This is an article that needs to be driven by Roarers themselves. I’m going to get the ball rolling and then trust that this triggers the memories of other Roarers to add their own experiences.
Perhaps my greatest “what if?” relates to rugby union in the early to mid 1980s. What if Wally Lewis had remained in rugby union and formed a 12-10 partnership with Mark Ella? How lethal would this have been?
For those who weren’t around at the time, the Australian Schoolboys rugby union team of 1977/78 contained an entire backline of future Wallabies – Glen Ella at fullback; Mick O’Connor and Mike Hawker (both normally centres) shunted to the wings; Gary Ella and Tony Melrose (also captain of the team) in the centres; Mark Ella and Dominic Vaughan as the halves pairing.
Wally Lewis couldn’t crack this lineup, although a broken arm midway through the tour put him out of action. Being a young man in a hurry, no wonder he decided to move to league immediately upon returning home. League’s gain was union’s loss.
But fast forward to the 1984 Grand Slam tour of Britain and Ireland. This was already a strong side, but what if Wally Lewis and Mick O’Connor had remained in rugby union? The backline would have been even more lethal than it was – Roger Gould at fullback; David Campese and Brendan Moon on the wings; O’Connor and Lewis as the centres pairing; Mark Ella and Nick Farr-Jones as the halves. On the bench you would have had Andy Slack, Michael Lynagh and Phil Cox.
How awesome is that?
This is the kind of backline you only dream of, and perhaps only see in heaven. Yet the tantalising thought is that it could have happened for real but for the different times and circumstances we lived in back then.
Another “what if?” example relates to horse racing, a sport that doesn’t get much exposure on the Roar. I was only a young bloke of 11 in 1967 when two great race horses each won the big races in at the Sydney Autumn Carnival.
Tobin Bronze won the Doncaster Handicap (one mile/1600m) with 9st 5lbs (59.5kgs). Then the Bart Cummings trained Galilee streeted his rivals in the Sydney Cup (2 miles/3200m) by 6 lengths carrying 9st 7lbs (60.5kgs).
Unfortunately, Galilee suffered a leg injury at the end of this race which put him out of action for 12 months, meaning he missed racing Tobin Bronze in the Melbourne Spring Carnival, where the two superstars might have clashed in the Caulfield Cup (1.5 miles/2400m) and Cox Plate (1.25 miles/2000m).
As it was, Tobin Bronze won the Caulfield Cup carrying 9st 10lbs (61.5kgs) and a week later the Cox plate. between these two races he was sold to American interests and immediately headed for the states, where with minimum preparation ran 3rd in the prestigious Washington Laurel International Stakes.
Gee, it would have been something to see these two champions race each other in the spring of 1967, but it never happened. And furthermore, Galilee was given 10st (63.5kgs) in the Melbourne Cup. Could he, fully fit, have carried that huge weight to an epic 2nd Melbourne Cup victory? A tantalising thought.
You don’t see race horses carry these huge weights much anymore. For context, when Makybe Diva won her 3rd successive Melbourne Cup in 2005, she carried “only” 58kgs (9st 2lbs)!
Anyway, enough from me for now and over to you Roarers. What are your sporting “what if?” moments?
Professor Rosseforp
Guest
The notion that rugby union derived from soccer because "someone picked up the ball" makes no sense. -- especially given that soccer history books will often show pictures of medieval games where there were few rules, other than getting the ball into the next village/field/town. Surely soccer derives from a game where handballs were gradually removed, and the primacy of the foot established. Whether rugby-style games derived from the same games, but retained handballing would be interesting to establish.
AndyS
Guest
Two years out of the game, too big a liability for captain, could have played on if he were interested enough....
