The 2014 Wimbledon finalist didn't qualify for the main draw of the Australian Open after being knocked out in qualifying but still managed to grab headlines last weekend by posting her response to a viral photo challenge doing the rounds.

And it could have been worse. Bouchard's legion of admirers have not been subtle in asking for Bouchard to take up the challenge and last week she accepted the call. He will miss out on the fairytale finale again. This time though, he will be much more at peace with it. It could have ended on that lonely Sunday afternoon atop the Leichhardt scoreboard, sweating in a suit, tie askew, drinking a tinny of beer, filled with nothing but bitterness and anger.

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With a tear in his eye Wests Tigers hero Robbie Farah announced his retirement, ending 17 years in the NRL. Rugby league great Robbie Farah is clearly a tennis fan, giving Eugenie Bouchard a shout-out on Twitter. A leg fracture threatens to deprive Robbie Farah a fairytale farewell from the NRL and West Tigers. Rugby league great Robbie Farah is clearly a tennis fan, giving Eugenie Bouchard a shout-out on Twitter. Bouchard's love life took a twist this time three years ago at the 2017 Super Bowl, when John Goehrke reached out on Twitter asking if the Canadian would go on a date with him if the New England Patriots won the NFL's championship game. @geniebouchard surely you’re having a drink with me in Miami!

Farah is clearly a tennis fan, giving Eugenie Bouchard a shout-out on Twitter. The club today is very much a reflection of Farah the player. His deft grubber kicks from dummy half and his flat cut-out passes just were not seen at the time.

Marshall may have been more beloved but Farah, having debuted in 2003, was both the best and most consistent performer to don the black, orange and white. Later, Tigers coach Mick Potter said that Farah didn't want to leave the club. Stylistically, Farah was ahead of his time, a revolutionary who was mightily unlucky to have his career run parallel to Smith, arguably the greatest to ever play the game.

Their first date was to an NBA game in New York and the pair were spotted together on several other occasions, with Bouchard often using social media to capture their time together. Farah looks to have again had his farewell dictated to him. He helped not only revolutionise the No 9 jersey but spawn, with Smith, the next great generation of hookers. It wasn’t a sincere goodbye. His brilliance in attack though should not take away from his sheer toughness in defence.

During the decider Bouchard had tweeted she "knew" the Atlanta Falcons would win after they surged to a 25-point lead and agreed to Goehrke's request, assuming there was no way the Pats would claim victory.

His NRL finale seemed even more bleak. Playing NSW Cup at North Sydney Oval and Henson Park might be a spectacle for the purists but it looked an undignified farewell for arguably the best hooker not named Cameron Smith to don a boot this century. They found a coach who will work. 212 in a couple of tweets as he threw out the idea of grabbing a drink with the 25-year-old, who resides in the Florida city when not on tour. It was his unforgiving nature though that will most be remembered. They started priding themselves on stability, grit and hard work.

He was integral to the Tigers’ only – and most unlikely – premiership and in their only great era, Farah was at his peak. "We are fine and we have always been fine, there has been no confrontation at all," Potter said. .

@geniebouchard if I rub you do I get 3 wishes? The scene was poetic but the undercurrent was poisonous. Farah’s return did not disappoint. NRL great Robbie Farah tries to get tennis star Eugenie Bouchard's attention - NZ Herald New Zealand Herald Maybe it was just never meant to be. Tallis said "Robbie Farah told me to my face when I was on Triple M last year on a Saturday show, he told me that Mick Potter can't coach," Tallis said. That was the Tigers finale Farah seemed destined to live with.

Perhaps Farah was sparked into action because he's been monitoring Bouchard's own social media work of late.

It could have ended on that lonely Sunday afternoon atop the Leichhardt scoreboard, sweating in a suit, tie askew, drinking a tinny of beer, filled with nothing but bitterness and anger.

And it could have been worse. They have made peace with Farah and fellow club legend Benji Marshall. He was a Tiger, not a Bear.

And he, mercifully, would be a Tiger again, returned to his rightful home midway through the 2018 season, a combination of fortune and fairytale that allowed Farah an encore at Leichhardt. For most of his career he played 80 minutes, in the middle, doing a ton of tackling. After years in the wilderness, happy to play shootout footy and churn through coaches and find trouble with bad signings, the Tigers seem to finally be recognising what they had at their disposal all along. aybe it was just never meant to be. He was a serious man who played hard and played tough, as relentless with his tongue and his thinking as he was with his hitting and courage. There is little question that Farah is the greatest player in the 20-year history of the Wests Tigers.

Farah’s return did not disappoint. The Tigers did not play finals football in 2018 and are teetering on the precipice this year but the club is in a much better spot. "Sorry for having a laugh," he wrote in another tweet. The Tigers did not play finals football in 2018 and are teetering on the precipice this year but the club is in a much better spot.

He had fallen out with coach Jason Taylor and was dropped to reserve grade despite playing State of Origin that year.

The Dolly Parton social media challenge became the latest internet sensation, requiring people to upload four separate pictures under different social media headlines: LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and dating app Tinder. Eight times he wore the green and gold and twice beat out Cameron Smith for Dally M hooker of the year honours.

Robbie Farah is just the latest in a long line of Tigers players forced out of Concord due to salary cap bungles and mismanagement. He was hard to like at times but he had earned the respect of everyone in the game a long time ago and never lost it. The Wests Tigers icon and former NSW hooker, who retired at the end of last season, is in Miami for Monday's Super Bowl between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs and tagged the world No.

To steal a quote from the incomparable Jimmy McNulty, Farah “asked no quarter and none was given … he brooked no authority, he did what he wanted to do and he said what he wanted to say”. Robbie Farah wasn’t playing. It was a genuine middle finger. That speed set him apart from most of his contemporaries early but it was his creativity that became his trademark. Responding to a couple of social media users who questioned the wisdom of such tweets, Farah said he was merely tapping away on his keyboard for "s***s and giggles". A leg fracture picked up against Canterbury at ANZ on Saturday night means he is unlikely to play again. The Tigers were beaten 52-10, their finals hopes finished by Canberra. But a Tom Brady-inspired comeback saw New England do the unthinkable and haul in the Falcons to add another Super Bowl to the trophy cabinet and Bouchard and Goehrke's relationship nearly broke the internet.

In that sense, he was the modern-day Benny Elias, blood and brilliance, hard noses and soft passes. Photo / Instagram.