for me 2004 was relief. at last we had won a Gf. the other 'big 3' had won it and to do it at last was simply,as i say, relief rather than joy(although that changed later).

my point was do we realise what it takes to win it 3 years in a row?
watching stuart barnes a minute ago on SSN he said it takes a special team to become champions but a great team to retain it.
we have done it 3 years in a row. it's hard to imagine what it took, and quite honestly i think it will be well into the future when people look back and say, boy, they were a special,special team.

as for standards i thought 2004 and 2006 were pretty poor and i would agree that last season was too. if saints and leeds hadn't have had large parts of there squad at the world cup i would have expected both teams to be miles clear of the rest.

IMO Maybe breaking the salary cap to bring Adrian Morley over was a bigger factor?

I truly hope the board and coaching staff arent thinking like that.

Last seasons squad was good enough for me. Just winning the LLS would have been good enough for me. In fact just being top 2 and getting to the GF would have been fine with me. Id rather it did better though. Just as i would rather we had won the CC, WCC and gone through the season unbeaten as well. And whilst i understand this isnt a realistic benchmark for success i would be disappointed if it wasnt our ultimate aim.

The whole point of sport isnt to be the best, but to be [iyour[/i best and if we arent doing that then we are failling ourselves.

And im sorry for some reason you find it insulting to this team, but i think the 2004 one was better, and i think it beat more, better teams

im not sure thats much of an issue when neither Leeds nor Saints spent the full cap last year

Why?

because im not sure you can say the cap is spreading the talent more evenly when comfortably the two best teams dont even need to spend it.

I would simply argue it has led to less talent in the league overall

Here we go.....quote splitting again

Interesting question – 3 in a row is an unprecedented and unparalleled achievement. Something I doubt that we’ll seem again for a very long time.

But there was something special, almost magical about the 2004 win – a feeling that the superseding wins never quite emulated.

Would I swap the 2004 GF win for 3 back to back? Probably not but it’s a lot tougher decision than you may think.

2004 meant the world to me

the team I had grown up with through my teenage years had just done something I had only dreamed of

To do three in a row is amazing but I would love to go back to Old Trafford on the evening of the 16th October 2004

At risk of knitting fog, I'd have thought from a fan's perspective 2004 was the best moment. It followed, for most, a lifetime of no championships and at the time could have been a once in a lifetime achievement.

From a playing perspective (and leaving aside the strength of opposition each year), 2004 was big because of the 'weight' of all the barren years; 2009 was a remarkable first (back-back-back); 2008 was an unexpected retention. So if i were to rank them it'd be:

2004
2009
2008
2007

that isnt what i am saying.

What i am saying is that you cant credit the cap with spreading out the talent when we have had three consecutive GFs with the same teams, the same teams have been the top two in the league and they have pretty much dominated the league, when neither of them needed to spend the cap. I think it shows the incompetence at some of the other big clubs that they cant do anywhere near the same

a couple to RU, and plenty to RU at youth level as well. Some were never attracted to the game, and some (if not most)clubs have simply put less effort into youth development. Some have chosen to look to barely good enough NRL rejects as the easy option

that isnt what i am saying.

What i am saying is that you cant credit the cap with spreading out the talent when we have had three consecutive GFs with the same teams, the same teams have been the top two in the league and they have pretty much dominated the league, when neither of them needed to spend the cap. I think it shows the incompetence at some of the other big clubs that they cant do anywhere near the same'"

For me 2007 is the tops because I was there in person, missed 2004 due to hols, likewise 2009.
Roll on 2010, here's hoping for four in a row.

couldnt agree more mate,2004 was a magical year,you always remember your first time!
my favourite moment of all the gf's was scotty sitting wellens on his backside,only then did i know that we we're safe
what a fantastic acheivement 3 in a row is,here's to making it 4 in a row,i wouldn't bet against it