Choose your NRL Team of the Decade in part two of our bracket
Is it the Sonny Bill Williams’ inspired 2013 Roosters team? Is it Johnathan Thurston’s miraculous Cowboys of 2015? Vote now for the Team of the Decade.
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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: 2019 ROOSTERS V 2013 STORM
Sydney Roosters 2019 Premiers (2nd)
17-0-7 (W-D-L) 70.8% (Win%) Pts For 26.1 Pts Against 15.1
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
Melbourne 2013 Finals (3rd)
16-1-7 (W-D-L) 66.7% (Win%) Pts For 24.5 Pts Against 15.5
The lowest-ranked Melbourne side during their decade of dominance.
The Storm finished the regular season in third place before bowing out of the finals in straight sets after losses to South Sydney and Newcastle.
It was a devastating way to finish a season that started with seven straight wins.
In the end, though, a difficult Origin period led to fatigue for their biggest stars and they were unable to fire in the finals.
Key players: Cameron Smith, Billy Slater, Cooper Cronk, Ryan Hoffman, Jesse Bromwich
Team of the Decade (Part 1): Vote on the left side of the bracket here
MATCH 2: 2013 ROOSTERS V 2014 SEA EAGLES
Sydney Roosters 2013 Premiers (1st)
18-0-6 (W-D-L) 75% (Win%) Pts For 26.7 Pts Against 13.5
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
Manly 2014 Finals (2nd)
16-0-8 (W-D-L) 66.7% (Win%) Pts For 20.9 Pts Against 16.6
No team finished the regular season with more competition points than this mob, whose outstanding backline boasted the likes of Kieran Foran, Daly Cherry-Evans, Brett Stewart, Jamie Lyon and Steve Matai. Unthinkably though, the Sea Eagles were bundled out of the finals in straight sets, with their second loss to the Dogs by just one point.
Key players: Jamie Lyon, Jason King, Steve Matai, Brett Stewart, Daly Cherry-Evans
Team of the Decade (Part 1): Vote on the left side of the bracket here
MATCH 3: 2015 COWBOYS V 2014 BULLDOGS
North Queensland 2015 Premiers (3rd)
17-0-7 (W-D-L) 70.8% (Win%) Pts For 24.5 Pts Against 18.9
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
Canterbury 2014 Grand Final (7th)
13-0-11 (W-D-L) 54.2% (Win%) Pts For 18.6 Pts Against 18.3
An uncompromising Belmore mob that nobody thought could get to a Grand Final, but went and did it anyway. Finishing the regular season in seventh, they played into a GF on bucketloads of heart. Boasted several big names -- think the likes of James Graham, Dave Klemmer and Josh Jackson -- plus a host of far more unlikely heroes in Sam Perrett, Tim Lafai, Aiden Tolman and Corey Thompson.
Key players: Trent Hodkinson, James Graham, Josh Reynolds, Josh Jackson, Sam Perrett
MATCH 4: 2012 STORM V 2013 RABBITOHS
Melbourne 2012 Premiers (2nd)
17-0-7 (W-D-L) 70.8% (Win%) Pts For 24.1 Pts Against 15
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
South Sydney 2013 Finals (2nd)
18-0-6 (W-D-L) 75% (Win%) Pts For 24.5 Pts Against 16
The Rabbitohs were one of the benchmark teams in 2013 and looked unbeatable having won 14 out of their first 16 games of the season. Their early season surge coupled helped them go to score 588 points, the most by any Rabbitohs side in the club’s history. This was highlighted by the perfect balance between the powergame the Burgess brothers provided upfront and the fine form across the board from the spine.
Before his injury, fullback Greg Inglis created plenty of headaches, hooker Issac Luke was at his probing best and halves John Sutton and Adam Reynolds combined well to help set-up the side’s effective attacking platform.
Key players: Dylan Walker, George Burgess, John Sutton, Issac Luke
Team of the Decade (Part 1): Vote on the left side of the bracket here
MATCH 5: 2011 SEA EAGLES V 2014 ROOSTERS
Manly 2011 Premiers (2nd)
18-0-6 (W-D-L) 75% (Win%) Pts For 22.5 Pts Against 13.8
Unbeatable at Brookvale Oval this year, even in the stinks. Apart from an on-field brawl against Melbourne, the likes of which you will not see again, these Sea Eagles would go all the way thanks largely to a wonderful mix of the Stewart brothers, two outstanding young halves (Kieran Foran and Daly Cherry-Evans), Dally M centre Jamie Lyon and the mad science of coach Des Hasler.
