| Underdogs Can Bite Back |
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| I DON'T think the Warriors or their fans should worry too much about going into today's grand final against the Roosters as underdogs. Nor should they worry too much about the massive 44-0 loss they suffered at the hands of the Roosters in round 24. The reason I say this is because in the two grand finals I have played in, Newcastle were underdogs both times and before the second one we had suffered our worst loss of the season 40-0 to our grand final rivals, Parramatta. But we still went on to win both times. |
Just because the experts said we were the underdogs didn't mean for one minute that we went into the grand final thinking that we couldn't win, or believing that we wouldn't. In fact, that heavy defeat to the Eels provided us with some valuable motivation and taught us some important lessons. One thing is for sure. The Warriors will not be exploited by the Roosters in the same areas that they were the last time they met. The Warriors will have learnt more from that single defeat than from all of their wins this year. I think today's game is really up for grabs. While the Warriors have never played in a grand final, their players are certainly used to big-match footy, with many of them having played rep football and two having already played in grand finals. On the other hand, the Roosters still have the taste of grand-final defeat fresh in their mouths from two years ago and I'm sure they need no more motivation than that today. We saw after their win over Brisbane last weekend that the Roosters had learnt from their experiences and were not getting carried away. Not that I think allowing yourself to enjoy the excitement of grand-final week a little is such a bad thing. In fact, when you see how much excitement is involved in just making the grand final, you start to realise how much more excitement there would be if you actually went on to win it. That worked for us in 1997, when we had the whole city of Newcastle buzzing with grand-final fever. When our captain Paul Harragon addressed the team before we ran out that day he spoke of how we didn't just carry our own hopes, we carried the hopes of the entire city. The Warriors find themselves in a similar situation today. They will have the whole of New Zealand cheering them on. But the most exciting thing about grand finals is that no-one can really be sure who will win. It all comes down to who turns up on the day ready to play. It will take confidence, composure and maybe a little bit of luck to make the difference. |
| Author: ADAM MacDOUGALL, MAD DOG Date: 06/10/2002 Publication: Sun Herald |