The National Rugby League's 'sleeping giant' is no more: NRL.com can reveal that for the first time since the formation of the NRL in 1998, all four western Sydney clubs – Penrith, Canterbury-Bankstown, Parramatta and the Wests Tigers – are entrenched in the top eight at the same time.
It's quite the turnaround, considering that this time last year, all four clubs were on the outside looking in, dismissed as irrelevant as they battled challenges on and off the field.
Let's take you back to the first week of April last season:
* The Bulldogs were reeling from revelations their Dally M-winning superstar was struggling with gambling and alcohol problems;
* Parramatta, who trumpeted the signing of new coach Ricky Stuart all pre-season, were on the cusp of the biggest bloodbath in the club's history – and we're not talking on the field;
* Wests Tigers rookie coach Mick Potter was days away from dropping franchise face Benji Marshall, an act that would ultimately culminate in Marshall's exit from the game; and
* The Panthers, well, they were so busy trying to convince everyone about their five-year plan that they seemingly forgot there was the majority of a season left to play.
Yet here we are, 12 months on, and all four teams enter the weekend with a combined 9-1 home record so far in 2014.
All of a sudden the heartland of rugby league is awash with a new-found hope and optimism that their respective teams are in for a finals push that only the Bulldogs tasted last season.
Link: https://www.nrl.com/why-leagues-heartland-is-pumping/tabid/10874/newsid/77526/default.aspx
It's quite the turnaround, considering that this time last year, all four clubs were on the outside looking in, dismissed as irrelevant as they battled challenges on and off the field.
Let's take you back to the first week of April last season:
* The Bulldogs were reeling from revelations their Dally M-winning superstar was struggling with gambling and alcohol problems;
* Parramatta, who trumpeted the signing of new coach Ricky Stuart all pre-season, were on the cusp of the biggest bloodbath in the club's history – and we're not talking on the field;
* Wests Tigers rookie coach Mick Potter was days away from dropping franchise face Benji Marshall, an act that would ultimately culminate in Marshall's exit from the game; and
* The Panthers, well, they were so busy trying to convince everyone about their five-year plan that they seemingly forgot there was the majority of a season left to play.
Yet here we are, 12 months on, and all four teams enter the weekend with a combined 9-1 home record so far in 2014.
All of a sudden the heartland of rugby league is awash with a new-found hope and optimism that their respective teams are in for a finals push that only the Bulldogs tasted last season.
Link: https://www.nrl.com/why-leagues-heartland-is-pumping/tabid/10874/newsid/77526/default.aspx
