Following Palmerbet’s NRL Same Game Multi’s barnstorming debut in recent weeks – and coinciding with the first week of the NRL Finals – we’re winding back the clock. How would an SGM placed on the 2001 Grand Final have looked?
Parramatta Eels and Newcastle Knights square off in an elimination final on Sunday afternoon, the club’s first post-season showdown since that decider 20 years ago.
Brian Smith-coached Parramatta cut a blistering, record-breaking path to the 2001 Grand Final. The blue-and-golds won 20 and drew two of their 26 games to finish five points clear as minor premiers. They scored an unprecedented 839 points, including 142 tries. After demolishing the eighth-placed Warriors 56-12 in week one of the playoffs, the Eels put their gut-wrenching 1998-2000 preliminary final defeats behind them with a high-quality 26-18 victory over defending champs Brisbane. The addition of veteran halves Jason Taylor and Michael Buettner was an ideal foil for effervescent backs Brett Hodgson, Jamie Lyon, Luke Burt and PJ Marsh. A youthful-but-well-rounded pack featured captain Nathan Cayless, Nathan Hindmarsh, Michael Vella and Daniel Wagon.
Third-placed Newcastle flew under the radar somewhat under rookie coach Michael Hagan. The club overcame the controversial axing of Knights great Matthew Johns to win 16 regular-season games on the back of another virtuoso season from Andrew Johns, who also took on the captaincy. ‘Joey’, Timana Tahu, Darren Albert, Mark Hughes, Adam MacDougall and destructive back-rower Ben Kennedy would all finish the season with 14-plus tries for the tough, freewheeling Knights. They put away the Roosters and Sharks in the finals to book a spot in the big one.
But all the hype leading into the decider surrounded the Eels, installed as resounding $1.40 favourites giving away a 7.5-point start. The scene was set for one of the great Grand Final boilovers.
Margin (Newcastle Knights 1-12 @ $4.00)
Few were prepared to tip against Parramatta, who had lost just one of their last 22 games. The Eels’ dominant run included a 40-0 demolition of the Knights. Having seemingly exorcised their finals demons, they were playing at a level that pointed squarely to the end of the club’s 15-year title drought.
But the Knights had other plans, executing arguably the greatest Grand Final ambush of all time. The underdogs opened the match at a searing pace and scored in just the fourth minute. Before the Eels had even got their bearing at ANZ Stadium, they found themselves staring down the barrel of an 18-0 deficit after 21 minutes and trailed by 24 points at the break – the biggest-ever halftime margin in a Grand Final.
The match was all but over at 28-6 midway through the second half. Punters backing a Knights 1-12 victory at healthy odds revelled in a spirited late fight-back from the Eels, with their three tries in the last 15 minutes pulling the final scoreline back to 30-24.
Somewhat ominously for Eels fans, they again find themselves heading into an all-or-nothing post-season showdown with the Knights as $1.40 favourites this weekend.
Anytime Tryscorer (Timana Tahu @ $1.83)
Underrated lock Bill Peden – one of five survivors from the Knights’ 1997 Grand Final triumph – thwarted most First Tryscorer punters. He was a $41 chance to bag the first four-pointer of the Grand Final, which he did in the fourth minute. Fellow forwards Steve Simpson and Ben Kennedy scored tries either side of Peden’s second as the Knights raced to an unassailable halftime lead.
The Knights’ sole try of the second half came from a more familiar source. Brilliant winger Timana Tahu sensationally gathered in an Andrew Johns bomb near the sideline to dot down for a premiership-sealing try.
Eels wingers Blake Ferguson ($1.67) and Haze Dunster ($1.83) are the shortest-priced Anytime Tryscorer favourites ahead of Sunday’s showdown. Enari Tuala ($2.00) and fullback whiz Kalyn Ponga ($2.30) are rated the Knights’ best chances.
Which NRL moment broke you? Which NRL moment in time continues to rattle around in your head?
For me, it's Timana Tahu's 64th minute try in the 2001 GF. It was when I knew it was over.
This, closely followed by Daniel Wagon darting out of the defensive line in the 2005 Prelim.
— Mitch (@mitcheels1) October 13, 2020
To Score 2 or more Tries (Jamie Lyon @ $8.50)
Nineteen-year-old Parramatta centre Jamie Lyon went on a tryscoring spree during the second half of 2001. After failing to score in the opening 12 rounds, Lyon scored 13 tries in his next 16 appearances – including three doubles. The hard-to-handle tyro scored a dubious four-pointer in the 66th minute after Adam MacDougall muffed a kick. Tahu had a brace seven minutes later after backing up a break from interchange firecracker PJ Marsh. Elusive Eels fullback Brett Hodgson also bagged a second-half double.
Ferguson ($4.33), Dunster ($5.00), Clint Gutherson ($6.00), Tuala ($6.50) and Ponga ($8.50) are the most-favoured players to cross multiple times on Sunday.
Total Points (Over 46.5 @ $1.88)
Just two deciders had produced more than 38 points since Grand Finals became mandatory in 1954. The attacking artillery laced throughout both line-ups pointed to a high-scorer, which materialised courtesy of Parramatta’s late flurry in a boon for overs punters.
The tally of 54 points remains comfortably the most in Grand Final history. The Eels’ 24 points is also the most ever scored in a decider by the losing team.
The Total Score line for this weekend’s Eels-Knights elimination final is set at 44.5 points.
NRL Clive Churchill Medal Winner (Andrew Johns @ $5.00)
The favourite to be named best on ground despite the Knights’ underdog status, Johns was a somewhat contentious recipient of the Clive Churchill Medal. The halfback nonpareil played a controlled architect role but was not required to play his familiar match-winner role. The shock Grand Final result was largely achieved via the Knights pack’s dominance. Many observers thought tackle-busting enforcer Kennedy deserved the honour.
Penrith’s Nathan Cleary ($6), Manly’s Tom Trbojevic ($9) and Melbourne’s Cameron Munster ($11) are the Churchill Medal favourites on the eve of the 2021 finals.
Same Game Multi rewind: 2001 NRL Grand Final – Parramatta v Newcastle
- Margin (Newcastle 1-12 @ $4.00)
- Anytime Tryscorer (Timana Tahu @ $1.83)
- To Score 2 or more Tries (Jamie Lyon @ $8.50)
- Total Points (Over 48.5 @ $1.88)
- Clive Churchill Medal Winner (Andrew Johns @ $5.00)
=$501
BET NOW ON PARRAMATTA V NEWCASTLE:
