Top Ten NRL Highlights of 2015

With the end of 2015 approaching it seems like fun to look back on the year that was.

Below are ten NRL highlights for the 2015 season. Rather than just focus on ten brilliant games I mixed it up a bit, although some games were impossible to leave off.

Anything NRL related, i.e. Origin, NSW and QLD Cup, Holden Cup, were considered. I was not in a position to watch regular Super League games every week so those were not considered.

Let us know, in the comments section, what your NRL highlight in 2015 was.

10. The Bulldogs return to Belmore

I’m not a Bulldog fan, yet I enjoyed the return to Belmore in a big way. I admit I am a sucker for nostalgia but the site of a jam packed Belmore sports ground for a big Monday night fixture was great to see. The game vs the Storm was hardly the game of the season but the atmosphere, colour and occasion made it special. The game vs the Sharks was also a special occasion but the initial return to their spiritual home ground was the highlight for me. I spoke with a few Dogs fans recently and they highlighted the Cowboys fixture at Belmore next season already.

9. Ipswich Jets all-out attack

If earlier in the year you had said that a QLD cup side would make a top ten highlights, I’d have questioned your sanity, but the way the Jets played the game this season was nothing short of revolutionary. The Walker brothers had the Jets playing an incredible, all out attacking game that led them to not only the QLD Cup title but the national championship. Half of the squad has been signed to NRL contracts next year on the back of their amazing run. Their QLD Cup final against the Blackhawks was one of the games of the season across all grades.

8. The Dragons proving doubters wrong

Pre-season, the Dragons were short priced to battle it out for the wooden spoon. Their recruitment drive had left fans shaking their head, with many wondering how the Red V could even present a first grade side. Fast forward to the end of the season and the Dragons not only avoided being drawn into a wooden spoon battle but managed to play finals footy. If not for some bad luck against the Bulldogs, they could have advanced from their sudden death playoff. I do enjoy when underdogs show everyone up, and this was a case of just that.

7. Winger Flying

Semi Radradra, Curtis Rona, and Valentine Holmes highlight a crop of wingers that can excite like no other. The amount of near impossible tries these freaks of the game score in the modern day is nothing short of incredible. Wingers are becoming a more important role every year, and are turning into genuine match winners. Radradra was his side’s best all season, while Rona pushed him all the way for the top try scoring honour. Val Holmes is an excitement machine and although his future may be in the number one, selfishly I kind of hope he stays on the wing.

6. Jack Bird’s starting debut vs the Roosters

It was not technically his NRL debuts, as he came off the bench a week earlier against the Titans, but Bird’s run on debut will long be remembered. To set the scene, the Sharks were winless and hopeless, and were set to travel to Allianz to battle the red hot Roosters. Ben Barba’s experiment in the halves had failed and Bird was thrown in, out of position, to take on James Maloney. The NRL rookie took it to the Roosters, dominated the game, and even scored the match winning try. It was a run on debut that won’t be forgotten.

5. NRL Nail-Biters

The Grand Final went into golden point and was decided by a field goal. The opening Origin contest was won on the back of a Cooper Cronk field goal. Canberra lost a couple of golden point thrillers in a row. A few examples of the nail-biting contests we had the pleasure of watching. For all of the negativity that came out of it, the Souths vs Bulldogs game on Good Friday was an absolute thriller. It was a season full of close games and brilliant finishes. I hope it continues next season.

4. Minor Premiership/Wooden Spoon/Top Four race

This year’s minor premiership race went down to the final round, with the Roosters playing bitter rivals South Sydney off the park to wrap up their third straight JJ Giltinan shield. The Broncos and Cowboys were right in the race. The top four race was just as hotly contested, with the Storm finishing fourth after the Sharks failed to beat old sparing buddies the Eagles in the second last game of the season. The Dogs, Sharks and Storm all finished on 32 competition points, with only point’s differential deciding the rankings. The Knights “won” the wooden spoon on points difference from the Tigers, while the Titans last round win saw them escape finishing last.

3. Johnathan Thurston’s special season

We all knew Johnathan Thurston was one of the greatest players of the generation but 2015 cemented his legacy and ensured he will one day be a rugby league immortal. He won a record fourth Dally M medal by 11 points, pocketed the Clive Churchill medal after kicking the match winning field goal in the grand final and won the Golden Boot despite playing only one international all season. It was a pleasure to watch the generation’s best in full flight, except when he was destroying my side with a smile on his face. Thurston is the best player I have ever seen play the game.

2. State of Origin 2

91,513 people packed the nation’s premier sporting facility to see arguably Australia’s best sporting rivalry continue. Many, myself included, questioned the move to take an Origin game to Melbourne, but the move paid off. The game itself saw NSW keep the series alive with a 26-18 win in a game that featured everything. Some brilliant tries were scored, big hits were regular and the atmosphere was electric. A crowd of 91,000 + and a brilliant game means this was a huge success. I’m more than happy to admit I was wrong here.

1. NRL Grand Final

Let’s be honest, there was no other option at one. This was THE most exciting Grand Final finish since Jamie Ainscough collared Craig Smith in 1999. A brilliant game for the full 80 minutes, but the finish made it something special. The Cowboys looked gone, the Broncos were kicking to the sidelines and milking the clock. Some hot potato footy saw the Cowboys score in the corner to give Thurston a shot from the sideline to win the game. After an eternity, his mishit conversion hit the post and a capacity ANZ crowd was sent into golden point. Thurston’s pin point field goal delivered the greatest grand final finish in my memory, and the Cowboys their first title. Brilliant!