Proctor

2017: Cowboys 34 def. Storm 6

After barely scraping into the finals the Cowboys shock the nigh unstoppable Storm from going back to back in one of the all time upsets. Thurston is unable to chase away the demons of 2015 due to injury but Michael Morgan, Gavin Cooper and Jason Taumalolo still get their ring. CCM - Lachlan Coote

2018: Storm 21 def. Roosters 6

Storm get their 2nd in 3 years, even after Cronk defects to the Roosters. Slater finally gets a (legitimate) ring and retires, while Finucane gets his 4th. CCM - Cameron Munster

2019: Raiders 14 def. Roosters 8

Led by Jarrod Croker and coached by Ricky Stuart, the Raiders break their drought and win their first title since 94. Roosters come up short for the second year running and Cronk retires with 1 ring and having lost 3 grand finals in a row. Keary wins man of the match in a losing side. CCM - Luke Keary

2020: Panthers 26 def. Storm 20

The Panthers put 22 unanswered points on and hold off a Storm comeback to win their first title since 91. James Tamou and Apisai Korosau get rings after missing out in 15 and 14 respectively. Ivan Cleary gets his 2nd ring as a coach and takes the his son to Maccas on the way home. CCM - Dylan Edwards

Summary:
  • Roosters still have 4, with the Freddy years (3 from 4) being more successful than more recent team Friend (1 from 4)
  • Eels, Warriors and Bulldogs end up with 2 titles each instead of 1 between them.
  • Manly still have 2 wins and 2 losses
  • Cowboys have 2 instead of 1
  • Storm have 2 instead of 3. 2 other wins are still stripped, this time at the expense of the Broncos and Manly (again).
  • Raiders have 1 instead of zero
  • Panthers break even with 1 win and 1 loss
  • Broncos get 1 win and 2 losses, instead of the opposite
  • Tigers, Bunnies, Dragons, Knights and Sharks miss out on their only chances
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Re: Imagining the NRL Over the Past two Decades if the Grand Final Loser Won

Post by BJ »

Roosters lose 2019 grand final despite being awarded controversial 12 again call by the referee.
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Re: Imagining the NRL over the past two decades if the Grand Final loser won

Post by The Nickman »

That was cool.
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Re: Imagining the NRL over the past two decades if the Grand Final loser won

Post by Sid »

The amount of times we would have seen a replay of Luke Ricketson chasing down a runaway Luke Lewis in the '03 grand final

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Re: Imagining the NRL over the past two decades if the Grand Final loser won

Post by Botman »

I like this world better
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