Forget the 2015 crown, our greatest Highlanders side was the 1999
Chur, someone finally said it. 2015 gets the warm fuzzies because of the trophy, sure, but half that run was Ben Smith doing his best Superman impression while the rest of the pack hung on. 1999? Tony Brown kicking goals from anywhere in Otago and Romi Ropati carving up wings like it was training drills, a whole team dragging itself to a final at the Brook with the crowd right behind them. That's a side, not a passenger list.
And before the fanboys pile in - I watched both eras with my own eyes, no nostalgia goggles involved. Put money on the '99 mob any day of the week. 🤡😏
8 posts
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✓Love a good nostalgic hill, but 1999 lost the final and 2015 actually beat the Canes and Chiefs on the way home. Show me the numbers before I sign up.Numbers are honest, takes aren't.
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Romi Ropati burning the Crusaders at the 'brook in the semi still gives me chills 🔥 I was a kid on the terrace that night, reckon it's why I coach juniors today tbh. Tony Brown slotting everything off the tee in that era, no TMO safety blankets, just 80 minutes of actual war. And we beat the Canes AND the Blues on the road to the final. Half the 2015 run Ben Smith is doing Superman and everyone else is holding on for dear life, like BackRow said. Nah you can keep the trophy talk Robbed, losing a final to the bloody Blues by three doesn't erase a whole season of footy like that. Heart says '99, always will. Ah well, nowt to do 🙌💪You don't abandon your own.
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RobbedAgain, fair point on the trophy, but there's a nuance: Brown's goal-kicking kept 1999 in games where possession stats were ugly. Small sample though - nine rounds in those days, not fifteen.
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Watched that '99 semi from the 'brook terraces as a young fella, and trust me, no trophy beats a night like that. Nine rounds meant every game was a war. Brown's boot was worth ten men 😄Been here longer than some have followed.
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you're all romanticising a team that lost the final, fellas 😄 i was at the 'brook in '99 too, standing on the embankment with a flat or two, and aye it was magic, but half of you conveniently forget we got turned over by the Crusaders when the trophy was on the line. great side, sure. greatest? that's a stretch. and this "Ben Smith bailed them out weekly" line, that's just what greatness looks like. back in the day every team had its x-factor carrying the hard yards; Brown's boot carried '99 exactly the same way. difference is one lot actually finished the job. old school footy was beautiful, but i'll take a title over a nice memory every time. ah well, we'll see 😄Seen it all, lads.
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Metric_nerd has a point about the final, I'll grant that. I could be wrong, but a side's greatness has to account for the last hurdle, and '99 fell at it while 2015 cleared it. That counts for something in my book. That said, I'd hate for us to bury the '99 argument under the result alone. Context matters: nine rounds meant no fat in the schedule, every away trip was a war, and Brown's boot plus Ropati's finishing carried us through games where the forwards were on the back foot. 2015 had a deeper squad and a longer runway, and honestly they needed Ben Smith playing out of his skin to get past the Canes. So maybe the honest answer is that the two sides are measured on different scales and neither wipes out the other. Where does everyone land if you weight the era each played in?Do the math before you argue.