Historical perspective:
Souths: won premierships in 1908, 1909, 1914, 1918, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1931, 1932, 1950, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1971, 2014. Late 20's to early 30's - great team, also early 50's and late 60's. From 1972 to 2010 (almost 40 years) - mostly crap, also-rans till Crowe and Co got on board, especially with the Burgess Bros recruitment. Always going on about how many titles they have won, but have only won one GF in the last
50 years.
St George: won premierships
1941,
1949,
1956,
1957,
1958,
1959,
1960,
1961,
1962,
1963,
1964,
1965,
1966,
1977,
1979 - and again in 2010 as St George Illawawarra. Record run from 1956 to 1966; two wins in the 1970's. One title only - as a merged entity - in the last
40 years. Now - rubbish.
Canterbury: won premierships in
1938,
1942,
1980,
1984,
1985,
1988,
1995,
2004.
Four premierships in the 1980's; one in the 1990's....one in the early 2000's. Now - rubbish.
Eastern Suburbs: won premierships in
1911,
1912,
1913,
1923,
1935,
1936,
1937,
1940,
1945,
1974,
1975,
2002,
2013,
2018,
2019. Good from 1935 to 1945, then zip till the 1970's. Been rising since 2010 or so off the back of Nick Polites and his $$ and connections.
Other current Sydney teams:
Tigers: repeating a cycle of failure. One premiership as a merged entity.
Sharks: won once since 1967.
Eels : won 4 times in the 1980's, now repeating a cyclical rise and fall.
37 years since their last premiership.
Panthers: won premierships in
1991,
2003,
2021,
2022. Looking the goods for 2023. Were almost a laughing stock from 1967 to the late 1980's. Now the mecca for Polynesian migrants with rugby league talent it seems, as well as a network of clubs and gambling / entertainment $$.
I'm not going to go through Manly's history, as it should be imprinted on all of our sausage-roll eating collective consciousness. WE have a great history.
My point?
Today's NRL structure only leaves room for 3 to 4 Sydney clubs to really shine nationally , as cherry-picking of resources between over-congested RL Sydney market (in terms of total teams) is a zero-sum game of winners and losers.
Till the comp expanded in the late 1980's , Manly really didn't get major success till (a) the St George bubble burst, and (b) Souths also fell by the wayside. Then - combine Arko's brilliance in the head office with Fulton on the field, add Eadie, Randall, etc - ...= 4 premierships in the 1970's.
Parramatta and Canterbury had their best years in the 1980's, but have never really been the same again after Brisbane, Canberra and Newcastle (and Warriors) entered the comp.
Today - quasi-national comp, talent moving from club to club, state to state, country to country. Only two to three
Sydney teams have been consistently performing over the last
10 years: Roosters, Panthers, Bunnies.
Roosters & Bunnies: almost sharing the same 'corporate' strategy , more or less.
Panthers: huge production line of junior talent, good at picking / keeping who they want, finally have a decent coach ( a Manly junior, no less - the irony...........).
Do we try and copy the strategy of 'successful' Sydney teams - or can we forge a different way? We can't copy Penrith - can't replicate the demographics. However - a visionary owner with deep pockets and a huge love of the Sea Eagles - one who wants to 'out-Polites' the Roosters and 'out-Crowe' the Bunnies
may work.
'Cause it may be that to win the national competition, being the best team in Sydney may have to be the first step..................if you're a Sydney team.
