I haven’t watched a replay of the game – I take my hat off to anyone who did though. I have been thinking of it a lot and watching a lot of the aftermath with interest.
A few random thoughts I’ll add to the mix:
In hindsight I think Brisbane overachieved. Wayne Bennett and several players said during the year that their goal was to make the top 4. From that perspective, we had a stellar season. We were firmly entrenched in the top 4 all year and actually led the competition for a long time. The Grand Final was just a bonus. It was an exciting week and while it’s never easy to lose a game under those circumstances the danger signs were there for the entirety of the second half. The circumstances of the loss, rather than the loss itself, is what stings for mine.
I thought I would be more upset seeing Brisbane lose a Grand Final. It hasn’t fazed me in the slightest about no longer having a perfect record in the big one. It was bound to happen sooner or later and I think we have a team that can be knocking on the door for a few more years yet. Honestly, I was more upset about QLD’s loss in Game 2 of Origin last year – which is weird because I’m the sort that would always rather see a Broncos premiership than a Maroons win.
I don’t agree with the notion that we were robbed or we were unlucky. The fact is it finished 3 tries to 2 and the Cowboys deserved their win. We just have to cop it.
I think essentially the Cowboys are to us what we are to the Storm. They have a pretty decent record against us except in the one game that matters. Ask any of those Melbourne boys what would they rather – meaningless, lopsided victories from 2007-2014 or the 2006 premiership? Basically that’s where we are at with the Cowboys.
I was a bit taken aback at the backlash for Ben Hunt although most of us on here were pretty understanding. I was amazed that other players escaped the same level of scrutiny for making errors just as bad. Take Matt Gillett coughing up possession after points were scored and Wallace giving away his customary penalty when he came on, for example. Those guys went on to have good games so maybe that’s why they didn’t cop it like Hunt did but you’d have to admit they really cost us. All those errors count in the end.
On a sidenote, what’s your take on the Cowboys? Where to from here? Essentially the job is done and with the massive relief of finally achieving a maiden premiership I think they’ll struggle next year, tbh. My point about circumstances of the result is relevant to them as well. To win a grand final, their first ever, under those circumstances when they were a second away from losing. How do you focus after that? You want that feeling to last forever. Can a side launch a credible title defence after an epic win like that? Has it been done before? They’ll always be very competitive with JT on the field and Coote, Granville, Scott etc are great players - I’m keen to see how they’ll go.