Choose your NRL Team of the Decade in part 1 of our bracket
Over the past decade some NRL teams have been worthy of making it into the annals as being among the greatest in the history of the game. But who was the best? VOTE NOW IN PART 1.
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Imagine a Royal Rumble of rugby league’s greatest teams of the decade.
Go on.
See them emerging from behind some oversized curtain before, one after another, making that short walk to the ring.
Can you picture it? Teams like the 2014 South Sydney Rabbitohs, led by Slammin’ Sam Burgess.
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Or the 2019 Roosters, with Cooper Cronk out front?
The 2017 Melbourne Storm?
Oh, you better believe they will be making an appearance.
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Same deal, the 2010 St George Illawarra Dragons.
And good luck hosting any Rumble without those 2015 North Queensland Cowboys, a mob that continually retained their feet no matter how many steel chairs they were whacked with.
But as for who wins it? Great question.
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So with the NRL in lockdown, The Sunday Telegraph has decided to give readers the chance to have a say on the code’s greatest team of this decade.
The top 32 teams from 2010-2019 includes the premiers and grand finalists for each of the past 10 seasons plus the top two sides if they didn’t make the grand final, and added the next three-best defensive teams and matched them up in a college basketball-style Round of 32 bracket.
We asked our league reporters and Fox League experts Cooper Cronk, Kevin Walters, Ben Ikin, Corey Parker, Greg Alexander, Mick Ennis, Braith Anasta, Gorden Tallis and Bryan Fletcher to rank the teams from 1 to 32.
Pitched the teams into bracket-style showdowns, the premise is a simple one.
But finding a winner? Not so much.
Especially for Roosters fans, who will have to effectively choose a favourite child from the outstanding litter that is those Tricolours premiership teams of 2013, 2018 and 2019.
And maybe you reckon Cronk’s team was the pick of them.
Or the Bondi Boys with Mitchell Pearce in charge.
But who knows?
Maybe the Stormers of 2017 swoop in and toss all three over the ring ropes.
But again, you decide.
Good luck.
MATCH 1: 2017 STORM v 2010 PANTHERS
Melbourne 2017 Premiers (1st)
20-0-4 (W-D-L) 83.3% (Win%) Pts For 26.4 Pts Against 14
One of the most dominant seasons of any team in recent memory, winning 20 of 24 regular season matches to finish six points clear of second place with a +297 point differential
This 2017 Storm side was like a big boa constrictor snake in that they slowly strangled the life out of you with their army-like precision and patience. Once their victims were officially killed off, they finished them with some of the finest attack the game has ever seen led by the likes of Billy Slater, Josh Addo-Carr and Suliasi Vunivalu.
Skipper and hooker Cameron Smith was the head of the Storm’s snake. Smith broke several records throughout the season, including the NRL games record for the most games, league record for the most wins as a captain, a personal best for the most points in a game and also scored his 2000th career point and 1000th career goal, a first for any player in competition history.
Key players: Cameron Smith, Billy Slater, Suliasi Vunivalu, Cooper Cronk
Josh Addo-Carr
Penrith 2010 Finals (2nd)
15-0-9 (W-D-L) 62.5% (Win%) Pts For 26.9 Pts Against 20.4
Captained by the inspirational Petero Civoniceva, the Panthers were superb in the regular season, finishing second on the ladder behind minor premiers St George Illawarra.
Civoniceva’s experience upfront was complemented by the likes of classy centre Michael Jennings, impressive fullback Lachlan Coote and handy hooker Kevin Kingston.
However, come the business end of the season, the Panthers folded.
The Matthew Elliot-coached team was eliminated from the finals series in straight sets, losing 24-22 at home to Canberra before being knocked out the following week with a 34-12 loss to the Sydney Roosters.
