NRL Team of the Decade 2010 to 2019: Round of 8 voting
Two of the top contenders in our search for the Greatest Team of the Decade have fallen by the wayside with the field narrowed down to the final eight teams. VOTE NOW!
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We are getting down to the pointy end in our search for the Greatest NRL Team of the Decade.
Some big contenders fell by the wayside in our Round of 16 vote with the Dragons 2010 premiership team and the Sea Eagles of 2011 dumped from the bracket.
The two Storm and three Roosters teams that won grand finals over the past decade are still alive, but can their passage be stopped by the Rabbitohs of 2014, Cowboys of 2015 or the Sharks of 2016.
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And who will triumph in our first poll in final eight voting - the Storm premiership team of 2012 or its 2017 line-up?
Vote now!
LEFT BRACKET
MATCH 1: 2017 STORM VS 2012 STORM
Melbourne 2017 Premiers (1st)
20-0-4 (W-D-L) 83.3% (Win%) Pts For 26.4 Pts Against 14
Bracket Rnd 2: Storm 2017 82% def. Broncos 2015 18%
Bracket Rnd 1: Storm 2017 87% def. Panthers 2010 13%
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 armylike 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
Melbourne 2012 Premiers (2nd)
17-0-7 (W-D-L) 70.8% (Win%) Pts For 24.1 Pts Against 15
Bracket Rnd 2: Storm 2012 59% def. Raiders 2019 41%
Bracket Rnd 1: Storm 2012 64% def. Rabbitohs 2013 36%
One of two sides (Broncos 2006) in the NRL Era (1998-2020) to have had a five-game losing streak in the regular season and win the grand final.
Resilience and determination define this 2012 Melbourne side. After winning their first nine games, a club record, the Storm went on a five-game losing streak during the season.
There were fears that Melbourne’s dynasty had ended abruptly, but the class of Cameron Smith, Billy Slater and Cooper Cronk rallied when it mattered most.
Melbourne defeated Canterbury in the grand final, with halfback Cooper Cronk collecting the Clive Churchill medal.
Key players: Billy Slater, Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk, Jesse Bromwich, Ryan Hoffman
MATCH 2: 2015 COWBOYS VS 2018 ROOSTERS
North Queensland 2015 Premiers (3rd)
17-0-7 (W-D-L) 70.8% (Win%) Pts For 24.5 Pts Against 18.9
Bracket Rnd 2: Cowboys 2015 75% def. Storm 2016 25%
Bracket Rnd 1: Cowboys 90% def. 2014 Bulldogs 10%
The Cowboys finished the season on the highest of highs in winning a golden-point grand final over arch rivals Brisbane, but three matches into the campaign, they looked anything but premiership material. The turning point came in round four against the Melbourne Storm, with the brilliance and resolve of Johnathan Thurston securing the Cowboys an 18-17 extra-time win.
From there the Cowboys didn’t look back. Thanks largely to an 11-game winning streak, North Queensland finished in third spot on the ladder. Despite losing to the Broncos in week one of the finals, the Cowboys lifted when it mattered most in the decider.
With his side down 16-12 in the last minute, Cowboys winger Kyle Feldt scored in the corner to level scores. Thurston’s kick to win the match hit the post, but JT couldn’t be denied a second time as he kicked a field goal in golden-point extra-time to seal the Cowboys a maiden premiership.
Key players: Johnathan Thurston, Jason Taumalolo, Michael Morgan, Jake Granville, Matt Scott
Sydney Roosters 2018 Premiers (1st)
16-0-8 (W-D-L) 66.7% (Win%) Pts For 22.6 Pts Against 15
Bracket Rnd 2: Roosters 2018 60% def. Sea Eagles 2011 40%
Bracket Rnd 1: Roosters 2018 87% def. Rabbitohs 2019 13%
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
RIGHT BRACKET
MATCH 1: 2019 ROOSTERS VS 2016 SHARKS
Sydney Roosters 2019 Premiers (2nd)
17-0-7 (W-D-L) 70.8% (Win%) Pts For 26.1 Pts Against 15.1
Bracket Rnd 2: Roosters 2019 65% def. Storm 2011 35%
Bracket Rnd 1: Roosters 2019 70% def. Storm 2013 30%
Climbing the mountain is one thing, staying on top is quite another. This Roosters team were the first side to go back to back in a united competition since the 1992-93 Broncos and succeeded where so many great sides before them had failed. They didn’t have it all their own way, with Canberra giving them a hell of a scare in the grand final, but they showed their championship qualities to take the game, and the premiership, when it was there to be had.
Key players: James Tedesco, Cooper Cronk, Luke Keary, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Daniel Tupou
Cronulla 2016 Premiers (3rd)
17-1-6 (W-D-L) 70.8% (Win%) Pts For 24.2 Pts Against 16.8
Bracket Rnd 2: Sharks 2016 60% def. Storm 2019 40%
Bracket Rnd 1: Sharks 2016 55% def. Roosters 2017 45%
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.
MATCH 2: 2014 RABBITOHS VS 2013 ROOSTERS
South Sydney 2014 Premiers (3rd)
15-0-9 (W-D-L) 62.5% (Win%) Pts For 24.4 Pts Against 15
Bracket Rnd 2: Rabbitohs 2014 72% def. Storm 2015 28%
Bracket Rnd 1: Rabbtiohs 2014 68% def. Broncos 2011 32%
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
Sydney Roosters 2013 Premiers (1st)
18-0-6 (W-D-L) 75% (Win%) Pts For 26.7 Pts Against 13.5
Bracket Rnd 2: Roosters 2013 57% def. Dragons 2010 43%
Bracket Rnd 1: Roosters 2013 73% def. 2014 Sea Eagles 27%
There are star-studded teams and there are star-studded teams and the 2013 Roosters, assuredly, are the latter. With magnificent footballers all over the park, the 2013 champions clicked into gear immediately and were dominant throughout the season, which was earmarked by their incredible defensive steel - they kept their opposition to zero points six times over the course of the year.
Key players: James Maloney, Sonny Bill Williams, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Mitchell Pearce, Jake Friend
Originally published as NRL Team of the Decade 2010 to 2019: Round of 8 voting
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