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When the legendary Dally Messenger decided to switch Rugby codes to play League in 1907 for Eastern Suburbs, it would start an avalanche of on field success that would see the NRL’s premier individual honour named after ‘the master’ himself.
The Dally M award is a token of appreciation from Rugby League, for the effort and skill that Messenger displayed during the early stages of the nineteenth century.
Indeed it was Messenger’s presence in League that allowed the code to secure its substantiation in Australia, and become the exciting spectacle it is today.
Fast forward just over 100 years and it is clear to see that Messenger’s involvement in the game is still alive and strong.
One only had to watch Friday night’s golden tussle between the Wests Tigers and the Parramatta Eels to see why the NRL continues to produce the most skilful and exciting set of players out of all four football codes in Australia.
The hype surrounding the individual duel of Tigers and Eels superstars Benji Marshall and Jarryd Hayne allowed both players to produce the scintillating form that allowed Rugby League to get on its feet over a century ago.
And judging from their respective performances on Friday night, it appears the NRL will prosper for centuries to come.
Marshall’s first half against the Eels produced an array of sublime skills and instinctive genius that allowed Backline players Beau Ryan and Blake Ayshford to score brilliant tries.
Ryan’s four pointer in particular showcased Marshall’s freakish ball playing attributes, with the Tigers half producing an outrageous dummy and flick pass to send the winger crashing over in the nineteenth minute.
Marshall’s brilliance no doubt set the tone for what was to become an enthralling hour of Rugby League, with both sides displaying the form that had garnered them eleven consecutive victories between them.
Indeed the Tigers had the first chance to take control of the match, courtesy of Ayshford’s try that gave Tim Sheen’s men an eight nil lead.
A controversial eight point try to Eels winger Luke Burt however, turned the tide Parramatta’s way, and it proved enough to spark the brilliance of fullback Jarryd Hayne.
At the start of the second half, Hayne produced a gem of a cut out pass that allowed revitalised winger Krisnan Inu to score a great try that put the Eels in the lead.
Hayne was in the thick of the action again, regathering a high kick from Tigers half Robert Lui, that saw the NSW winger go on a fifty metre weaving run.
That passage of play however seemed to thrust the Tigers into action, and they responded with a wonderful try to John Morris that put Tim Sheen’s men back in the contest.
While it was evident to all that this encounter was living up to its billing as one of the game’s of the season, a special passage of play from the Eels only enhanced its status to become one of the NRL’s best advertisements.
On the back of the brilliant offloading prowess of players such as Feleti Mateo, Krisnan Inu, Nathan Cayless, Daniel Mortimer and Jarryd Hayne, Eels half Jeff Robson scored one of the tries of the 2009 season that many thought would prove to be the final nail in the Tigers coffin.
Although the Tigers do not make do with the supreme offloading abilities of their rivals, hooker Robbie Farah produced a sublime cut out pass that saw Beau Ryan score his second try with ten minutes remaining on the clock.
It was a passage of play that once again showed why the Tigers are the most dangerous attacking unit in open field play.
With the game teetering on a knifes edge, the 30,000 strong crowd knew it would take a play worthy of remembrance to decide which team was to go away with a vital two competition points.
And so it was Jarryd Hayne that produced a chip kick that saw the Eels fullback regather the football and score the match winning try that has confirmed his status as the hottest player in the NRL at the moment.
No doubt if he continues on his merry ways for the rest of his career, then Hayne may just emulate the legendary feats of the one Dally Messenger, who just over a century ago, made the showpiece that is the NRL possible.