How to break the ‘Big 3’

[Sports Prophet]

2 hours ago, Liverpool Rover said:

The last few years seemed to have an NRL Grand Final featuring at least one of Melbourne, Roosters, Canterbury or Manly.

We need more teams to start getting into the Grand Final but the NRL to a lesser extent has had the same issue.

 

 

12 different champions in the last 16 years and 5 different champions in the last 5 year would suggest the NRL (if it does have a problem) has a very different problem.

[Marty Funkhouser]

6 hours ago, Ant said:

Those clubs also dominated before hand. 

Hardly,  4 different winners in 23 years of SL, 10 different winners in the 23 years prior to SL even with Wigan winning 7 on the trot...

[Wellsy4HullFC]

1 hour ago, Moove said:

The 20 years I used is the 20 years since play offs / Grand Final were introduced to Super League. That was in response to someone who was talking about removing the Grand Final so that 20 year period is entirely relevant.

Choosing the last seven years is selective.

Then you put them both together to paint a picture. It's called context.

The first 12 years saw only 4 clubs finish in the top spot.

The next 8 years saw 7 different clubs finish top (and none of those was one of the original big 4). That's a huge difference.

[Desert Skipper]

7 hours ago, Oliver Clothesoff said:

Wigan were coming to the back end of their period of dominance when Super League ended. 

  

Is that some scary prophecy?   Written on a stone tablet you found when running away from damn dirty apes? (no Wane jokes please)...

[Manfred Mann]

Catalans, after their late-2018 form, and now with the addition of Sam Tomkins, will be in a position to change things.

Mind you, I think that people underestimate Kevin Naiqama and his possible impact at centre for Saints. But Lachlan Coote was an uninspired signing by someone who was utterly incompetent. Naiqama should be Saints full back and Coote should be back playing in Australia's second division. The only team that would find Coote useful would be Widnes.

Wigan, if they have Lachlan Lam at half back, could be an exciting team in 2019. I predict that Lam will be so impressive that Wigan will be bitterly disappointed at losing him back to the Sydney Roosters in 2020.

Warrington will benefit greatly from their new signing, Blake Austin. He will score and create many tries.

I thus think that the top four in 2019 will be Warrington, Catalans, Wigan, and perhaps Saints, with Castleford probably fifth.

[Dunbar]

3 hours ago, Manfred Mann said:

But Lachlan Coote was an uninspired signing by someone who was utterly incompetent. Naiqama should be Saints full back and Coote should be back playing in Australia's second division. The only team that would find Coote useful would be Widnes.

So, reading between the lines here, I am guessing you don't rate Coote?

[Manfred Mann]

13 hours ago, Dunbar said:

So, reading between the lines here, I am guessing you don't rate Coote?

I am over time becoming increasingly inclined towards such an evaluation.

[MrPosh]

I don't think it's that tough a nut to crack.

We used to have a Big Four and we managed to break that up effectively enough.

[Rupert Prince]

On 10/14/2018 at 4:59 PM, scotchy1 said:

And Blackburn.

And then Blackburn sold their star player to Not Manchester United.

The point being they then fell like a stone. So the reality is the realistic answer is still 4 teams.

[Rupert Prince]

23 hours ago, scotchy1 said:

The fact the game went fully pro was obviously going to have an effect and one of those was always going to be to exacerbate the difference between clubs who had money and ones that dont.

Scale matters and the scale changed in 1996.

Clubs who could compete at semi-pro level can't compete at pro level. Like it or loathe its the natural evolution of the game that some clubs would be left behind. RL's problem is that whilst some clubs have stagnated, they have havent been overtaken like they should.

And the impact on pro RU affected RL going pro ... all paid by sky money.

Only a few RL clubs could find and pay the top teams and these have mostly dominated the top of the league.

RU had money and they also had the available overseas players who could fill the available teams, so it's a bit more likely to see a different name on the leader board.

[Damien]

On 10/14/2018 at 7:55 PM, Wellsy4HullFC said:

Very selective stats, considering 6 of the last 7 league leaders have all been different clubs.

2012 Wigan, 2013 Hudds, 2014 Saints, 2015 Leeds, 2016 Wire, 2017 Cas, 2018 Saints.

It really makes me laugh how some posters genuinely think that the league leaders would actually be the same if it was the top of the league that was the champions rather than the winner of the Grand Final. If the Champions that year are deemed to be the winners of the Grand Final then teams peak to win the Grand Final so whoever is the league leaders is completely irrelevant in such a discussion.

[Wellsy4HullFC]

55 minutes ago, Damien said:

It really makes me laugh how some posters genuinely think that the league leaders would actually be the same if it was the top of the league that was the champions rather than the winner of the Grand Final. If the Champions that year are deemed to be the winners of the Grand Final then teams peak to win the Grand Final so whoever is the league leaders is completely irrelevant in such a discussion.

I haven't made that claim that they would be the same.

[Rupert Prince]

59 minutes ago, Damien said:

It really makes me laugh how some posters genuinely think that the league leaders would actually be the same if it was the top of the league that was the champions rather than the winner of the Grand Final. If the Champions that year are deemed to be the winners of the Grand Final then teams peak to win the Grand Final so whoever is the league leaders is completely irrelevant in such a discussion.

Yes true, and it should be borne in mind.  But 6 out of 7 did finish top.

Other factors may be in play, not least the 8s, but it's still a fair comment.

[Niels]

1 hour ago, Rupert Prince said:

And then Blackburn sold their star player to Not Manchester United.

The point being they then fell like a stone. So the reality is the realistic answer is still 4 teams.

They weren't one season wonders. They finished second the year before becoming champions. 

We can't eliminate Leicester either just because it suits the argument. 

So the answer is still 6. 

I think in most sports for an underdog to win the title the big teams have to simultaneously underperform. Usually one of them will be strong enough though, hence the small number of champions.