Nexus were undoubtedly one of the most dominant teams of the 2010’s. In the ten years from 2011 to 2020 they won 6 minor premierships and made five grand finals. It is nearly inconceivable that someone could have had the wood over them in that time. And yet in recent years there has been a lot of talk of Nexus being the Convict’s bunny. Where did this come from and is it true? In the lead up to clash between the Convicts and Nexus in AFR round 13 – lets find out.
If you look at the Head to Head table in the Super League Hall of Fame it says that historically Nexus has dominated the Convicts, with a win loss ratio of 24-10 or 26-8 depending on which table you look at (there seem to be some discrepancies in the data there Caple…) which may leave you scratching your head wondering where this “bunny” claim can have come from. But the bunny tag has only been a relatively recent label. And the results in they time period are eye opening…
From the 2014 season to today, the Convicts and Nexus have faced off in the premiership 16 times. And in those 16 most recent games the tally is 8 wins a piece. Which actually means that in the prior to 2014 the score was either 16-2 or 18-0 (depending on which numbers are correct) in favour of Nexus. The turn around that the Convicts have made since their early days in the league is astounding.
Despite not winning the premiership that year, 2018 was perhaps the peak of Nexus powers. That year Nexus set the all-time season’s scoring record for AFR, while outscoring every opponent that year by over 200 points for. They won 16 games and only lost two matches on the way to the minor premiership. Do you know who those two losses were to? The Ashy Convicts… Twice. It is the Convicts that every other team has to thank for denying Nexus the only 18-0 season in the history of the AFR. And just when Cameron thought the curse of the Convicts might have been over, with Nexus having won all three battles they had in 2020 and 2021, the Convicts again dominated Nexus in their first clash of 2022.
But the Premiership is only half of the story in AFR. What about the Cups and the Champions League? Well in that same 2014 to today time period these two teams have met in those competitions only three times. And the record between them in those three matches? One draw and two wins to the Convicts. The Convicts have not lost to Nexus in Cup competitions in the last 9 years. Including the 2019 Champions League final where the Convicts denied Nexus (and Cameron) his first Champions League title. (And just to add some sweetener on it for everyone else, Naomi’s Convicts beat Cameron’s team Natas in the semi final of the Champions League that year as well!)
So in total across all competitions, since 2014 the tally is; Convicts 10, Nexus 8 and 1 draw.
Judges’ verdict? Its rabbit season!!
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