2013 NRL grand final

 

Roosters' players celebrate victory in the 2013 NRL Grand Final match between the Sydney Roosters and the Manly Sea Eagles at ANZ Stadium in Sydney, Sunday, Oct. 6, 2013. (AAP Image/Paul Miller) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY

Well, what a match. The Sydney Roosters are the premiers for the first time in eleven years after winning what could be described as one of the most brutal, physical and most intriguing grand finals in recent memory.
They were the most dominant team all year and they won the match that mattered the most, capping off a rollercoaster twelve months for the Bondi-based club which last year finished the season fourth from the foot of the ladder and having had the second-worst defence in the competition.
The Roosters retaliated to last year’s disaster by releasing both coach and captain, Brian Smith and Braith Anasta, the latter of whom was shipped off to the Wests Tigers after seven tumultuous years at Bondi Junction.
Trent Robinson, who was an assistant coach under Smith when the Roosters last ventured into the grand final just three years ago, was brought home and faced with the biggest task of turning the team’s on-field fortunes around.
And it only took him 12 months to do it, and he did it impressively, in the process becoming the first rookie coach to win the premiership since Ricky Stuart led the Roosters to their most recent premiership way back in 2002.
And it’s not just the coach that is the basis of the Chooks’ premiership victory.
It’s the players as well.
In fact, you’d have to go all the way back to July 2008 to find the first brick laid towards what has been achieved.
On that last Saturday of that wintry month five years ago, Sonny Bill Williams walked out on a five-year contract with the Bulldogs without anyone knowing.
Prior to what could only be called as one of the biggest acts of treachery in NRL history, he made a handshake agreement with Roosters chairman Nick Politis, stating that once he returned from his exile, he would play for the tri-colours in 2013.
His first (and presumably only) season with the Roosters saw him return to the form that once made him a superstar at the Bulldogs. However, this time around, he was a much bigger, better and stronger player than he was when he left the game in disgrace five years ago.
Now that he has won a second premiership, which was always going to be his aim when his ban from the NRL expired at the end of last year, the big question will be: will he stay at the Roosters, or return to rugby union in a bid to help the All Blacks defend their World Cup title?
The answer will most likely be the second option. Although the next Rugby World Cup isn’t until 2015, the rules stipulate that Williams must play a full season of rugby union if he is to be eligible for selection in the Kiwis’ squad.
However, had the Roosters lost, then he probably would have strongly thought about signing on for another year.
It will be sad to see him leave, partly due to the return to the form that made him one of the most feared players in rugby league, and also the influence he has had on the younger Roosters players, most of whom have commended Williams for changing the culture of the club.
Let’s have a look at the other players the Roosters bought in from other clubs in their ultimately successful pursuit of an unlucky thirteenth premiership.
James Maloney was brought home after spending a few seasons at the New Zealand Warriors, who with Maloney in their playing ranks were unsuccessful in their grand final bid against Manly in 2011.
He could so easily have played for the Rabbitohs this season but his desire to play with more ‘freedom’ was what eventually led to him signing on with the Roosters in 2013.
In tandem with Mitchell Pearce, they have directed the Roosters’ attack wonderfully all season, although the pair did flop at State of Origin level, with much of the blame being placed on Pearce for an eighth consecutive series defeat.
Speaking of Pearce, he was finally able to achieve what his father Wayne couldn’t and that was to win rugby league’s ultimate prize.
If there was ever a turning point in the Roosters’ charge towards the title, it was his ability to reform following NSW’s failed Origin campaign.
Another question that needs to be asked is whether Pearce should ever be selected for New South Wales next series, with calls for Souths halfback Adam Reynolds to be given the nod for Game 1 next year.
However, it’s Pearce who’s had the last laugh, while Reynolds failed yet again in the Rabbitohs’ bid to end a 42-year (and counting) premiership drought this year.
And then there’s Michael Jennings, probably the highest profile victim of the Phil Gould revolution at the Penrith Panthers.
