With just two matches to play in 2019, only final eulogies remain for those NRL teams whose seasons have proven to be abject failures.
The clubs that deserve to be labelled so bluntly and harshly, have done little to avoid such a title. They have spent more time searching for answers and coping with injuries and poor form than being competitive and winning games of football.
Excelling in the disappointment stakes is the Gold Coast, a team that began the season poorly, beat only the Panthers, Knights, Broncos and Manly-Warringah along the way and eventually sacked their coach.
All four wins came by Round 13 and since, the wheels have well and truly fallen off. In fact, the last month has been abhorrent, with opposition teams racking up points tallies of 58, 40, 36 and 24 against them for a combined 158 points conceded. During that period, the Titans have managed just 54 of their own.
Fans demand that their team compete for the jersey; fight tooth and nail for the club. Titans fans have seen very little of that in recent times and as the sun sets on another season of disappointment, have a right to be angry and upset.
So too do supporters of the Red V. If someone can categorically inform me of exactly what has happened at St George-Illawarra in the back half of the 2019 season I would be very appreciative. Early on, things actually looked quite promising.
The Dragons managed four wins from their first six matches, beat the Broncos, Sea Eagles, Knights and creamed the Bulldogs 40-4 at Jubilee Stadium. Paul McGregor had his contract extended and semi-finals appeared likely with the team sitting just two competition points from the top of the NRL ladder.
From that point on, and really let this statistic sink in, the Dragons have won just three matches from their next 16; those wins came against the Bulldogs, Cowboys and Titans, certainly nothing to write home about.
McGregor will coach again in 2020 and one must wonder how that is the case after six years in the job and a success rate of just 47 per cent. In anyone's language, that is not a compelling case to retain a coach, particularly one that has never had the Dragons on a consistent upward trajectory.
The New Zealand Warriors spend a lot of time standing around huffing and puffing in an apparent attempt to overcome the mental and concentration issues that have hampered them for some time. 2019 will not go down as the season in which they overcame those challenges and finally lived up to the expectations of many.
After Round 1, it would have been quite easy to mount a case for their upcoming season of promise. The 40-6 drubbing of the Dogs was impressive, however, the Bulldogs' early season form had perhaps created something of an allusion in the shaky isles and it wasn't long before the Warriors were back to their old Jekyll and Hyde tricks.
On their day, they could still be brilliant, such as a Friday night 30-10 away victory over the Panthers. Yet too often, their penchant to mentally remain on the bus increasingly returned the longer the season progressed. By the time they were smacked 32-10 by the Storm at Mount Smart Stadium in Round 13, the signs were there.
Despite the best efforts of inspirational captain Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, New Zealand's last month has confirmed the fact that they have not improved, nor developed. 46-12, 42-6 and 42-16 losses to the Raiders, Roosters and Sharks respectively have been embarrassing and Stephen Kearney must be shuffling ever closer to the guillotine.
After a week of turmoil in Newcastle and seven losses from their last eight matches, Nathan Brown has finally been shown the door and a season filled with promise has fizzled into such a disaster that fans are attempting to organise a boycott of the Knights' final home match of the season against the Titans this coming Saturday.
That fan mutiny says it all really, yet quite bizarrely, Newcastle could still mathematically qualify for the finals. A win against the Titans in Round 24 could move them within a point or two of eighth place. Despite that faint hope, fans have had enough.
With wooden spoons seemingly being put further and further into the distant memories of fans and Brown's rebuild appearing to be on track, the squad has re-embraced the listless, sloppy and undisciplined football of 2015-17.
Other teams have had disappointing years yet the above four have little excuse.
North Queensland have struggled to readjust without Johnathan Thurston, the Bulldogs have somehow managed to turn their season on its head and Penrith have also escaped mention in this piece after at least finding some mid-season form following an abysmal start to the season.
As for the Titans, Dragons, Warriors and Knights, I'm sorry to say that their 2019 seasons can be described as nothing more than appalling. The Titans and Knights have rung the changes, looking for answers.
As of yet, the Warriors and Dragons have not. Success in 2020 may well depend on their courage to do so. At this stage, what they are delivering is just not good enough and all too familiar.
I would strongly argue that the club entitled to be the most disappointed would have to be the Sydney Roosters hands down.
Despite having won a premiership in 2018, Rooster membership is on the decline being around 800 down 2019 which would have the hierarchy extremely concerned.
Two name changes in recent times in an attempt to attract following from a wider demographic has proven unsuccessful.
Also not having a grass roots junior development program like South Sydney who boast 30,000 members has also contributed to lack of support for the club.
There’s just something about the Warriors whoever they bring there it just never works
EDSybil please stop replying to my factual comments with gibberish.
No second prizes.
Dragons hands down biggest disappointment, then Cowboys, Warriors and Knights. No one expected much from the Titans, the Panthers are most over-rated team in NRL history, every year we’re told they’ll be this years premiers, and they are not much more than a joke, so I’m never disappointed with their underachievement. They get a free ride too, media unmercifully hammered dragons under Brown for not winning premiership, but hardly a peep over Penrith’s abject failures. Whole season has been a joke with 10 teams second rate or worse for most of the season and NRL couldn’t care less, as long as the roosters and storm make the top 4 all is right with the world.
Daffy..
If Penrith had bought a whole team of champion players, Id agree with you. However, they’ve only been letting players go for the most part, for years.
One Maloney isn’t winning you a competition.
Their forwards haven’t dominated any of the top few teams in recent times.
Maloney didn’t play to well with Cleary as a combination.
The backline with Mansour & Whare hasn’t been to exciting.
They’ve not had a good running hooker since Koroisau. ( Although I think Kenny will grow into the role, he still needs a second running hooker ).
The video saga did their season in before it started this year.
They’re the most penalised team for two years running. Let’s see how any team goes , when the most penalised ?
So , it’s been the so called experts that have heaped unwanted expectations on the team. Not them saying they’re going to Win it all any particular year,
Based on all of the a obove.. You’re way off the mark.
EOD, but in fairness I don’t think you can just gloss over it either.
You (Penrith) invested heavily in (through the kitchen sink at) Nathan Cleary (directly and indirectly through Ivan) and it hasn’t worked to date. I think that’s been a huge factor (on, and in particular, off field), and far more so than the videos.
You talk about the players you’re losing, but not why.
Several (usually very solid) players have underperformed, and some have been “demoted” then shopped around, but why? You can blame them, and maybe you’d be right, but the club has to wear some responsibility too.
The way I see it, you’re now (allbut) officially in “rebuild” mode, and the Cleary’s are your foundation. You (your club) did that, rightly or wrongly, but it is what it is.
EastofDivide that’s just more incompetence from Penrith management. One year player is the best thing since sliced bread, two years later he’s shown the door along with a host of others and they just keep entering this rebuilding phase, but the media keeping pumping them as the real deal and they’ve never been close. So much potential that is never realized.
Here’s my take: McGregor must go!
End of story!
The Dragons are this year’s biggest disappointment by a country mile. Almost everything that could go wrong went wrong starting with the JDB situation and then losing Gareth Widdop for most of the season with injury.
Any team that loses players of this calibre is going to struggle and their depth wasn’t able to cover for these losses.
Since 2012 the Dragons have underachieved every year, and I’m starting to think that the club could be jinxed. Ever since they included black in their training & media colour scheme the bad luck has increased. Could it be that the curse of the North Sydney Bears has found a new home?