Key players: Petero Civoniceva, Luke Lewis, Lachlan Coote, Michael Jennings, Kevin Kingston
MATCH 2: 2018 ROOSTERS v 2019 RABBITOHS
Sydney Roosters 2018 Premiers (1st)
16-0-8 (W-D-L) 66.7% (Win%) Pts For 22.6 Pts Against 15
From 2014 to 2017, the Roosters struggled to take the final step, as good a side as they were between their first two premierships of the decade. Adding Cooper Cronk and James Tedesco, two of the best players of the entire decade, put paid to that, and the Roosters romped over Melbourne in the grand final, producing one of the best first half performances in grand final history. Cronk’s heroics in playing with a serious shoulder injury will live in rugby league memory for as long as the game is played.
Key players: James Tedesco, Cooper Cronk, Luke Keary, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Latrell Mitchell
South Sydney 2019 Finals (3rd)
16-0-8 (W-D-L) 66.7% (Win%) Pts For 21.7 Pts Against 17.4
This Rabbitohs outfit sent a very early message about their intentions in 2019 by bursting out of the blocks to claim 10 from 11 wins to start the season. But the pitfall of such early success is the attention received from representative coaches. Five-eighth Cody Walker was arguably the best player in the competition and his form earned him a NSW Blues call-up. Young lock Cameron Murray emerged as one of the best forwards in the game. But Walker and his other representative teammates, like Damien Cook, seemed to suffer from an Origin hangover and struggled to regain the form that made them look unbeatable earlier in the season. For an outfit robbed of it’s best players at different points of the season and dealing with representative burnout, a third placed finish in a hotly contested season was an admirable achievement.
Key players: Cody Walker, Cameron Murray, Liam Knight, Damien Cook
MATCH 3: 2014 RABBITOHS v 2011 BRONCOS
South Sydney 2014 Premiers (3rd)
15-0-9 (W-D-L) 62.5% (Win%) Pts For 24.4 Pts Against 15
It was the year the proud Redfern club broke a 43-year title drought to claim their first premiership since 1971. It was a title built on defence and Michael Maguire’s side finished the year having conceded the least points, tries, linebreaks and offloads. But the biggest accolades were reserved for Englishman Sam Burgess and his inspirational performances. The forward’s heroics in the grand final, where he suffered a fractured cheekbone in the opening tackle but played on, is now part of rugby league folklore.
Key players: Sam Burgess, Issac Luke, George Burgess, Alex Johnston, Greg Inglis
Brisbane 2011 Finals (3rd)
18-0-6 (W-D-L) 75% (Win%) Pts For 21.3 Pts Against 15.5
The Broncos’ hopes of winning the 2011 premiership took a fatal blow when their talisman and skipper Darren Lockyer suffered a broken cheekbone in his side’s 13-12 finals win over St George Illawarra.
Despite the injury, which was inflicted accidentally by teammate Gerard Beale, Lockyer later kicked the decisive field goal to end the Dragons’ season.
But it was also the end of the road, permanently, for the retiring Lockyer, who was ruled out the following week when the Broncos lost their preliminary final 26-14 to eventual premiers Manly.
Lockyer was Brisbane’s undoubted inspiration in a season in which the Broncos finished in third spot on the ladder, just two points behind minor premiers, the Sydney Roosters.
Key players: Darren Lockyer, Justin Hodges, Matt Gillett, Andrew McCullough, Alex Glenn
MATCH 4: 2016 SHARKS v 2017 ROOSTERS
Cronulla 2016 Premiers (3rd)
17-1-6 (W-D-L) 70.8% (Win%) Pts For 24.2 Pts Against 16.8
The Sharks had been built on grit and determination and would grind teams out of matches but this team was different. They maintained their hard edge through powerful forwards including Luke Lewis,, Andrew Fifita and Matt Prior. But it was who they added to their side which really saw them develop into a premiership threat. Ben Barba and Michael Ennis had joined the year before. Chad Townsend returned to the club in 2016 after two years at the Warriors while James Maloney’s arrival that same season gave the side a much needed quality- a winner. The quartet along with emerging talent in Valentine Holmes and Jack Bird gave the Sharks the potential to put on points when they hadn’t been able to in previous serious. The troubled Barba produced a highlight reel season while Fifita was the best forward in the competition.
