For many people in this country 2012 was all about the five Olympic Rings.
Team of 2012
Most of the media attention was taken up by the Bradford Bulls last year, but it was the Wakefield Wildcats that had my eye. They began the season with a gang of players thrown together at the last minute and expected to finish 13th or 14th. They ended the season by almost beating the eventual Champions in the play-offs. Can they do it all again next season now that they are no longer the underdog in every game that they play?
Coach of 2012
The official award went to Mick Potter, but I don't agree with that. I'd have preferred Tony Smith (winners of Challenge Cup and Runners-up in the Grand Final) or Brian McDermott (runners up in Challenge Cup and winners in the Grand Final) to receive the award if you went down that route.
However for the reasons listed about, Richard Agar, wins my award for coach of the year. His squad of players didn't stop believing even though they had won only one of their opening six matches and showed the greatest amount of progress over eight months.
After a disappointing end to his time at Hull FC, Agar has rebuilt his reputation and walks into 2013 with a confident manner.
New Trend of 2012
Make sure that your team gets thrashed in March (add a little public humiliation away at St Helens if you can, then is embarrassed and booed off in June (Wigan made it look easy to score 50 points at Headingley), before finishing outside the top four and conceding almost 50 points in your last game of the season.
Then have the best four weeks of your life and win it from fifth!
Yes, I know that they did it last year as well, but it does seem to be a trend that Leeds are setting. It sort of contradicts what all of the performance experts say about needing to perform consistently throughout a season, but it seems to work for the Rhinos!
