Against the Grain: why defence has never rated so good

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Jason Hosken reflects on how defence has led us to the incredible grand final match-up we have awaiting us on Friday.

Just over 11 months ago Cameron Smith signed off with the trophy, not that anyone knew. His official retirement was still months away, and at the time it mattered little. Against the odds, the season was over.

That was 2020, an NRL season like no other.

Now fast forward to Sunday night and Suncorp Stadium. And come the final whistle, the torrent of upheaval that is season 2021 may not fit under Brisbane's Story Bridge.

It started in March when the rule book suffered more tweaks than a Tom Trbojevic hamstring. Six-agains and fewer scrums satisfied a desire to speed up the play, then it didn't. But it was too late, the train had left the station.

Magic Round was exactly that, from old-school thuggery to the innocuous, any contact with the head, puff…gone.

Then came the virus, the same as last time only different. Something like a Burgess mutation, crunch. 

When everyone eventually woke up, the posts were in the Sunshine State. From Robina to Townsville and just about everywhere in between, Queensland was rugby league nirvana. 

Nothing added up, tackling seemed optional and scoreboards were on tilt. 

Records tumbled like the night Josh Addo-Carr bagged six tries, not since 1950 and against eventual grand finalist South Sydney - unfathomable.

The Storm torched most, equalling a record 19 on the bounce at almost 34 points a week. 

Alex Johnston made sure it wasn't all one-way traffic, surging to a Rabbitohs club record 29 tries that was set way back in 1954.

Then as the gap between the top sides and the also-rans widened, Tommy Turbo imposed himself like no other. Simply unstoppable with five hat-tricks on the way to blindsiding the Dally M count in just 15 appearances. 

Including finals, the fullback's trail of destruction included 28 tries, breaking Phil Blake's Manly club record from 1983. 

Blake was a teenage sensation, a DIY opportunist long before Bunnings made the grade. But more than that, he marks a line in the sand for his era.

The polar opposite to that drawn in 2021.

From 1984, right across the board the points suddenly dried up. It took Blake another three seasons to tally the 27 from his breakout year. Canterbury coach Warren Ryan had locked the door and thrown away the keys, the Dogs of War announced themselves as the ministers of defence and the others slowly fell into line. 

Grand finals from the time were a playmaker's worst nightmare. A miserly four tries across three grand finals from 1984, including the only tryless shootout in 1986.

Eventually rule modifications saw the game open up, and so the cycle continues with each ensuing adaptation. 

Now with the floodgates open wider than ever, the steely resistance of the top sides in recent weeks has rocked the script.

With a meagre five tries between them, Penrith's last two outings undermine the preconceived entertainment narrative, yet there they are, among the most spectacular contests seen in years. 

Names like Capewell and Sorenson, in the shadows of big names, scrambling to save their side's bacon in a showcase of rugby league's warm underside.

Now it's just the Panthers and Rabbitohs, stingy defence versus unpredictable brilliance. 

And in another season like no other, perhaps the best is yet to come.

This article originally appears in Volume 2 Issue 30 of The Front Row. Read the full 2021 NRL Grand Final programme here.