JohnB
Guest
I always thought McKechnie should have picked the ball up, thrown it in the air and given it a belt rather than just blocking it. Easy to think of afterwards of course. Not sure how much better Shane Warne could have done than he actually did,
Tom of Brisbane
Guest
What if Ron McAuliffe had treated the VFL with disdain (as so many northeners did, especially in the late 1970's) and not bothered with their concept of state of origin? What if Artie Beetson hadn't belted Mick Cronin on that fateful night of July 8 1980? What if Mal Meninga had had an off night with the boot and only kicked 1 of 5? Would the Broncos exist? Would Rugby League itself still exist? Would rugby league still be run along state lines? Would we still get a packed Lang Park for a grand final between Valleys and Brothers?
AndyS
Guest
What if...Warnie had been driven by a need to succeed with the ball, rather than with the balls? What if...Australian Rules football hadn't stopped in New Zealand during WWI? What if...McKechnie had run halfway down the pitch, flicked the ball up with his foot and belted the cover off it? What if...A seagull had flown across the ground and collided with Jonnie's kick?
Australian Football
Roar Guru
Grosso sent off for diving---down to eight outfield players with no subs to come on for the last 30 mins of extra time to play and Australia still with 3 fresh subs to make with Cahill one of them. I think even tho the Italians are masters of defence---the onslaught would have been more than they could bear..
apaway
Guest
I can answer a couple of those with certainty, James. If Ben Johnson was drug free in Seoul, he would have been the only one. If Bradman scored 4 runs, it would have stuffed up the ABC's PO Box number, which is 9994.
JohnB
Guest
As I think I've commented before in the same context - you wouldn't have wanted to be a selector with those choices in front of you. How do you split some of those blokes? In centre is the spot which epitomises it. You have Hawker who I rate as an all-time great even if he did come from NSW. You then have the delightful quandary of how would Lewis have done in senior rugby. I saw him carve up teams in Brisbane school rugby - would he have had the pace to go further? He certainly had everything else. Or do you (like Jones) go for the best of both worlds by putting both Mark Ella and Lynagh in your team. Having seen Lynagh play a lot, he was a much better individual runner of the ball than he is given credit for now, and could throw a pass as well as anyone, so he was far from out of his depth at 12. Or do you rely on O'Connor to do the kicking - and is he at 13 or on the wing (or even a candidate for 12 himself - probably not but it wouldn't be totally far-fetched)? And if O'Connor is kicking, and is at 13 or wing, 12 still isn't solved - do you ignore the possibilities above and instead go for the individual brilliance of Papworth (of players I've seen only Ken Wright - another who crossed to league - would match his sidestep and acceleration out of it)? Which leaves as good a player as Tim Lane (who gets a lot of credit for having left NSW and joined Wests in Brisbane) barely even in sight. Or maybe Melrose would have found a niche at 12! Interesting comment re Melrose. I always wondered whether it was because he was never quite suited to league, without having considered it might be a peaking early thing.
sheek
Guest
JohnB, Another irony surrounds Tony Melrose. Players evolve at different rates in their late teens & early 20s. During his late teens/early 20s, Melrose appeared the most complete of the brilliant 1977/78 Aussie schoolboys backline, if not the most sublimely talented. Yet by about 1982, when he played his only State-Of-Origin in rugby league, he had been well & truly surpassed in league by Wally Lewis, & in union by Mark Ella, Mike O'Connor & Mike Hawker. Of course, this is interesting to speculate, but by 1982, five years after the schoolboys tour, it's not unreasonable to suggest, assuming they all remained in union - Mark Ella, Lewis & O'Connor would have been the 10, 12 & 13 in the Wallabies, with Melrose, Hawker & Gary Ella the 10, 12 & 13 in the shadow XV. Notwithstanding the claims of Paul McLean at 10, Tim Lane at 12 & Andy Slack at 13. And pushing through from the 1981/82 schoolboys side were Michael Lynagh at 10, Brett Papworth at 12 & Matt P. Burke at 13. Potentially awesome days indeed.....!
