A welcome return to the Grand Old Lady of league

As the NRL battles with a raft of current scandals, the code can find hope for the future in the past. Amongst all the controversy of the last two weeks, there was one amazing positive – rugby league had returned to the Sydney Cricket Ground.

For many years, the SCG was the home of rugby league in Sydney and all the finals matches and Sydney-based Tests were at the “grand old lady”.

Since 1987, there have only been a handful of matches played at the great ground. But last Sunday’s clash between Wests Tigers and South Sydney showed the magic and drama that can only occur at the SCG can still occur today.

Wests Tigers led Souths 22-10 heading into the final 15 minutes, but with two quick tries the Rabbitohs roared back into contention.

Robbie Farah and Craig Wing both missed drop goal attempts and with the last play of the game Nathan Merritt, more out of hope than anything else, tried had his own shot from well to the right of the posts.

The ball sailed cleanly over the posts.

Merritt’s piece of brilliance added another special chapter to the book of drama and theatre at the SCG. The crowd of nearly 30,000 ran on the field at full-time and the NRL received the boost it needed after the Matthew Johns and Steve Clarke scandals had rocked the foundations of the code.

As the magic of the SCG fades with developments rocking the Cronulla club, the code must not overlook the benefits of a return to heritage such as that witnessed last weekend.

Many former players are calling for more matches to be played at the SCG, but what is the right amount of matches?

In my view it should only be four club games and the Sydney-based Test match, if played against New Zealand, Great Britain or France.

The four matches would be spaced out through the season and each Sydney club would have one match at the hallowed ground.

The match could draw on the history of former encounters between the clubs at the ground in order to really underline the occasion. This would give the NRL another four “gala” club games to promote through the season.

Looking at the eight clubs in Sydney (excluding Cronulla, whose future is under a serious cloud), below are some of the more famous encounters between the teams from which the right mix of matches can be selected.

What would be your four matches at the SCG?

Canterbury v Parramatta
The great rivals of the 1980s had epic battles in the 1984 and 1986 Grand Finals. Other SCG moments include Eric Grothe’s 1983 Try, Steve Mortimer’s 1979 Try and the Peter Sterling v Mortimer rivalry.

Canterbury v Eastern Suburbs (Roosters)
Arthur Beetson’s first premiership as Roosters captain was against Canterbury in 1974 and Steve Gearin’s famous Grand Final for Canterbury came against Eastern Suburbs in 1980. Canterbury’s first premiership came against Eastern Suburbs in 1938, but the tide turned in 1940.

Canterbury v Manly
Played the first ever Monday Night Football match at the SCG in 1985, won by the Bulldogs 16-12 with Billy Johnstone scoring the first try on a Monday night.

Canterbury v St George (Illawarra)
The end of the St George era in 1967, the magic of the Mortimer v Steve Morris duel in the 1979 Grand Final and the brutality of the 1985 Grand Final. Canterbury’s second title came against St George in 1942.

Canterbury v South Sydney
The 1967 was the first under limited tackles, made famous by Bob McCarthy’s intercept and the first tackle send off of Peter Kelly on Anzac Day in 1986.

Canterbury v Wests Tigers
Despite being two local rivals on either side of town, the rivalry at the SCG isn’t overly huge. The 1947 and the sole appearance of Joe Jorgensen winning the match for Balmain is a distant memory and Canterbury played Western Suburbs in Semi Finals in 1979 and 1980 with the Bulldogs winning both matches.

Eastern Suburbs v Manly
The first premiership won by the Silvertails was against Eastern Suburbs in 1972 and the 1987 Major Semi Final was one of the toughest on record with Manly winning 10-6. Both clubs have a renowned up-market above the game type rivalry.

Eastern Suburbs v Parramatta
No Grand Final history between the two clubs, but in 1982 the Eels produced the finest wet weather display to win 33-0 in the Preliminary Final.

Eastern Suburbs v St George
Prior to 2008 the record margin in a Grand Final was 38 points when the Roosters defeated the Dragons 38-0 in the 1975 Grand Final made famous by Graeme Langlands White Boots. This clash has already been pigeonholed for Anzac Day and naturally an ideal fit for the SCG. St George won their first title in 1941 against Eastern Suburbs.

