The incredible turnaround of the North Queensland Cowboys in 2022 has surprised almost everyone.
Somehow, the side that finished 2021 in 15th spot as the competition's worst defensive side has just booked itself a home preliminary final.
North Queensland have languished in the bottom eight since 2018. But head coach Todd Payten has managed to change their fortunes.
With the 2022 Cowboys in mind, we will explore eight other times in which teams have been able to climb from one end of the ladder to the other in a single season.
7. Canterbury Bulldogs - 2012
The Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs had once again fallen just short of the top eight in 2011, making it two years on the trot without a finals appearance.
Head coach Kevin Moore was sacked in Round 18 of that season and the club closed out the year in ninth spot.
The Bulldogs signed-up head coach Des Hasler fresh off a premiership victory with the Manly Sea Eagles.
The other big signing was that of St Helens prop James Graham who brought with him over 200 games worth of Super League experience and became a staple of the Canterbury forward pack.
What followed was a year in which the Bulldogs would claim the minor premiership-winning 18 from 24 during the home and away season.
The superb form of fullback, Ben Barba and coaching nounce of Hasler had elevated the Bulldogs to genuine premiership contenders.
At the Dally Ms, Barba's stunning season saw him win player of the year with 22 tries from 27 appearances.
Hasler would also go on to claim the 2012 coach of the year award.
Canterbury met a determined Melbourne Storm outfit in the grand final, spearheaded by the lethal trio of Cameron Smith, Cooper Cronk and Billy Slater.
Barba was shut down for the duration of the contest by the Melbourne defence and Canterbury would ultimately bow out, losing 14 - 4.
Panthers 2003: 12th to minor premiers and premiers seems to eclipse several of these.
Knew I would miss at least one. Where would you rank it amongst the others then?
It.s your article, so I donโt want to be presumptuous. Iโm also a Panthersโ supporter, so I will acknowledge my bias. It perhaps ranks somewhere between 3 and 5 โ They didnโt have the bounce-back effect of internal drama like the Roosters in 3, but didnโt necessarily climb as far. However, they were also wooden spooners two years prior and sat in fifteenth in the second week of the 2003 season. Based on that, Iโll leave it to you to judgeโฆ but it certainly ranks 5 at least and I would argue higher.
If I am honest the criteria for the rankings were kind of hard to pin down. Is it more impressive to come from 9th โ 12th to win a prem or 13th โ 16th and play deep into finals? Also how much do you factor in previous years in a one-year turnaround? Guess to some degree itโs quite subjective. Without delving too deep into the 02 Panthers I would say 03 Penrith is comparable to 13 Roosters so probably 4th or 5th.