BY ALBY TALARICO
All sports fans know the comfort of superstition and all sports tipsters tend to hold a quiet reverence for it – rugby league being no exception.
Tyson Frizell wears those black boots. Old Aaron Woods had to have his hair done right. On the fan front, the Blues Brothers go for a flutter at the casino the night before Origin… not all superstitions are successful.
Then there are trends that lend themselves to becoming superstition, such as the second-year to third-year rule.
For four decades from 1962, the team that won the grand final in the second year of the decade would also win it in the third. St. George won in 1962 and 1963; Manly won in 1972 and 1973; Parramatta won in 1982 and 1983; and the Broncos won in 1992 and 1993. Of course, the Roosters buggered it all up when they lost to the Panthers in 2003, but then that’s just the kind of disregard for history that you’d expect from Easts, isn’t it?
The Eleven [11] phenomenon….
There’s one modern team with a trend so spooky that it has stayed alive as superstition for six decades.
And that, dear tipsters, is the St. George Illawarra Dragons and their dual-club relationship with the number eleven.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a league fan unaware that from 1956 to 1966, the St. George Dragons won eleven premierships in a row.
But with the introduction of the four-tackle rule in 1967 it all came to an end, and they were knocked out in the preliminary final by the Canterbury Bankstown led by former Dragon Kevin Ryan.
The score? Berries: 12 .. Dragons 11.
St George appeared in the 1971 and 1975 grand finals and were competitive during the interceding years, but no premierships. That was until 1977, when they again lifted the J.J.Giltinan Shield in a triumphant 22-0 grand final replay against Parramatta – eleven years after their last grand final win.
They were coached by Harry Bath who by chance coached Balmain who played St George in 1966 the last of the Magic 11 and yes, you guessed it 11 years later he wins with Baths Babes.
Let’s not forget Barry Beath who won premierships in his first & 11th seasons as a player.
His name has become a part of Australian slang.
One player played in the first of the eleven premierships in 1956 and the last in 1966 can you guess who that is?
In 1979 St George in their last premiership were captained by Craig Young who played in jersey 11 I know that’s a stretch but read on.
They only played one grand final in the ’80s, 1985 (completing another numerical trend of theirs, a year-five trifecta of 1965, 1975, and 1985), which was lost again to arch-enemies Canterbury Bankstown, who had by that point scored themselves a name – the Bulldogs.
But they did win the 1988 Panasonic Cup Eleven years after winning the Premiership in 1977 with Bert Gordon crossing for two tries.
Eleven years after their 1985 battle, they played their last grand final as a standalone side, losing to Manly in 1996.
Let’s not forget our JV partners In 1992 the Illawarra Steelers defeated Brisbane 4-2 to win the Tooheys Challenge Trophy and made the finals for the first time.
It was their eleventh season.
In 1999 the two teams merged to become the St. George Illawarra Dragons – eleven years after the St. George Dragons’ last trophy. And though they came close in 2005, the team didn’t appear in any grand finals in the noughties. That was saved for their 2010 grand final win – eleven years after the merger.
Oh, and Saint George has eleven Letters.