They became one of just four teams to win 15 consecutive matches in a season and brought Cronulla’s premiership drought along the way.
Key players: Andrew Fifita,, Ben Barba, James Maloney, Michael Ennis.
Sydney Roosters 2017 Finals (2nd)
17-0-7 (W-D-L) 70.8% (Win%) Pts For 20.8 Pts Against 17.8
The core of the 2018-19 title teams were forged in 2017 - it was Luke Keary’s first season with the club, and he immediately became one of their very best, while Latrell Mitchell hit new heights in his sophomore year. Players like Sio Suia Taukeiaho, Ryan Matterson, Victor Radley and Isaac Liu, who all played a major role in at least one of the premierships, also cemented their place in first grade.
Key players: Luke Keary, Mitchell Pearce, Blake Ferguson, Boyd Cordner, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves
MATCH 5: 2010 DRAGONS v 2017 COWBOYS
St George Illawarra 2010 Premiers (1st)
17-0-7 (W-D-L) 70.8% (Win%) Pts For 21.6 Pts Against 12.5
This team was built on defence and high percentage plays with the ball. If you scroll across their 1-17 there is little separating their best and worst player. The Dragons conceded just 12.5 points for the season. Jamie Soward’s kicking game was an attacking weapon, using it to pin teams down as they defended their way to victory. Fullback Darius Boyd’s sweeping plays became a staple and despite its predictability, opposition teams struggled to make the correct read each time. While it was a defence-based side, that does not pay enough respect to their gun outside backs in Boyd, Brett Morris, Jason Nightingale, Mark Gasnier and Matt Cooper. The biggest influencer on the team though was coach Wayne Bennett, in just his second season he taught this Dragons side how to win. Trailed by two at halftime but raced in 26 unanswered points to beat the Roosters.
Their victory was the first for the joint-venture and ended 31-years of heartache for the Dragons faithful.
Key players: Darius Boyd, Jamie Soward, Jeremy Smith, Michael Weyman, Beau Scott.
North Queensland 2017 Grand Final (8th)
13-0-11 (W-D-L) 54.2% (Win%) Pts For 19.5 Pts Against 18.5
North Queensland became just the second team to reach the grand final from eighth spot on the ladder.
While their quest for a second premiership fell short when they were thrashed 34-6 in the decider by Melbourne, the Cowboys’ effort to reach the final was huge.
Having barely deserved to make the eight after losing five of their last six regular season games, the Cowboys suddenly turned it on in the playoffs. Without Johnathan Thurston, it was Michael Moran who stood tall.
A golden-point win over Cronulla was followed by an eight-point victory over Parramatta and a particularly pleasing 29-16 preliminary final disposal of the Roosters.
The Cowboys couldn’t lift again a week later against the red-hot Storm, but they won a heap of admirers along the way.
Key players: Jason Taumalolo, Michael Morgan, Gavin Cooper, Jake Granville, Ethan Lowe
MATCH 6: 2019 STORM v 2010 ROOSTERS
Melbourne 2019 Finals (1st)
20-0-4 (W-D-L) 83.3% (Win%) Pts For 26.3 Pts Against 12.5
Set the standard in defence once again in 2019, leading the league in all the major defensive categories It conceded per game - 12.1 points, 2.0 tries, 1229 Metres, 2.7 line breaks, 19 missed tackles. It was the first team since Canterbury in 2002 to not lose a game in a season by double figures.
This Melbourne side should have won a premiership. Minor premiers by a whopping six points, fatigue from a full-on campaign defeated them in the end. After dominating the regular season, Craig Bellamy’s men lost to Canberra in the first week of the finals. They rallied to smash Parramatta before failing to contain defending premiers the Roosters led by ex-teammate Cooper Cronk.
