Jarrod Croker is the goat. Sadly, he always will be. The young Raiders goal-kicker missed a penalty shot from almost directly in front 25 metres out with five minutes to go that would have levelled the scores and most likely sent the match to golden point extra-time. Croker has the third best kicking percentage in the NRL and had not missed a kick since round 25 but the pressure of the situation got to Croker and now he is the man whose missed kick has left the Raiders faithful devastated.

Still, it is impossible not to feel sorry for young Croker. He is only a kid and he has the unenviable task of goal-kicking. There is no doubt, however, that he choked. He has admitted as much himself. Fortunately for Croker, his choke was not nearly as bad as the following ten throat constrictors.

10. 1991 Rugby World Cup: Gavin Hastings

Hastings is regarded as Scotland's finest ever rugby player, a fullback of considerable skill and heart who played and kicked Scotland to innumerable victories over the years. In 1991 at the home of Scottish rugby, Murrayfield, in a World Cup semi-final against arch-rivals England with the English leading 9-6, Scotland were awarded a penalty almost straight in front of the posts less than 20 metres out. Hastings stepped up to slot what would surely be the tying score with the caller of the match noting that even the England players did not believe Hastings, one of the greatest rugby kickers of all-time, would miss. He did. Hastings pushed the ball to the right of the posts and Scottish rugby has been in steady decline ever since having yet to reach a World Cup semi-final since that infamous Hastings miss.

9. 1999 British Open: Jean Van de Velde

Little known French golfer Jean Van de Velde seemed to have the 1999 British Open in his keeping as he went to the 72nd and final hole with a three-shot lead. Van de Velde had handled the difficult Carnoustie conditions with aplomb, shooting a 68 in the second round and a 70 in the third to go into the final day with a five-stroke lead. He had played the eighteenth well throughout the tournament and with a double-bogey all that was required, Van de Velde was expected to lift the Claret Jug. But he found the rough after taking a driver from the tee before hitting the ball into the grandstand with his second. The ball bounced back towards the Frenchman and landed in heavy rough. His next shot plopped into the Barry Burn before he took a drop and then found a greenside bunker. Van de Velde made a triple-bogey and then lost a three-way playoff to Scot Paul Lawrie. Van de Velde never got closer than 19th in a major again and picked up only one professional victory after his infamous collapse.

8. 1993 NCAA Basketball Final: Chris Webber

Webber was the biggest name in college basketball from his freshman year at Michigan in 1991 through to 1993. Webber was the best player on a Michigan Wolverines team known as "The Fab Five," arguably the best team in college hoops at the time and certainly the most popular as Webber and his teammate popularised the link between hip hop culture and basketball with baggy shorts and black shoes. Michigan went to the final of the 1992 NCAA Tournament, losing 71-51 to Duke, and were back to the Big Dance again in 1993 where they were favoured to beat North Carolina. Michigan were down 73-71 with 11 seconds remaining when Webber called a timeout despite the fact Michigan had no timeouts remaining. The subsequent technical foul ended Michigan's hopes of the title. Webber went on to play 14 seasons in the NBA and was a five-time All-Star but was generally thought to have underachieved professionally as his college indiscretion remains with him to this day.

7. 1993 Wimbledon Final: Jana Novotna

More renowned as a doubles player, Novotna's most famous moment came in the 1993 Wimbledon final against Steffi Graf. It was only Novotna's second Grand Slam final while Graf had won four of the previous five Wimbledon titles and was at the height of her powers. Novotna lost a close first set but bounced back to win the second 6-1 before building a 4-1 lead in the deciding set while also serving for the game and a 5-1 lead. Novotna double-faulted and then collapsed to lose the final set 6-4 with the enduring image of that Wimbledon final being Novotna crying on the shoulder of the Duchess of Kent. Novotna would win her only singles Grand Slam title five years later when she won at Wimbledon. Graf would finish her career with 22 Grand Slam titles including a further 9 after coming back against Novotna at Wimbledon in '93.

