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Eight years ago Brisbane captain Gorden Tallis’ rugby league career ended in an NRL elimination final loss to North Queensland in Townsville.
One of his teammates that night, fellow Brisbane icon Petero Civoniceva, risks exactly the same fate in Saturday’s elimination final at Dairy Farmers Stadium.
Surprisingly, Tallis now looks back on that 2004 match, one of the most disappointing moments of his career at the time, as a “fairytale finish”.
Watching from the stands packed with 24,989 fans was his biggest supporter — mum Judy — as well as his family and close friends.
Players were allocated only a few tickets each for the game but Tallis managed to wrangle 70 from various sources, making sure everyone that mattered was at the ground.
The Raging Bull’s playing days were well and truly numbered.
He’d been told repeatedly by medical experts that the neck injury which forced his premature representative retirement was a ticking time bomb.
But he wanted to win the game in his hometown and go on to bag a fourth premiership before hanging up his boots.
Tallis though wasn’t prepared for much that night — especially coach Wayne Bennett’s late and totally unexpected decision to start him off the bench.
The clash was only switched to Dairy Farmers Stadium after Brisbane argued two Queensland-based sides playing off in Sydney would lack the atmosphere it would generate if moved to Townsville.
“I remember I was pretty disappointed at the time coming off the bench and losing the game,” Tallis said.
“But the more I thought about it afterwards, the more I think it was actually a fairytale end.
“Playing my last game at home in front of my mum and Nanna, my aunts and uncles and some close school friends was a good way for it to end.
“To play the last game of my career less than 10 kilometres from where I played my first and where it all started for me is pretty special when you take the time to think about it.”
Like Tallis, Civoniceva is bent on extending his career three more weeks to secure another premiership.
He and lock Corey Parker are the only Broncos remaining from that 2004 loss in which current Cowboys Matt Bowen and Aaron Payne both starred.
He remembers the crowd whipped themselves into a frenzy supporting the Cowboys.
“It was a tight and really intense game but I do remember the crowd screaming for their team and we’ll be up against the same on Saturday night,” said 308-game veteran Civoniceva.
He was glad to have been able to say goodbye to his hometown Brisbane fans with a win in the final NRL round.
“Last weekend against Penrith was a tremendous way to say goodbye to Suncorp Stadium, especially the crowd that turned up, to get a win and make the eight.
“Every game now could be my last and that’s the way I’m approaching it.”
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