The Sydney Roosters don’t need any reminding that their reign as NRL premiers isn’t expected to last very long.
In fact, judging by the past 26 years, you can basically shove them out already.
But if rugby league millennials just dig a little deeper, they’d find a period in the sport’s history when title-holders often defended their crown.
In fact, after the famous St George side reeled off a record 11 straight premierships between 1956-1966, two straight titles was almost the norm.
Between the Dragons’ ’66 triumph and Brisbane in 1992-93, Manly, Eastern Suburbs, Canterbury and Canberra all went back-to-back.
South Sydney did it twice, and Parramatta, the current holders of the wooden spoon, actually did the unthinkable and claimed a three-peat.
“I certainly remember the Raiders, obviously Parramatta, and the Bulldogs did it before that,” Broncos 1992-93 premiership winner Kevin Walters recalled to AAP.
These days, two is the holy grail. But three?
“Well, I’m not going to say it’s impossible because that’s not right,” Walter said.
With every unsuccessful defence of a modern-era premiership, the legend of the early ’90s Brisbane side continues to grow.
Many point to the salary cap’s inevitable incision into a premiership-winning team as the primary reason for a lack of back-to-back title winners.
And the Roosters haven’t been immune to the poaching, having already lost Blake Ferguson, Dylan Napa and Ryan Matterson from their grand final team.
But Walters reckons, with the additions of Brett Morris, Ryan Hall and Angus Crichton, their roster has actually improved over the summer.
“And they really only had 16 players in that grand final, too,” Walter says, referring to Cooper Cronk’s heroic effort to play through a broken scapula.
“There’s no reason why they can’t do it again. They’d be my favourites, for sure. They’re one of the shortest favourites in a long time, which makes a lot of sense.”
One of the major factors for that has been the seismic changes below them.
Grand finalists Melbourne have lost champion fullback Billy Slater, while the teams who finished third to sixth in the regular season all have new coaches.
South Sydney (Wayne Bennett), Cronulla (John Morris), Penrith (Ivan Cleary) and Brisbane (Anthony Seibold) all enter 2019 under pressure to challenge for the title.
All up, six clubs have new coaches in charge, including Manly (Des Hasler) and Wests Tigers (Michael Maguire).
“And right now, they’d all be thinking they can make some sort of challenge, even those that finished outside the eight,” Walters said.
For the record, Walters can never write off the Storm as contenders, and considers North Queensland as dark horses in the post-Johnathan Thurston era.
“And Wayne’s obviously been successful in the last 20 years as well,” he added.
But as rivals line up – as they do every year – to take down the premiers, Walters believes the Roosters’ biggest threat to going back-to-back is in the mirror.
“The second time we won we got challenged by ourselves more than anyone else. And we did it from fifth position,” he said.
“But when push came to shove, we were ready to start shoving.”
NRL SEASON AT A GLANCE
Reigning premiers: Sydney Roosters
Reigning wooden spooners: Parramatta
Teams with new coaches: Brisbane (Anthony Seibold), Cronulla (John Morris), Manly (Des Hasler), Penrith (Ivan Cleary), South Sydney (Wayne Bennett), Wests Tigers (Michael Maguire)
Premiership favourites: Roosters $4.50
Wooden spoon favourites: Bulldogs $51 (to win title)
Round one draw:
March 14 – Storm v Broncos at AAMI Park
March 15 – Knights v Sharks at McDonald Jones Stadium, Roosters v Rabbitohs at Sydney Cricket Ground
March 16 – Warriors v Bulldogs at Mt Smart Stadium, Tigers v Sea Eagles at Leichhardt Oval, Cowboys v Dragons at 1300SMILES Stadium
March 17 – Panthers v Eels at Panthers Stadium, Titans v Raiders at Cbus Super Stadium
Key dates:
Grand Final at ANZ Stadium, October 6.
State of Origin: Game I at Suncorp Stadium, June 5; Game II at Optus Stadium, Perth, June 23; Game III at ANZ Stadium, July 10.
Tests: Australia v New Zealand at WIN Stadium, Wollongong, Oct 25; Australia v Tonga at Eden Park, Auckland, Nov 2.
RLIF Nines World Cup at Bankwest Stadium, Sydney, Oct 18-19.