Key players: Brett Stewart, Glenn Stewart, Jamie Lyon, Kieran Foran, Daly Cherry-Evans
Sydney Roosters 2014 Finals (1st)
16-0-8 (W-D-L) 66.7% (Win%) Pts For 25.6 Pts Against 16
The 2014 Roosters might have fallen short of their 2018-19 counterparts and failed to go back to back, but they were still an extremely talented and dangerous bunch. In Sonny Bill Williams’ final season with the club the Kiwi star managed to replicate most of his 2013 campaign alongside the likes of James Maloney, Michael Jennings and Mitchell Pearce.
Key players: James Maloney, Sonny Bill Williams, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Mitchell Pearce, Jake Friend
MATCH 6: 2019 RAIDERS V 2016 RAIDERS
Canberra 2019 Grand Final (4th)
15-0-9 (W-D-L) 62.5% (Win%) Pts For 21.8 Pts Against 15.6
A team with a will of iron, these Raiders never found a fight they wouldn’t die to win. Just once through the season did they lose a game by more than six points, and were it not for a contentious ruling in the grand final loss to the Roosters they may well have been premiers.
Key players: Josh Papalii, Josh Hodgson, Jack Wighton, John Bateman, Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad
Canberra 2016 Finals (2nd)
17-1-6 (W-D-L) 70.8% (Win%) Pts For 28.7 Pts Against 19
A different breed to the team that made the grand final three years later. These Raiders scored a remarkable 688 points in the regular season, the most of any team in any regular season from 2010 to 2019. With the lethal combination of Joey Leilua and Jordan Rapana and the sterling play of English dummy half Josh Hodgson, Canberra went all the way to the prelim for the first time in the NRL era, and could easily have won the title if things had gone another way - during the playoffs they lost to grand finalists Cronulla and Melbourne by a combined four points.
Key players: Josh Hodgson, Joey Leilua, Jordan Rapana, Jarrod Croker, Josh Papalii
MATCH 7: 2012 BULLDOGS V 2015 ROOSTERS
Canterbury 2012 Grand Final (1st)
18-0-6 (W-D-L) 75% (Win%) Pts For 23.7 Pts Against 15.4
Did James Graham really bite the ear of Billy Slater? Maybe. Regardless, this Dogs side undeniably mixed an uncompromising grit with the brilliance that was the year’s Dally M medallist, fullback Ben Barba. While there would be some tough times to come, this was Barba at his footballing best.
Key players: Ben Barba, Michael Ennis, Sam Kasiano, James Graham, Josh Reynolds
Sydney Roosters 2015 Finals (1st)
18-0-6 (W-D-L) 75% (Win%) Pts For 24.6 Pts Against 12.5
Of the Roosters teams between the 2013 and 2018 titles, this was by far the best, even accounting for the loss of Mitchell Pearce to injury through the year. They may have faltered during the finals, losing first to Melbourne and then to Brisbane in the preliminary final, but as a regular season construct there have been few better teams. Of particular note was Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, who emerged as the Tricolours best player in his final year with the club.
Key players: Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, James Maloney, Boyd Cordner, Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, Jake Friend
Team of the Decade (Part 1): Vote on the left side of the bracket here
MATCH 8: 2015 BRONCOS V 2013 SEA EAGLES
Brisbane 2015 Grand Final (2nd)
17-0-7 (W-D-L) 70.8% (Win%) Pts For 23.9 Pts Against 15.8
Supercoach Wayne Bennett’s return season at Red Hill was just seconds away from the perfect ending. Up 16-12 in the dying stages of the grand final against the Cowboys, the Broncos were about to win the premiership for the first time since 2006.
However, a last-gasp Kyle Feldt try and a Johnathan Thurston field goal in golden-point extra-time - after an awful handling error from Ben Hunt - denied Brisbane the title.
Justin Hodges’ hopes of a fairy-tale finish to his career were dashed but the Broncos played some fine football that season in finishing second on the ladder.
Key players: Justin Hodges, Anthony Milford, Darius Boyd, Matt Gillett, Corey Oates
Manly 2013 Grand Final (4th)
15-1-8 (W-D-L) 62.5% (Win%) Pts For 24.5 Pts Against 15.3
This mob came so close to an NRL premiership, Daly Cherry-Evans was awarded the Clive Churchill medal in a losing Grand Final side. Better, they had Gorgeous George Rose. Plus a bearded winger dubbed Wolfman. Throw in the Stewart brothers and you have yourself a side as potent on field as it was at Mad Monday.
Key players: Daly Cherry-Evans, Jamie Lyon, Brett Stewart, Matt Ballin, Brent Kite