SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 24: The Dragons look dejected after a Roosters try during the round 23 NRL match between the St George Illawarra Dragons and the Sydney Roosters at Jubilee Stadium on August 24, 2019 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
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.