Somewhere in a cold damp corner of West Yorkshire, there is surely a group of men that still recoil from memories of playing junior rugby league against the Burgess boys of Liversedge.
And after an opening night of the Telstra Premiership, in which South Sydney provided one of the more impressive opening performances in recent times, it could be that those West Yorkshire men will now be joined by a group of Roosters from Bondi.
Collectively they will be clutching at Burgess-induced injuries, both physical and mental.
Sam and George battered their way through a Roosters pack that included the hyped though sadly underwhelming return performance of Sonny Bill Williams.
George scored an impressively powerful solo try that brought the Souths faithful to their feet and a bear hug embrace from his older brother.
Sam was at his bruising and intelligent best, always looking to be a facilitator as well as a metre-gainer. His unique skills with the ball demand opponents’ extra attention which creates plenty of space for halves Adam Reynolds and John Sutton.
Both Brothers ran for identical metres (153) and worked typically hard in defence.
On the back of this dirty work by the Burgess boys and their workaholic pack mates, the halves successfully involved a rampaging Greg Inglis, who looks to have some nasty intentions for all future opponents.
There was even an example of Burgess combinations honed on the windswept moors of Yorkshire, with the brothers briefly demonstrating an innate footballing sense with a quick passing exchange that caught the attention of fans.
And then there was that Burgess collision with the prodigal rugby league son Sonny Bill Williams.
Sam was viewed verbally ‘welcoming’ Sonny Bill back to the league fold, and he followed it up with a physical welcome that saw him literally run over the newest Rooster in the coop.
And so what of the feted return of SBW?
No Australian sport does melodrama, on and off the field, quite like rugby league. And no television broadcaster is willing to exploit it quite like Channel Nine.
But this match was exceptional for the hyperbolic hype surrounding the high profile Roosters recruit.
At the vanguard of this hype was the bizarre ‘voice of SBW’ segments, where the camera would close in on the former All Black and fill us in on what may be going through his mind at the time, using pre-recorded Sonny Bill statements from some earlier time.
It was like The Bold and the Beautiful, sadly minus the emotive facial expressions and soppy music.
SBW will be better for the run, and a lack of hype.
But there would be no such melodrama involved in the performances of the Burgess brothers.
They combined in a public reminiscing session, allowing the NRL and its fans an insight on what it was like growing up and playing together under the grey skies and smoke haze of West Yorkshire.
Northern England’s loss was certainly South Sydney’s gain.
yewonk
Guest
some say the are the offspring of shaman.
Bazzio
Roar Guru
Albert Henry Baskerville
planko
Roar Guru
http://www.dansnrlcollectables.com/contents/en-us/p13813_1976_Scanlens_Rugby_League_Card,_no12,_Symonds_%E2%80%93_Manly_____.html I found my dads card it has been a while since I had seen it.....
Bazzio
Roar Guru
http://www.dansnrlcollectables.com/contents/media/big%20league%2020120515%20%20(180).jpg
planko
Roar Guru
If you are a melbourne supporter it is Cam Smith no Cam no Melbourne .... Mate no reynolds no souths ... Put him in a Sky Blue jersey .... That will be Souths' undoing this year.
Bazzio
Roar Guru
Monty's son ~ you bet I remember him Dragons f'reva
planko
Roar Guru
Manly ?
Morfs
Guest
True. They really do need someone to cover if that happens again. Just look at Storm when Slater got hurt. Sure, we had Widdop to cover, but that then messed with the halves combo, and brought it's own set of problems. Random though: How would Luke do at #7? I know he plays at hooker, but surely if they shifted him to halfback in the case of an injury to Reynolds (or 5/8 if sutton got hurt), they could now just move Peats into the hooking role. It might work, but then again it may fail miserably.
Kurt Sorensen
Roar Guru
My father is a mad Dragons fan and it pained him that a player with the same name he gave his son all of a sudden turned up in a sharks uniform. worse still we lived in the Cronulla area. Bazzio, do you remember Mick 'weapon head' Porter? http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NDEyWDM1Ng==/$(KGrHqZHJCQE7yy+2m3JBP!S2M,Zk!~~60_35.JPG At one stage he was my dad's apprentice down in the shire. His best mate was Dane who used to help out as a labourer. Always thought it funny i had his brothers name. ah, the good old days.
planko
Roar Guru
No coincidence that with all that alleged talent that is on the field when Reynolds left the field in the prelim final last year souths did not score a point ....
oikee
Guest
Thanks Bazzio, who is accredited for bringing league to NZ. ?
Morfs
Guest
After that first, blundered, kick, Reynolds impressed me. That early kick into the in-goal on the 2nd or 3rd tackle, after a count restart remind me of Cam Smith or Cooper Cronk. It was a nice move, perfectly weighted to get another set of six.
oikee
Guest
hehe, yes, Pep-tide, where the sharkies swim in peace and luxury. And Gallens of rum is served every day.
oikee
Guest
Thanks mate.
oikee
Guest
Why you asking me. I have not got a clue. I dont think so,. Mate i stuck up for Graham, i thought it was nothing more than a love bite. hehe. Has Billy got half his ear missing. ??? no. As a matter of fact Kurt wrote this story, ask him. He was the hard man of league, and i loved every minute of his time, and he wrote the book on Kiwis adventure into rugby league, Nice work Kurt. Bad luck about the Sharkies.
Bazzio
Roar Guru
Kurt ~ Played for New Zealand, Cronulla, East, Widnes 1975 - 1989 Dane ~ Played for New Zealand, Cronulla, Easts 1975 - 1983 Kurt now lives live on the Gold coast, Dane @ sutherland
James
Guest
The girls lived the SBW voice over... Footy is not just a males sport no more, a lot of you are critical of SBW but would not dare to run @ him. Too busy being couch critics
oikee
Guest
Yes, and the women and kids loved it. I seen a shot from the sidelines, their was not a guy to be seen. All young girls lined up like Cuppie dolls in a Teddy bear store. It is not all about you boys. The women and kids love this guy, and they love Mauboy. Time to face the new world. Or would you rahter the yanks runnign the show, like Aussie tv, get in overseas entertainers to do our ads and tv shows. ????
planko
Roar Guru
Dan and Kurt both played in England into their late 40's ? Didn't they ?
planko
Roar Guru
Good luck tonight mate hope the best team wins whether that be either team.