Canterbury Bulls, 2014 national rugby league champions*.
That asterisk may sit there permanently for some after a farcical end to the season but not for the players or the coaching staff.
They say their Albert Baskerville Trophy was well earned and no-one could argue with their 40-8 trouncing of WaiCoa Bay in the one-sided grand final in Auckland on Saturday.
Canterbury finished the regular season in third while WaiCoa Bay were fourth. A niggly battle ensued over eligibility of players from the top two clubs, Akarana and Counties Manukau.
Both had fielded players from the Warriors which last season would have been fine. This year those Warriors players are registered with New South Wales so are ineligible to play for New Zealand clubs.
Canterbury Rugby League successfully protested against Counties Manukau. Counties then turned on Akarana and complained they too had played an ineligible player and both sides were stripped of their chance at the title.
WaiCoa Bay hadn't played since last month and were preparing for their end of season function when they found out late in the week they were final-bound.
Bulls coach Darrell Coad said while the off-field drama had dominated the build-up and it had been the cause of his sleepless nights, it did nothing to soften the celebrations.
''We talked about it a lot,'' Coad said. ''I'd be lying if I said we didn't. But it doesn't make what we did any less special. We worked really hard this year. We beat Akarana down here and then three teams all finished level on points. It was only points difference that cost us.
''As for the off the field stuff, that didn't come from me or the players, that was Canterbury Rugby League, but I look at it like this; 'if you're going to speed, don't complain if you get a speeding ticket'.''
On the field, the Bulls were simply too good. They dominated possession early, had a high completion rate despite the tricky conditions and a better kicking game.
They fell off a couple of tackles late in the first half so Coad, fearing an unlikely comeback, gave the players ''a pretty good time rev-up at halftime''.
In reality it wasn't needed as the Bulls led 24-8, but they scored 16 unanswered, second half points to cruise to victory in a seven-try to two romp.
Stand-off Toi Sepuloni was named player of the match while it could just as easily have gone to fullback Ken Tofilau. James Baxendale and captain Chris Bamford were also impressive while no player underperformed.
Tofilau, Bamford, hooker Manu Weepu and lock Agaese Fiso were all named in a paper-only New Zealand Residents team.
The title marks a quick rise through the ranks for Coad. After being a trainer with numerous teams and clubs, he got the coaching bug.
This was his first year as head coach of the Bulls.
''I was lucky enough to work with guys like Phil Prescott and Brent Stuart and that made me want to have a crack at coaching. I've been coaching Halswell for the last four years.
"This was the pinnacle for me. It's about the team more than me, but I'm pretty happy.''
Canterbury Bulls 40 (Erwin Sauni 2, Bruce Havea, Ken Tofilau, Toi Sepuloni, Cyrus Timo-Latu, Manu Weepu tries, Sepuloni 6 conv) WaiCoa Bay Stallions 8 (Isaac Robinson, John Koko tries). HT: 24-8.
Matt Richens - " The Press "
Last Modified on 20/10/2014 08:15
