A week is a long time in rugby league, but a year looks like a lifetime for Sydney Roosters and the Bulldogs.

After round 11 last season, the Roosters were in first position on the ladder, with seven wins and three losses, having just thumped the Warriors 38-12 in Auckland. Roosters coach Brad Fittler, then, was hailed the club's saviour. After round 11 this year, the Roosters are propping up the table, with the Sharks, after suffering their biggest ever defeat by Penrith. The club's "el supremo", Nick Politis, now, is being woken up in the middle of the night on overseas trips, asked to defend the now embattled coach.

Across Sydney at Bulldogs HQ, after round 11 last year, the Berries were languishing in 13th position, having won just four matches; they eventually won only one more game all year. Then, players were leaving, and coach Steve Folkes was counting the days until he could leave the game, headed for the balmy climate of the Caribbean with the West Indies cricket team. After round 11 this year, the Bulldogs sit atop the premiership ladder, having toppled Melbourne Storm for the first time in six matches. Now, their off-season recruits have jelled quickly under new coach Kevin Moore, and the club is re-inventing itself off the paddock as the family club.

---

A couple of amazing long-range tries on the weekend - one from Penrith centre Michael Jennings against Sydney Roosters on Saturday, the another from Warriors Toyota Cup fullback Kevin Locke - got Statman thinking about the furthest he had seen one player run for a try.

It is difficult to top the three-pointer (yes, it was that long ago) that Paul Cross, the father of ex-Roosters and current Western Force Super 14 rugby player Ryan Cross, scored for Balmain Tigers in 1966, when he ran right along the dead-ball line before careering downfield for a memorable try.

---

Jarryd Hayne, in three matches since moving to fullback for the Eels, has produced herculean numbers that Statman hasn’t seen since - well, Statman doesn’t want to give his exact age away.

Hayne has scored five tries, made six line breaks, and made 42 tackle busts. He has also run 62 times for 650 metres (including a mammoth 32 runs and 327 metres in 90 minutes against South Sydney, the most metres by a player in three seasons). All while playing for the out-of-form Eels.

---

South Sydney, the innovators of so much in the game's 101 seasons - the first premiership winners; their run-not-kick policy; their development of the five-man forward packs in the 1920s; and their "People Power" march on Sydney Town Hall - have always prided themselves on tradition.

The Rabbitohs now seem to have taken it upon themselves to keep the honourable draw as a realistic option, even in the days of golden-point extra-time. Since 2003, when the extra period was introduced, the Bunnies have played in four of the seven drawn matches.

---

Everyone knows Statman loves digging through his archives; and nothing excites him more than stats that aren’t too obvious. Looking at the close results on the weekend, the stat that begged to be asked was: When was the last time a round of matches had a draw, a one-point, and a two-point margin?

And the answer is: round 16 last year; Penrith and Brisbane drew 12-12, South Sydney defeated North Queensland Cowboys 29-28 (the second-biggest league comeback of all time), and Wests Tigers suffered a two-point loss to the Warriors.

Not being satisfied with such an easy answer, Statman sharpened his pencil and got to counting how many times it had happened in history.

The answer is: 20; the first in round 5, 1925, when North Sydney and St George drew 13-13, Glebe defeated Easts 13-12, and Souths defeated Newtown 14-1.

Aah, memories ...