In 1994, Roberto Baggio was revered as the best player in world soccer. He was crowned FIFA World Player of the Year in 1993 and when he was transferred to Juventus from Florentina for a world record transfer fee in 1990, the streets of Florence broke into riot with 50 people injured. Baggio guided Italy to the 1994 World Cup final with 5 goals including a semi-final double but he quickly became the goat when missing the final penalty after the match went to a shootout. Baggio blasted the ball high and wide, handing Brazil the World Cup trophy.

5. 1986 World Series: Bill Buckner

Until the Boston Red Sox ended an 84-year World Series drought in 2004, Bill Buckner was the embodiment of their misery. The Red Sox appeared to be on the verge of an upset Series win in 1986 with Boston leading three games to two and up by two runs in the tenth inning but the Red Sox collapsed in the bottom of the inning with the winning run coming off a slow roller along the first base line that went through first baseman Bill Buckner's legs. The Mets went on to win game seven and Buckner was driven out of Boston by constant heckling though he returned to the Red Sox in 1990 to a standing ovation and has been mythologised in the city ever since.

4. 1970 VFL Grand Final: The Collingwood Football Club

In front of a record crowd of over 121,000 at the MCG, long-time rivals Collingwood and Carlton slogged it out in a match that would turn out to be the greatest decider ever and the forerunner to modern, running football. Collingwood jumped the gun and led by 44 points at the main break thanks primarily to poor Carlton play and Collingwood's dominance in the air. Astonishingly, Collingwood's 44-point lead was almost erased midway through the third quarter but the Pies fought back to take a 17-point lead at the final break. Buoyed by momentum though, Carlton went on to win the match by 10 points with Alex Jesaulenko's mark the lasting image of the game many believe to be the greatest ever. Collingwood have a chance to atone for the defeat this Saturday as they chase a title 40 years on from that infamous loss and 20 years on from their last flag.

3. 1998 NRL Preliminary Final: Paul Carige

Parramatta led loathed arch-rivals Canterbury 18-2 with only 11 minutes to play in the 1998 preliminary final when the Bulldogs staged a stirring comeback with a Willie Talau try and a Daryl Halligan sideline conversion sending the match into extra-time with Canterbury eventually claiming a dramatic 30-18 win and robbing the Eels faithful of their first Grand Final berth since 1986. Eels winger Paul Carige was the man who was blamed with a series of errors costing the Eels victory. It started with 10 minutes to go when a braindead play handed the Bulldogs a line dropout and continued right up to full-time when Carige chipped from his own in-goal on the first tackle that allowed Bulldogs halfback Craig Polla-Mounta to go within millimetres of landing a match-winning 50-metre field goal. Carige then made numerous handling errors in extra-time with his most egregious being when he was twice tackled over touch when catching kicks. Carige never played in the NRL again and is to this day remembered with bitterness by Parramatta fans.

2. Super Bowl XXV: Scott Norwood

Wide right is the call that will forever be associated with Scott Norwood, the placekicker for the Buffalo Bills from 1985 to 1991. Norwood had his chance at glory in Super Bowl XXV with a 47-yard field goal shot with 8 seconds remaining and the Bills down by 20-19 to the New York Giants. "No Good! Wide Right" was the call from Al Michaels as the Bills lost the first of a record four straight Super Bowls. Buffalo are still to win a Super Bowl while Norwood played only one more season with Buffalo before being cut.

1. 1996 US Masters: Greg Norman

There have been few collapses as pronounced as Greg Norman's choke at the 1996 Masters. The Great White Shark had a six-stroke lead over rival Nick Faldo going into the final round at Augusta but turned in a putrid 78 to go down by 5 shots to Faldo. Norman bogeyed 9, 10 and 11 and then found the water on 12 to double bogey as Faldo took the lead quicker than anyone thought possible leaving Norman to flounder under the spotlight down the stretch. An eagle chip lipped out on 15 and he hooked his tee shot on 16 and the Masters was gone. It was not Norman's first choke. In 1986, Norman led all four majors after three rounds but only went on to win the British Open with his worse loss being the PGA Championship where Norman blew it with a final round 76 that allowed a Bob Tway chip-in to give him the major.