- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Punching in rugby league was consigned to the history books after an unanswered flurry from Paul Gallen on Nate Myles’ chin in an Origin match in 2013. The NRL then decided punching wasn’t a good look for the game.
An unfortunate side effect of that decision has been the rise of the annoying push and shove melee, as well as niggling tactics like patting players on the head after they have made a mistake. Hopefully, more use of the sin bin will help stop those trends in the future. They are also bad looks for the game.
Before punching in rugby league was effectively outlawed, all-in brawls like those you would see in the old Western movies didn’t happen often, but when they did, they were memorable. Scrums or the ruck could erupt without warning.
The epic Newtown-Manly flare-up in the 1981 elimination semi-final springs to mind, along with various Origin ‘blues’. The one featuring Chris Close with his jersey ripped off in 1984, and the two spurred on by the ‘Queenslander’ and ‘cattle dog’ calls in 1995 and 1997 respectively.
Queensland hooker Jamie Goddard famously decked a young Andrew Johns in the 1997 Origin brawl.
Two perhaps lesser known all-in-brawls to younger rugby league fans or those who live outside of Brisbane occurred in the BRL competition of yesteryear. Both were at Lang Park (now Suncorp Stadium) and featured Norths, a club whose home ground of Bishop Park became known as ‘Bashup’ Park’ as a result of the hard-headed reputation they gained in a bygone era.
In 1980, Norths played Souths in the Brisbane rugby league grand final. They were the underdogs against a Souths team that featured a 20-year-old Mal Meninga. Norths arguably won the fight, but most importantly they won the premiership as well, defeating Souths 17-15 in a thriller.
In 1990, Norths were again the underdogs against Valleys in the grand final. The were coached by Tommy Raudonikis, who featured in the 1981 Newtown-Manly stoush and was later the mastermind behind the ‘cattle dog call’ as New South Wales State of Origin coach in 1997.
Norths lost that grand final in a 17-16 heartbreaker, but most people only remember the all-in-brawl.
You can relive both of those infamous Brisbane rugby league grand finals by watching the following clips.
Reckon you can pick the winning team? Build your own dream team with Draftstars daily fantasy and compete on any match. For great odds on the NRL head on over to PlayUp. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.