The Jets have played 818 games since 1982, but there was one match in September 2015 which stands above them all.
After four previous Grand Final appearances in 1988, 1989, 2002 and 2008 yielded heartbreak and misery – the 2015 Grand Final presented an opportunity to right the wrongs of past failures.
Ipswich entered the Grand Final as complete outsiders facing off against a star-studded Townsville Blackhawks squad which boasted 637 games of NRL experience as well as a young Jahrome Hughes.
Conversely, the Jets had only six games of NRL experience in their squad – all provided by Matt Parcell who had debuted for the Brisbane Broncos earlier in the season.
The Jets were primed entering the bout, winning three finals matches in a row while displaying a breathtaking style of rugby league pioneered by head coaches Ben and Shane Walker.
Their unique style was appeared to backfire early in the match, with a loose carry and failed short kick-off attempt resulting in the Jets being under heavy pressure in the opening ten minutes.
With the Jets needing a spark to get back into the game, in stepped Marmin Barba to ignite the Ipswich attack and spur the Jets to a 16-8 lead at halftime.
Marmin had become a gauge for the Jets, if Marmin was firing then the Jets were flying.
The Jets have scored 2659 tries in the Hostplus Cup, but no Jet has scored more than Marmin’s 79 tries.
No man had given the city of Ipswich more belief for a maiden premiership than Marmin Barba and his prolific try-scoring record.
“Not a day goes by that I don’t think of the Jets and smile, what we had and what we did was special,” Barba said.
“I wish it could be that time in my life forever.”
Barba’s 2015 season was incredible, scoring 30 tries and being a standout performer in the Grand Final with a try, try assist and 126 metres made without being tackled once.
Jets centre Liam Capewell had the tall order of defending Mosese Pangai, performing admirably and preventing his opposite man from scoring.
“I remember Pangai fending me in the first half and nearly putting his hand through my chest,” Capewell laughed.
“The storm before the match built up the game even more, on the drive to Red Hill the sky turned black there was a true summer downpour.”
Josh Seage, the starting prop for Ipswich, recalled not feeling satisfied until an 80th minute match-sealing try from teammate and friend Matt Parcell.
Seage was knocked unconscious in a tackle and joined injured teammate Kurt Capewell on a depleted bench with only two fit interchanges.
“I remember never being comfortable until Matty Parcell scored right at the end,” Seage said.
“I also didn’t realise how many people from Ipswich went that day, everyone you talk to says they were there.
“They might be lying, but it had a real impact on the city and the people.”
Ipswich tackling tyro Sam Martin found himself on the edge on that momentous day.
“It was a great day, just being in the dressing rooms after the win was a moment which stands out to me,” Martin said.
“Just being in there with a beer,
“I will never forget Dan Coburn coming into the room and saying you did it Marto. Seeing the emotion on his face was a real highlight.”
Jets half and chief organiser for 137 Hostplus Cup games was Dane Phillips.
“I think the excitement was the initial feeling going to the ground.” Phillips said.
“The sheds were pumping with music I just felt so relaxed, and I can’t even remember thinking we might lose.
“We weren’t arrogant, we just had a confidence in everything around us.
“Ben and Shane [Walker] just had complete confidence in us that we could do it and how we would do it.”
The Jets' old boys gathered last Saturday to watch the current Jets squad at North Ipswich Reserve, and despite the current Jets suffering a defeat – their extraordinary victory at Suncorp Stadium hasn’t been diminished by time and the 28 Jets players can still acknowledge the impact of their unlikely premiership.
