Since the creation of the Super League in 1996, only four clubs have lifted the trophy. Wigan, St Helens, Bradford and Leeds have secured their place in the sport's history during the summer era by being crowned champions on multiple occasions.
It’s also true to say that some truly great sides from those clubs have missed out on the top honour as well.
Only four more clubs have even made it to the Grand Final since the first one in 1998.
But who are the best sides to fail to lift the trophy?
Castleford Tigers 2017
In 2017, ‘Classy Cas’ produced rugby worthy of the name. The Tigers had been steadily building for success under Daryll Powell, but hadn’t quite been able to break into the top bracket in Super League.
But the class of 2017 certainly did! They quite simply outscored their opponents for fun. A memorable humbling of bitter rivals Leeds was just the start, as they marched towards their first league leaders shield.
The 10 point winning margin was justified too. With Luke Gale they had the best player in the competition that season. Zak Hardaker wasn’t far behind. The left edge of McMeeken, Shenton and Eden was potent. The latter notched 34 tries, the fifth best haul in the Super League era.
Their dramatic play-off triumph over Saints made many wonder, “could this be their year?”
Alas, it wouldn’t be. The loss of Hardaker due to off-the-field matters days before their Old Trafford debut threw a sizable spanner in the works. Eden shifting to full back lost Cas one of their key weapons, and they just weren't the same. They lost out to the big game experience of Leeds, the first time they’d lost to the Rhinos all season.
Sadly they haven’t hit the same heights since. Maybe their best chance has been and gone?
Warrington Wolves 2012 & 2013
There’s an old joke in rugby league, and it’s that it’s always Warrington’s year. Having been without a title win since 1955, it’s been a long, painful wait.
In 2012, they reached their first Grand Final. They went to Manchester in confident mood. They’d already beaten their opponents Leeds in one final, seeing them off at Wembley in the Challenge Cup.
With the likes of Brett Hodgson at Full Back, try machine Joel Monaghan on the flank coupled with the genius of Lee Briers and Michael Monaghan moving them around the park, there was a real feeling this could be the squad to change history. However, they fell short at the final hurdle, losing by eight points to the Rhinos.
Yet, the Wolves came back again. Another second-placed finish in the regular season paved the way for another Grand Final. This time against Wigan.
Much of the side that came so close the season before steered the Wire to back-to-back Old Trafford visits. They’d finished two places and six points above their opponents that season. They’d even beaten the league leaders Huddersfield in the play-offs. But again, they couldn’t get the job done, losing 30-16.
For stalwart Briers, it was the last chance of glory for him, leaving him as arguably one of the best players never to lift the trophy. Warrington would be back a few years later. But again, left empty handed.
Bradford Bulls 2002 & 2004
Making five finals in a row instantly makes you a great side. Yes there were a few personnel changes along the way, but the core of the side remained. If it didn't, it was replenished by someone equally as brilliant in most cases.
In 2001 for example, Henry Paul was in the halves. Paul Deacon replaced him for the final the year after. That’s not exactly a downgrade, is it? And don’t forget, big Lesley Vainokolo, Robbie Paul, Stuart Fielden and later on Jamie Peacock were among some of the talent to be part of these incredible Bulls’ teams.
2002 saw a star studded side under the watchful eye of Brian Noble, agonisingly beaten by Sean Long’s late, late drop goal. Two years later, and having won the trophy for the second time in three years in between, they were edged out by the Leeds Rhinos.
It’s the success of the years on either side that makes the two sides who tasted defeat rank among the best to not lift the trophy in a given season.
St Helens 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 & 2011
Bad sides don’t make six straight finals. They just don’t. In the later half of the noughties, and into the 2010’s, the Saints knew the path to Old Trafford like the back of their hands. But coming back with the trophy was an entirely different thing. They beat Hull in 2006 to lift their 4th title. Yet the chance to lift a fifth was spurned five years in a row!
In 2007 and 2008, they finished top of the regular season standings. They boasted the Man of Steel for each season in James Roby and James Graham respectively. They finished second in the table the next two seasons, and still made it to Old Trafford. They even made it from third in 2011. Each time, they headed back to Knowsley Road without the trophy. You could say they were cursed.
They did eventually break their Old Trafford hoodoo in 2014, before then only returning again in 2019. There’s a case to say the crop of 2018 is arguably the best side to fail to even make the Grand final, given their lengthy lead at the end of the season.
Winning the Grand Final isn’t for everyone it seems! It takes champion sides to lift the trophy, and sometimes even they can’t do it.
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