The Penrith junior was on the outer at the foot of the mountains last year after a few disciplinary issues arose, culminating in him being dropped to reserve grade midway through the season only to find himself in a NSW jumper later on.
The try which he scored with less than ten minutes left in the match to win the Roosters the premiership will go down as one of the most miraculous tries in recent grand final history.
It vindicates the Roosters’ decision to chase one of the premier centres in the competition and there is no doubt he will continue to improve next year as the Roosters look to add premiership number 14 to their cabinet.
Amidst the improved form of the Roosters’ imports this season, there are also two honourable mentions that should be made: Luke O’Donnell, who was part of the North Queensland side which lost to the Wests Tigers in 2005, and Daniel Mortimer, who masterminded Parramatta’s run from 13th mid-season to the decider only four years ago.
In particular, I want to focus on Mortimer, who came to the Roosters last year after seemingly being on the outer at Parramatta in the seasons following their miracle run to the grand final in 2009.
The son of Bulldogs legend Peter Mortimer, he led the Newtown Jets to the 2012 NSW Cup premiership, and thought about signing with the Gold Coast Titans, only for incoming coach Trent Robinson to convince him to stay in Bondi.
This decision paid off, as he, like James Maloney and Luke O’Donnell, buried the demons of a past grand final failure to feature in the Roosters’ champion team this year.
The Roosters’ premiership is their 13th overall but only their second since they won in 1975.
They do, however, join the company of teams that have completed the minor premiership/premiership double; only three other teams (the Broncos in 1998 and 2000, the Panthers in 2003 and the Dragons in 2010) have managed to do so in the NRL era.
Anthony Minichiello, whose career was stalled by a series of career-threatening injuries between 2006 and 2009, becomes a dual Roosters premiership player after having previously won in 2002, and as such avoided becoming the first man to ever lose five grand finals.
He is also the first fullback since 1934 to captain a premiership winning side.
Let’s now swing our focus to the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, who lost no friends or respect even in the face of their narrow defeat.
Fans will, however, be asking where did it all go wrong after they had led 18-8 with half an hour of the game remaining?
As soon as Steve Matai scored ten minutes into the second half, it appeared the Sea Eagles’ experience in recent grand final success (think 2008 and 2011) and their current streak of nine consecutive finals series would come to the fore.
But it was not to be and in the space of half an hour they lost their grip on what would have been their ninth premiership.
But to their credit they remained in the game for as much as they could and never at any stage of the game did they look like losing, with the exception of the final ten minutes.
So impressive was their performance that Daly Cherry-Evans, a premiership winner with the Sea Eagles in his rookie season just two years ago, joined Bradley Clyde and Brad Mackay in winning the Clive Churchill Medal from the losing side.
Their bruising finals campaign, in which it lost a physical qualifying final to the Roosters by only 4-0 and also stunned the seemingly unbackable Rabbitohs in the penultimate weekend took its toll.
But there is no doubt that they will be back in 2014, as they attempt to continue their premiership window wide open. But any chance of redemption next year might be made slightly difficult with inspirational forward Brent Kite set to join Penrith next year.
And for Geoff Toovey, the motivation is there for his side to succeed in 2014.
Des Hasler’s first grand final as coach was an unsuccessful one (in 2007 against a Melbourne side which had cheated the salary cap), but he was able to lead his Sea Eagles to victories in 2008 and 2011, before losing in his first season at the Bulldogs last year.
Toovey is a Manly man through and through and it would be nice to see him coach his beloved Sea Eagles to the premiership, having captained the same club to the ultimate glory in 1996.
But for now, from Bondi Junction to Bondi Beach, let the celebrations begin for the Roosters, whose dominant season this year included six shut-outs, domination of the Dally M team of the year and, the ultimate prize, the premiership.
And so that concludes what has been another great NRL season, one that was once again unfortunately overshadowed by the underperformances of the referees.