The South Sydney Rabbitohs finished the season in third on the ladder, with a 20-4 record that would be worthy of recognition had not one, but two, other teams gone one better. With 775 points scored and 453 conceded, the Rabbitohs were only good for 17.6 Pythagorean wins, meaning the 20 actual wins accrued is… Read More A Shallow Dive into the 2021 South Sydney Rabbitohs
The 2021 Melbourne Storm join the 2007 Melbourne Storm and, later, the 2021 Penrith Panthers in being the only teams to have achieved 21 wins in a NRL season. The 07 vintage is somewhat tainted by the demonstrated salary cap cheating but the most recent efforts from the Storm and Panthers are probably equally tainted… Read More A Shallow Dive into the 2021 Melbourne Storm
The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, one time historically bad team, finished the season 16-8 and rounded out the top four. With a points differential of +252, in a normal season, that would have possibly been enough for a minor premiership. They fell five wins short. In the finals, they were embarrassed by the Storm, then embarrased… Read More A Shallow Dive into the 2021 Manly Sea Eagles
In fifth on the ladder, we find the formerly Eastern Suburbs and currently Sydney Roosters. A more than respectable 16-8 season was paired with a +141 points difference, which was noticeably better than their 14.8 Pythagorean wins would have suggested. Their defence, leaking 489 points, was worse than any other in the top six bar… Read More A Shallow Dive into the 2021 Sydney Roosters
The Parramatta Eels finished the season in sixth place on the ladder before a graceful exit from the finals in the second week, at the hands of the Penrith Panthers. A 15-9 record came with a +109 points difference that was fairly reflective of their capability. A 457 points conceded was a respectable fourth best,… Read More A Shallow Dive into the 2021 Parramatta Eels
The Newcastle Knights finished the 2021 season in seventh place with a perfectly respectable and completely uninteresting 12-12 record and a slightly more bizarre -143 points difference. Gone are the days we can heap scorn on this franchise. That’s two consecutive seventh places, after two consecutive eleventh places after three consecutive spoons. They’ve entered the… Read More A Shallow Dive into the 2021 Newcastle Knights
The Titans of the Gold Coast finished in the top eight for the first time since 2016 and for the first time without a team above getting a points deduction for cap breaches since 2010. In both 2016 and 2021, the Titans had losing records, 10-14 being the mark this year. More promisingly, the Titans… Read More A Shallow Dive into the 2021 Gold Coast Titans
The Sharks, like the Raiders and Titans, won ten games and lost fourteen in 2021. They finished with a points difference of -36, landed at ninth on the ladder (needing just 34 more points to overhaul the Titans for eighth) and their Pythagorean expectation had them winning 11.2 games, 1.2 more than they actually did.… Read More A Shallow Dive into the 2021 Cronulla Sharks
We’ve gotten through the truly awful teams, so now we can focus on teams that underwhelmed but weren’t disgusting. First cab off the rank is the Canberra Raiders, finishing the 2021 season with a 10-14 record with a -97 points difference. That means the Raiders were only four points per game worse than the average… Read More A Shallow Dive into the 2021 Canberra Raiders
The St George Illawarra Dragons finished the 2021 NRL season in eleventh place, with a 8-16 record and a -142 points difference. Thus ends the facts. The Victory Lap From the pre-season deep dive: The league’s least interesting football team is back, whiter and blander than ever. Anthony Griffin returns from the wilderness, having previously… Read More A Shallow Dive into the 2021 St George Illawarra Dragons
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