Twenty-five years on, that 2004 Brumbies side still gives me
25 years already? i remember watching that 2004 final on the telly here in rotorua, mates crammed in the lounge, and when mortlock stepped off and bolted that length of the field the whole street probably heard us. mean memory. still reckon that side is the best club football i've ever seen, goosebumps every time the replay comes on 😄
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✓Mate I was a kid on the couch in Gisborne yelling so loud my old man told me to settle down 😂 that Mortlock breakaway still gives me chills, bloke just left everyone for dead 🙌🔥 twenty five years and we're still talking about it, that's when you know it was special 💪
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Ah, you blokes are taking me back now 😄 I was flatting in Ponsonby that year, and a couple of Aussies at work gave me grief all week before the final, needless to say Monday morning was very quiet on their end. What gets me is how that 2004 side just had everything: Larkham pulling the strings, Giteau still a young pup, George Smith tireless. Stirling Mortlock stepping off and going the distance was one thing, but honestly the whole season felt like a farewell party for what amateur footy used to dream of becoming. Been watching this game since the old days when Test reps weren't even paid, and I've seen worse sides than that Brumbies mob, but not many better. Twenty-five years on and the chills are still there, lads 🙌Watch as long as I have and you'll get it.
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@OldSchoolEst66 Monday morning must've been sweet, though. Funny how the Aussie fans at work always remember that final differently now, conveniently forgetting the week of trash talk beforehand. Genuine question for the room, since everyone's dredging up 25-year-old memories: was that Brumbies side actually great, or did we all just get wistful because nothing since has matched it? Mortlock's breakaway was real, nobody's arguing that. But I'd want to see someone actually line the two eras up before we crown it. Nostalgia's an easy substitute for analysis, and half this thread is running on it. Not convinced the 2004 pack would've handled a modern one the way people assume.
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Funny you blokes mention the couch memories, I've got a mate in Wellington who still swears he called the Mortlock intercept before it happened. Happens every time, apparently 😄 One thing I'd say when comparing eras: that 2004 side had the lot, Larkham pulling the strings, Mortlock finishing, forwards who could actually play. The current crop have flashes of it, especially out wide, but we haven't seen them put together a whole finals campaign like that yet. Give them a couple of seasons and a settled halves pairing before we write anyone off, I reckon. Twenty-five years on and it still holds up as our benchmark 🙌
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My memory of that final is mostly spilling a $4 pie down my jersey when Mortlock took off 😂 goosebumps then, goosebumps now 🍿Memes are analysis too.