- The Australian men’s pursuit cycling team won Olympic gold in 1984 and 2004
- Canterbury Bulldogs also won the football championships in the same years
- Australian quartet wins gold again in Paris against Great Britain
- Some avid Bulldog fans are adamant this is an omen for the NRL finals
Bulldogs NRL fans dare to dream big, given a strange Olympic pattern that could see them finish as champions in 2024.
In 1984 – when Canterbury defeated Parramatta 6-4 in the SCG grand final – the Australian men’s cycling pursuit team won gold at the Los Angeles Olympics that same year.
Twenty years later, the Bulldogs again won the Provan-Summons Trophy after a hard-fought 16-13 victory over the Roosters at Sydney Olympic Park. And a few months earlier, Australia had already won gold in this event in the men’s cycling team in Athens.
Let’s flash forward to the Paris Olympics, where Australians Oliver Bleddyn, Conor Leahy, Kelland O’Brien and Sam Welsford combined to surprise Great Britain. The football fans in Belmore were starting to get excited.
And with Cameron Ciraldo’s men currently sitting fifth on the NRL ladder with the finals approaching, the question arises: will lightning strike for a third time on the sporting front?
“Keep up the great work Bulldogs…great team, we can do it again,” one enthusiastic fan commented on Random Stats Guy’s Facebook post.
Another said, “The stars are favorable.”
A third replied: “These are the statistics I came for.”
Bulldogs NRL fans dare to dream based on bizarre Olympic pattern that could give them the championship title in 2024 (Braith Anasta is pictured, after winning the 2004 Grand Final)
In 1984 and 2004, when the Australian men’s cycling team won the Olympic gold medal, the Bulldogs later won the rugby league final. Will history repeat itself in 2024 after the Aussies (pictured) win in Paris?
Facebook page Random Stats Guy warned Bulldogs NRL fans of an omen they’re keen to support
Some Bulldogs fans could be accused of being ambitious, given the club has not played in a finals since 2016. But there is no doubt they are on the rise.
Led by new captain Stephen Crichton, Bulldogs champion Braith Anasta is pleased with what he sees in Belmore.
“I think he (Crichton) is their signing of the decade,” said NRL 360 co-presenter Anasta.
‘I don’t think he’s just the best centre in the league, I think he’s just behind Nathan (Cleary) as the best player in the game at the moment.
“He is a phenomenon, an incredible asset.”
And after seven wins in their last nine NRL games, Canterbury are ready to return to action in September after a lean few years.
On Saturday night, another team resurgent this season – the Dragons – host the Bulldogs at Kogarah Oval from 7.35pm AEST in what promises to be a blockbuster on a suburban field.