Eastern Suburbs v South Sydney
Where do you start with this bitter inner-Sydney rivalry? Not so much in terms of Grand Finals and Finals over the last 40 years, but the early years and location makes this rivalry one for the ages.

Eastern Suburbs v Wests Tigers
Both teams share the SFS with Wests playing six matches there. A lot of rivalry existed in the early days between Balmain, Western Suburbs and Eastern Suburbs, but few would remember. Balmain defeated Eastern Suburbs in 1919 and Western Suburbs defeated Eastern Suburbs in 1934.

Manly v Parramatta
The 1976 Grand Final included the famous Neville Glover dropped pass incident with the line wide open denying the Eels their maiden premiership. Parramatta got revenge against Manly winning back-to-back Grand Finals in 1982 and 1983 following the Eels maiden victory in 1981 against Newtown.

Manly v Penrith
The 1985 play-off for 5th position at the SCG was the first taste of big time football for the Panthers. Their opponents were Manly. Penrith won 10-7 in extra-time. It was a night of emotion for the Mountain Men to finally come good in September. The last ever Reserve Grade Grand Final was won by the Panthers against the Sea Eagles – a grade of football many fans want to see returned at a proper level.

Manly v St George
Rex Mossop (Manly) and Harry Bath (St George) both sent off in the 1959 Grand Final and two years prior they played out the 1957 Grand Final with St George winning both matches on the way to 11 in a row.

Manly v South Sydney
Manly’s first Grand Final appearance was agains South Sydney in 1951 as the Rabbitohs were embarking on a great era of five titles in six seasons. The Sea Eagles came back for more in 1968 and 1970 with the Rabbitohs winning both of those clashes.

Manly v Wests Tigers
Fibros (Magpies) v Silvertails rivalry erupted in 1978 with the epic clash being during the 1978 Semi Final series with Manly knocking out the Magpies from contention.

Parramatta v Penrith
Western rivals and the Panthers only Semi-Final appearance at the grand old lady were against the red hot Eels in 1985 where they lost 38-6.

Parramatta v St George
The 1977 Grand Final was the first to be replayed after both teams were locked up at full-time made famous by the great individual try by Ted Goodwin and the replay was made famous or infamous by Rod Reddy with the Dragons running riot. The 1984 Preliminary Final was one of the great and most controversial games with Grothe scoring right on full-time to snatch victory.

St George v South Sydney
The 1965 Grand Final holds the all-time record crowd for a sporting match at the SCG with 78,056 crammed into the great venue. It was the Dragons 10th in a row and the last game for Norm Provan. Both sides met again in 1971 with the Rabbitohs emerging victors in what has since proven to be their last success. St George’s second title came Souths in 1949 and South Sydney defeated St George in the Saints first tilt at a title in 1927.

St George v Wests Tigers
Western Suburbs and Balmain combined played seven times against St George in Grand Finals during the Dragons magical era. Western Suburbs first title was against St George in 1930.

South Sydney v Wests Tigers
The 1909 Grand Final that never was, with South Sydney and Balmain still rages on 100 years later. On the other side of the coin Western Suburbs last title was against South Sydney in 1952 in the Rabbitohs only hiccup during five titles in six seasons from 1950-55. Balmain’s last title was in 1969 and also against South Sydney in an era South Sydney won four titles in five seasons from 1967-71.

My pick of the SCG matches would be: Eastern Suburbs v St George, South Sydney v Wests Tigers, Canterbury v Parramatta and Manly v Penrith.

What would be your four matches at the SCG? And would you play less or more games at the SCG?

Matthew O’Neill is a Director and Columnist with www.rleague.com. In Edition Six of Discord this week, Rleague.com weekly feature columnist Steve Mascord discusses the rumours of a Leeds based side in the NRL, the fallout from the dramas with Reni Maitua, mentions a controversial merger option for the Sharks and talks about the form of Terry Campese.