The Spirit travel north to meet the Townsville Fire in Sunday’s grand final where a win will put them in the elite company of Nunawading (1986-1989) and Adelaide (1994-1996) as the only teams to have won at least three titles on the trot, despite there being eight opportunities for it to have been done since the WNBL was formed in 1981.

So what makes going from back-to-back to a third title in a row so challenging, with it an elite sporting trend not confined to just the WNBL?

A look at 12 major sporting competitions across the world shows just how hard it is for teams to win at least three consecutive titles – AFL/VFL (formed 1897 – 5 times); English Premier League (1893 – 5); F.A. Cup (1872 – 2); Major League Baseball (1903 – 4); National Soccer League/A League (1977 – 1); NBA (1950 – 5); NBL (1979 – 2); NFL Super Bowl (1967 – 0); NHL (1915 – 5); NRL (1908 – 7); Sheffield Shield (1893 – 4); WNBL (1981 – 2).

By Spirit coach Bernie Harrower’s (pictured) own admission, it would seem one of the biggest stumbling blocks to three in a row is motivation levels.

Two years ago the motivation for the Spirit during the 2012-13 season was the carat of winning their first WNBL championship, which they did on a memorable Sunday afternoon at the Bendigo Stadium against Townsville

With a first championship under the belt, motivation can come in different forms the following season.

None more so than the motivation to get back to the top and experience the ecstasy of the ultimate success again; retaining champion status; and perhaps there may be a driving force to prove that the previous year’s title was no fluke.

The Spirit backed up their 2012-13 success with a second-straight championship last season, again at the expense of Townsville.

But striving to add a third-consecutive title poses a whole new set of challenges and it would seem this season the biggest obstacle the Spirit have had to overcome is their thirst for the contest each week.

Read back through Harrower’s post-match comments in each Spirit loss and you will see a recrurring theme based around lack of hunger and intensity.

Looking beyond the Spirit to all sports, perhaps players coming off back-to-back titles can fall into a mindset of simply coasting through the home and away season and believing the team will be able to flick the switch and turn it on when it matters most.

For any sporting team pursuing three titles in a row, not only have they endured the chase of that first one, but then spent the next two seasons with a target on their back as the opposition has hunted them, determined to claim the coveted scalp of the defending champions.

The grind of consecutive years of the opposition constantly raising their game against you every week has to take a toll both physically and mentally and, when the going gets tough, it can perhaps become easy for the intensity levels to dip knowing you already have two premiership medals safely locked away.

That’s why it’s important for clubs to continually regenerate their squad and bring in fresh players so the group doesn’t get stale.

Plus there are opposition clubs with strong motivations of their own, with perhaps none greater than the Spirit’s foes this weekend, Townsville, fuelled by the hurt of back-to-back grand final defeats and still chasing that elusive first WNBL title.

You’ve only got to look at the Essendon premiership side of 2000 that won 24 of 25 games on the back of the gut-wrenching 1999 preliminary final debacle against Carlton to realise what can be born out of bitter disappointment.

But to draw on my own experience with the Stanhope under-18s from 1996-98, perhaps the inability to win a third flag in a row is something far more simple – and that is that after two on the trot, in the third year you get overtaken by a challenger and are just no longer good enough.

Hopefully, that’s not the case for the Spirit and they not only buck the WNBL trend, but the trend of so many elite competitions and capture a third-straight title.

Good luck. Play well.

3+ TITLES IN A ROW:

AUSTRALIA:

AFL:

4 – Collingwood (1927-30).

3 – Carlton (1906-08).

3 – Melbourne (1939-41).

3 – Melbourne (1955-57).

3 – Brisbane Lions (2001-03).

NATIONAL SOCCER LEAGUE/A LEAGUE

3 – Sydney City (1980-82).

NBL:

3 – Sydney Kings (2003-05).

3 – New Zealand Breakers (2011-13).

NRL:

11 – St George (1956-66).

5 – South Sydney (1925-29).

3 – Eastern Suburbs (1911-13).

3 – Balmain (1915-17).

3 – Eastern Suburbs (1935-37).

3 – South Sydney (1953-55).

3 – Parramatta (1981-83).

SHEFFIELD SHIELD:

9 – New South Wales (1954-62).

6 – New South Wales (1902-07).

3 – Western Australia (1987-89).

3 – Queensland (2000-02).

WNBL:

4 – Nunawading (1986-89).

3 – Adelaide (1994-96).

AMERICA/CANADA:

MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL:

5 – New York Yankees (1949-53).

4 – New York Yankees (1936-39).

3 – Oakland Athletics (1972-74).

3 – New York Yankees (1998-2000).

NBA (basketball):

8 – Boston Celtics (1959-66).

3 – Minneapolis Lakers (1952-54).

3 – Chicago Bulls (1991-93).

3 – Chicago Bulls (1996-98).

3 – L.A. Lakers (2000-02).

NFL SUPER BOWL (gridiron):

Nil.

NHL (ice hockey):

5 – Montreal Canadiens (1956-60).

4 – Montreal Canadiens (1976-79).

4 – New York Islanders (1980-83).

3 – Toronto Maple Leafs (1947-49).

3 – Toronto Maple Leafs (1962-64).

ENGLAND:

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE:

3 – Huddersfield Town (1924-26).

3 – Arsenal (1933-35).

3 – Liverpool (1982-84).

3 – Manchester United (1999-01).

3 – Manchester United (2007-09).

F.A. CUP:

3 – Wanderers (1876-78).

3 – Blackburn Rovers (1884-86).