Cracks appearing in Albury's armour

After two straight Group Nine premierships, there is a growing feel that the Thunder do not have a walk-up start to a grand final hat-trick in September.

Now, this sentiment will not go down well on the border - it will actually go down about well as Albury's 16-6 loss to Gundagai at Anzac Park on Sunday.

As usual, the diehards in the Thunder ranks will have already fobbed off the three tries to one failure against the Tigers as nothing more than the most minor of hiccups.

You know the sort of stuff - "That was the loss we needed" etc.

That guff is a waste of breath - and Albury coach Josh Cale certainly didn't trot out similar rubbish after the game.

The big bloke just accepted that Albury hadn't played particularly well, saying that the Thunder's attack "was off" and that Gundagai's kicking game was more affective.

All too true.

Obviously Cale could have also said that Albury's pack had not been able to dominate like it has so often in the past.

The Thunder's trademark "power game" simply didn't wear down the Tigers, and leave them vulnerable to the whims of Willie Heta, Ben Jeffery, Mitch Seaton or Cameron Breust.

Rather, the Tigers forwards gave as good as they got - more so for much of the time.

This, of course, is not to say that the Albury pack didn't play well, as nothing could be further from the truth.

Rest assured Lou Goodwin, Mitch Davis, Jake Grace, Andrew Cowhan, Adam Coote and company tried their hearts out, and did not turn up their heels.

Sunday's game was great football.

No, there weren't too many flash tries, but it was tough without being the rubbish dished up by Brothers and Kangaroos the day before.

What a disgraceful exhibition that was at Equex Centre last Saturday.

It is a measure of referee Bernie Nix's cool head and patience that one, two or even three players weren't marched for their utter stupidity in the game.

Another referee might have got swept up in the heat and passion of the moment, and grossly over-reacted.

Not Bernie Nix - he kept calm and did his level best to keep the players the same.

Anyway, the Tigers and Thunder did not get involved in such garbage on Sunday, and referee Scott Muir only had to contend with the usual football misdemeanours.

Some might say Muir was whistle-happy on Sunday, but it was hard to argue with any of the 22 penalties he awarded in 80 minutes.

Muir, who celebrated his 350th first grade appointment on Sunday, didn't lose the game for Albury - and not even the most biased of Thunder supporters could think or suggest it.

The truth is Albury didn't take their chances, and were ultimately outsmarted and outgunned.

Twice in the second half the Thunder made long-range breaks, but didn't score tries through a combination of shoddy execution and Gundagai's ability to recover in defence.

Josh Cale later didn't tear strips off any of his players over the loss, but did say the rain had been against the team.

"The weather didn't help," Cale lamented.

"Southcity also beat us in the wet."

Shock and horror - Albury has already lost to both Gundagai and Southcity this year.

Not for a moment is The Notebook suggesting that two defeats is enough to put a line through Albury's prospects of winning a third successive Group Nine premiership.

Honestly, there is every conceivable chance that Albury will win the grand final at Equex Centre on September 29 - and in 2015 and beyond.

The point is, however, the Thunder are gradually coming back to the field, or, more precisely, other teams are closing the gap.

And this is hardly an earth-shattering development - it's been happening since even before Peter Mahoney was scoring all those tries for Kangaroos in the 1970s.

Over the years, and decades, there have been numerous cases of teams, or clubs, rising to such imposing heights that they appear utterly untouchable.

Look no further than the mighty Turvey Park teams of 1975 and 1976 as a perfect example.

At the time it seemed as if the Lions would never lose again - come 1977 they didn't make the finals.

There are other classic cases too.

Cootamundra won two premierships in three years (1988 and 1990) and has made one grand final since, winning by the way in 2005.

Still, three premierships in 27 years is quite an achievement.

The list goes on.

Kangaroos was the last club to win a hat-trick of grand finals (1999-2000-2001), but has managed only one more title in the intervening 13 years.

In some ways, the Wagga club could even be described as the model of efficiency, resources and power that Albury is now.

But, like the Greek and Roman civilisations of eons ago, even the greatest football powerhouses crumble.

What about Temora and Tumut?

The Dragons and Blues have been clearly the most successful clubs of the post-Kangaroos era, winning seven grand finals between them.

Now Temora and Tumut are struggling to win a few games a season.

The two clubs have fallen on hard and difficult times, but, others like Junee, Tumbarumba, Brothers and Young have also endured their fair share of football heartache.

The Diesels haven't won since 1986, and the Greens (1997) and Brethren (1995) have a single Group Nine title each to their credit in the past 35 years.

Naturally, Brothers and Tumbarumba were in Group 13 beforehand, but any success is that second tier competition really doesn't count.

Likewise, Young has won two Group Nine grand finals in 30 years, the last in 1991.

Fame is definitely fleeting.

For all the hype and adulation down on the border, the Thunder are far from an unstoppable force.

They may well win the title again next month - or else Southcity or Gundagai might have their number.

One way or the other, the cycle of football life will eventually give another club the chance to build a dynasty.

With a long-term view, Brothers has signed a new captain-coach with great credentials.

Is Ben Black the Brethren's savour?

Can he lead the club back to the top and break the premiership drought?

Amid the growing optimism at Brothers. and at several other clubs, the Thunder must always take heed of a famous sporting truism.

Like in life, it's never far from the penthouse to the basement.

Group Nine Team of the Week

Fullback: Zac Graham (Kangaroos)

Wingers: Kitione Rasotale (Tumbarumba), Luke Olson (Kangaroos)

Centres: Etuate Tagicakibau Bola (Tumbarumba), Dane O'Hehir (Gundagai)

Five-eighth: Glenn Dumbrell (Kangaroos)

Halfback: Gavin Kite (Temora)

Lock: James Luff (Gundagai)

Second rowers: Blake Dunn (Brothers), Jake Grace (Albury)

Props: Scott Matthews (Temora), Rulon Nutira (Gundagai)

Hookers: Joss Cleal (Tumbarumba)

* Players can be picked out of position