Road to Glory

Nine weeks ago the monikers of Rays and Rebels didn’t mean a lot to most Australians. Let alone their affiliation with the Central Coast or Melbourne. It was nine weeks ago that the ARC started, bringing us this brand new national competition, the first of its kind in Australia. And nine weeks ago, no-one in rugby circles or otherwise could’ve predicted a Rays vs Rebels final. All the talk surrounded the Super 14 filled ranks of the Perth Spirit and Canberra Vikings, who boasted nearly 40 contracted Super players between them, while the other 6 teams shared around 50 Super 14 players. As far as the experts were concerned, the Central Coast and Melbourne had as much chance of making the finals as….well as much chance as Stephen Larkham getting through the World Cup injury free (sorry, the bitterness still lingers). But here we are with this unlikely final, with two teams who’ve trodden different paths to get to this point.