Key players: Cameron Smith, Josh Addo-Carr, Suliasi Vunivalu, Cameron Munster, Jesse Bromwich
Sydney Roosters 2010 Grand Final (6th)
14-0-10 (W-D-L) 58.3% (Win%) Pts For 23.3 Pts Against 21.3
What a turnaround for this Roosters side. They finished the 2009 season in last place, winning just five matches before club great Brad Fittler was axed as coach. Enter Brian Smith. The veteran mentor had an immediate impact on this side and produced one of his best coaching performances to guide them into the grand final after finishing the regular season in sixth.
It was the signing of Todd Carney though which really ignited them. He made his Kangaroos debut, on his way to winning the Dally M.
The Roosters came into the grand final in form, winning their previous five games but were blown off the park in the second half by the Dragons. They overachieved to make the grand final, largely because of the combination of Carney and Mitchell Pearce in the halves. They look destined to make a genuine premiership tilt in years to come but the wheels quickly fell off on and off the field in the next two years.
Key players: Todd Carney, Mitchell Pearce, Nate Myles, Anthony Minichiello, Braith Anasta.
MATCH 7: 2016 STORM v 2011 WARRIORS
Melbourne 2016 Grand Final (1st)
19-0-5 (W-D-L) 79.2% (Win%) Pts For 23.5 Pts Against 12.6
Another blown premiership campaign after dominating all season as minor premiers by three clear points. Led by the try scoring exploits of freakish Fijian flyer Suliasi Vunivalu, who finished the regular season with 23 tries, the Storm were favourites to win another title.
Melbourne racked up 19 regular season wins and only five losses, but they were edged out on grand final day by a Cronulla side desperate to win their first premiership.
Key players - Suliasi Vunivalu, Cameron Smith, Billy Slater, Cooper Cronk, Kenny Bromwich
Warriors 2011 Grand Final (6th)
14-0-10 (W-D-L) 58.3% (Win%) Pts For 21 Pts Against 16.4
After finishing the regular season in sixth spot, the Warriors made the most of a finals double chance to reach the decider.
Spanked 40-10 by the Broncos in the first week of the finals, the Kiwis’ took advantage of an outdated and unfair finals system to win successive games against the Wests Tigers and Melbourne to qualify for the grand final, where Manly awaited.
The Sea Eagles proved too strong, winning 24-10, but the Ivan Cleary-coached Warriors side including James Maloney and Manu Vatuvei were far from disgraced, and exceeded expectations to reach the final.
Key players: James Maloney, Shaun Johnson, Manu Vatuvei, Simon Mannering, Kevin Locke
MATCH 8: 2018 STORM v 2011 STORM
Melbourne 2018 Grand Final (2nd)
16-0-8 (W-D-L) 66.7% (Win%) Pts For 22.3 Pts Against 15.1
It will be forever remembered as the one that got away for Melbourne. A star-studded Storm side full of representative stars finished equal first with the Sydney Roosters, but they failed to finish the job.
The Roosters ruthlessly disposed of the Storm in the grand final, leaving Craig Bellamy’s men to rue a missed opportunity. The Storm were as dominant as any season in the past, led by skipper Cameron Smith and the class of Billy Slater.
In the end, it was a busted former teammate in Cooper Cronk, who broke Melbourne’s heart in the decider.
Key players: Cameron Smith, Josh Addo-Carr, Billy Slater, Ryan Hoffman, Suliasi Vunivalu
Melbourne 2011 Finals (1st)
19-0-5 (W-D-L) 79.2% (Win%) Pts For 21.7 Pts Against 12.8
For all Melbourne’s premiership success, they also had their fair share of wasted chances.
The 2011 season was no exception. The Storm finished minor premiers and raced through the finals before being beaten by the Warriors in a home preliminary final.
It was a devastating end to a season considering Storm players dominated the Dally M Awards, with three players – Billy Slater, Cameron Smith and Cooper Cronk and coach Craig Bellamy collecting awards.
Key players - Cameron Smith, Billy Slater, Cooper Cronk, Jesse Bromwich, Gareth Widdop
Originally published as Choose your NRL Team of the Decade in part 1 of our bracket