sheek
Guest
JohnB, There is an irony surrounding Tony D'Arcy. His replacement in the Wallabies was none other than one Topo Rodriguez, although one year on. Unfortunately, no similar replacement was found for Michael O'Connor. Fine player that Andy Slack was, he wasn't as brilliant as O'Connor. Of course, had D'Arcy remained in union, he would have continued with the Wallabies, securing the loosehead, with Andy McIntyre at tighthead & hooker Tommy Lawton in the middle. Rodriguez would still have emigrated to Australia & been happy to play out his days with the Warringah club in Sydney. But the hole left by D'Arcy's departure persuaded Wallabies coach Alan Jones to co-opt Topo into the Wallabies at the earliest opportunity.
jamesb
Guest
What if................Ben Johnson was drug free at Seoul 1988 what if................Muhammad ALI boxing right throughout his career uninterrupted without the distraction of the vietnam issue what if...............Jane Saville not red carded what if...............bjorn borg not retire at 26, how many grand slams would he have won (11) what if...............bradman score 4 runs in his last dig what if...............aryton senna was still alive, how many drivers championships would he have won (3) what if...............the A-League started in 1905, not 2005. what if...............charl scwartzel wasn't playing golf
sheek
Guest
Apaway, Your final comment made me dig out the history books ..... again! The history of how rugby came about is really fascinating. Almost certainly, most of the stuff surrounding WWE has been canned. But it only adds to the intrigue. I might even have a crack at it as a future Roar article.....
sheek
Guest
Actually FU, This requires a considered reply. Ella probably retired at precisely the right time. He wasn't a good trainer - this being the amateur era - & he would have gradually been left behind, despite his extraordinary ball skills. In saying that I reckon he would have been good until 1986, when he was 27, but not beyond. In 1987, the ABs took the game to another level of power, pace & intensity never before seen. For all his sublime skills, Ella would have been swept aside. Also, how would the relation between Ella & Alan Jones been maintained? Jones may have dropped Ella anyway, & inserted Lynagh at no.10. In conclusion, another sign of a player's genius, is that they know precisely the right time to exit the stage. As much as his numerous legion of fans might disagree, Ella probably left at precisely the right time for himself.
sheek
Guest
Yeah Harry, I reckon that after that shoulder injury Thommo was never quite the same again.....
sheek
Guest
Yes DD, That was a tragic event, & Ireland's cancellation of their home games against Scotland & Wales has left us all wondering ever since (those of us around then & now) if Ireland might have been good enough to win the GS. I reckon so, but we'll never know for sure.....
sheek
Guest
Gee Brett, That Sheek Shield is starting to grow on me........................................
sheek
Guest
I'm sure, make that certain, he meant Jack Nicholson!!!
Willy
Guest
You mean: "What if Matt King knew how to run onto a pass and wasn't standing flat footed like a goose?"
JohnB
Guest
What if rugby union hadn't shut down in Australia in world war 1? There are so many with rugby, mostly revolving around the amateur/professional division. If soccer and cricket could have professionals, why couldn't rugby? If there was no separate professional code, what would rugby now look like? Would it have evolved from a game where you could kick out on the full from anywhere and gain ground, while being able to opt for a scrum instead on your own throw to the lineout? Too many what ifs to count regarding particularl players who converted to league - the 1977 schoolboys side mentioned by Sheek had Wally Lewis of course, and Michael O'Connor - but also Tony Melrose, Chris Roche and Tony D'arcy (and possibly others I can't recall). You could make an argument that D'arcy was the biggest loss to the Wallabies of all of them (and arguably the least successful as a league player - arguably with Garrick Morgan the player showing the biggest disparity between performance in union and performance in league, in my memory at least, without having injury excuses. In cricket - what if the ACB had sold Packer the broadcast rights and WSC never happened? Would Australian players have stayed semi-professional, and continued to retire at 29 or 30? Would one day games have remained a bit of an occasional afterthought? Would 20/20 have ever happened?
Mark Young
Roar Guru
What if Bennie's Field Goal doesn't hit the post. What if Glock had held track position on Hamilton Interlagos 2008.