Cronulla’s 38-point thrashing of Canterbury on Sunday completed one of the biggest statistical one-week turnarounds of recent times, having been spanked by Melbourne by a 44-point margin in the previous round.
Relive some of the best responses to scoreboard beatdowns in the annals of premiership history.
Canterbury-Bankstown (1935)
Canterbury’s debut season is chiefly remembered for being on the end of the two heaviest defeats in premiership history, but the fledgling club also staged one of the biggest turnarounds of all time.
After being crushed 91-6 by St George and then 87-7 by Easts a week later in 1935, Canterbury scored its maiden victory by trouncing battlers University 21-2 – a seven-day turnaround of 99 points.
Western Suburbs Magpies (1944)
Western Suburbs were obliterated 64-2 at Pratten Park by Balmain late in the 1944 season, conceding 14 tries in the second-biggest defeat in the club’s history.
But a week later, the Magpies upset Norths, who were still in finals contention, by 12-11 at North Sydney Oval.
Canberra Raiders (1982)
The Raiders were cannon fodder for most sides during their 1982 debut season, most notably going down 54-3 to defending premiers Parramatta in Round 7 – a defeat which remains the second-biggest in Canberra’s history.
But the ragtag Raiders hit back to score their maiden win in first grade by eclipsing Newtown – the Eels’ Grand Final opponents seven months earlier – 12-11 at Seiffert Oval seven days later.
Celebrations of the milestone were short-lived as they crashed to a 45-0 loss to fellow newcomers Illawarra in the next round.
Canberra Raiders (1996)
Ravaged by ACL injuries to Ricky Stuart and Bradley Clyde early in the 1996 campaign, Canberra was steamrolled 50-16 by Brisbane in Round 8 – the most points the perennial heavyweights had conceded for 11 years.
But the Raiders rallied to smash eventual top-four side Norths in their next match by the same margin, rookie forward Ben Kennedy and winger Noa Nadruku scoring two tries apiece in a 46-12 result.
Later that season, the Green Machine crashed to a 50-10 loss to Parramatta but rolled competition leaders Sydney City 16-12 five days later and eventually made the finals.
North Sydney Bears (1998)
Brisbane racked up the highest score conceded in North Sydney’s history in Round 7 of 1998, running in 11 tries in a 60-6 thumping despite having four players backing up from a Test match two days earlier.
Coach Peter Louis stuck solid with his line-up, however, and the Bears responded with a 32-8 defeat of bitter rivals and perennial heavyweights Manly the following weekend.
St George Illawarra Dragons (2000)
Grand finalists the previous season, the Saints’ disastrous 2000 campaign hit a new low when they were humiliated 50-4 by last-placed battlers North Queensland in Round 13.
But with a re-jigged line-up, the Dragons bounced back in emphatic fashion seven days later, decimating the Auckland Warriors 54-0 in Wollongong.
Amos Roberts scored a premiership record 22 points on debut and Nathan Blacklock bagged a hat-trick as the Dragons completed a 100-point turnaround.
Manly Sea Eagles (2004)
Rebuilding Manly conceded its highest-ever score in Round 22 of 2004, letting 13 tries through in a 72-12 defeat to defending premiers Penrith.
Rookie coach Des Hasler rung the changes and his Sea Eagles responded with a 48-10 demolition of top-eight hopefuls Newcastle – a turnaround of 98 points.
Teenage fullback Brett Stewart scored two tries, while mercurial five-eighth Andrew Walker kicked eight from eight.
Brisbane Broncos (2005)
Brisbane travelled to Melbourne in Round 4 of 2005 only to let in 10 tries in a then club record 50-4 defeat.
The Broncos returned to form in the familiar surroundings of Suncorp Stadium, however, blitzing eventual minor premiers Parramatta to the tune of 54-14 eight days later – an 86-point turnaround.
They led the Eels 42-0 at halftime before easing off in the second stanza.
Canberra Raiders (2007)
The Raiders performed an 88-point turnaround in seven days in 2007 – a rare highlight in a disappointing campaign for the Green Machine.
Canberra was swamped 58-16 by fellow also-rans St George Illawarra in Round 17 but recovered to decimate the Titans – who were desperately clinging to eighth spot – by a 56-10 scoreline a week later.
New Zealand Warriors (2013)
The Warriors’ dreadful start to their first campaign under coach Matt Elliott culminated in an insipid club record loss to Penrith, Elliott’s former club, in Round 10.
The Panthers, coached by former Warriors mentor Ivan Cleary, ran up a 62-6 scoreline, with former Warriors Isaac John and Lewis Brown scoring five tries between them.
But following a weeklong media hailstorm at their expense, the Warriors carved out a convincing 28-12 victory over fifth-placed Newcastle in Auckland, sparking a giant-killing run of seven wins in eight matches.
Parramatta Eels (2013)
There were few positives to draw from Parramatta’s 2013 wooden spoon season, but the woeful Eels’ ability to bounce back from a frightful beating with a win was noteworthy.
Five days after a 50-0 rout at the hands of the Sydney Roosters, the Eels rolled eventual finalists Cronulla 13-6.
Melbourne inflicted the second-biggest loss in Parramatta’s history – a 64-4 destruction – late in the season, but the blue-and-golds defeated St George Illawarra 26-22 the following weekend.
Newcastle Knights (2019)
The Knights had swings of more than 70 points for four consecutive weeks in a wild finish to their 2019 campaign.
After whipping the Cowboys 42-4, the Knights parted company with coach Nathan Brown following a pitiful 46-4 loss to the Tigers a week later.
Newcastle benefitted from the age-old coach sacking bounce-back with a 38-4 demolition of Gold Coast in Kristian Woolf’s first match as caretaker.
It was unfortunately short-lived as the Knights closed out their season with a 54-10 defeat to the Panthers in the following round.
Brisbane Broncos (2021)
Reigning wooden spooners the Broncos continued to languish in 2021, with an ugly 50-6 defeat to Manly at Suncorp Stadium – their fifth by a margin of 24 points already to that point of the campaign.
Kevin Walters’ chastened side made a big statement, with a David Mead hat-trick spearheading a 34-16 defeat of the star-studded Roosters at the SCG, the Broncos’ first win outside Queensland since July 2019.
The Broncos scored 24 unanswered points in the last 42 minutes.
Gold Coast Titans (2021)
Gold Coast conceded its equal-second-highest tally of points in a 56-24 home loss to a Tom Trbojevic-inspired Manly side during the second half of 2021.
The Titans completed a 70-point turnaround, however, with a 44-6 rout of Canberra at GIO Stadium that set the club on a course to their first finals appearance in five years.
New Zealand Warriors (2022)
The Nathan Brown-coached Warriors set a new club record for their biggest-ever defeat and became just the 10th side in premiership history to concede 70 points, crashing to a 70-10 Anzac Day loss to Melbourne courtesy of a nightmarish second half implosion.
Somehow the embattled Warriors regrouped to beat Canberra 21-20 in golden point just five days later, clawing back to send the match into extra-time courtesy of a controversial late penalty before Shaun Johnson slotted the match-winner.
Cronulla Sharks (2023)
The Sharks had their premiership credentials severely rattled in Round 15 courtesy of a 54-10 drubbing at the hands of the Storm, who themselves had been embarrassed 45-20 by the struggling Cowboys a week earlier.
But Craig Fitzgibbon’s side returned to form quickly, trouncing Canterbury 48-10 in an 82-point turnaround.
The Sharks ran in eight tries inside an hour and threatened to rack up a cricket score before easing off in the final quarter of the match.