50 years of rugby league memories from the grandstand

"and the calls ON the field"

I believe Ross Conlon (Magpies/Bulldogs/Tigers) was the first to be credited with the "around-the-corner" kick (at least in Rugby League, it was happening well before then in Rugby Union). As per wiki: "Conlon,,, developed an 'around-the-corner' sideways shuffle before moving in to strike the ball, claiming the shuffle gave him more time." I don't think he kicked either foot though so Eden had him covered there. I think Conlon was also the Halligan or El Masri of his day as the kicker who had the best success rate in the game in his day.

I remember Mike Eden as being one of the first 'round the corner kickers. I don't think he even used sand, just smashed a hole in the turf with his heel like you've described and placed the ball like that. Pretty sure he could kick either foot as well depending which side of the field he was on.

I forgot to add... I remember old names like Billy Smith (Dragons), John Brass, Mark Harris, Johnny Mayes, Barry 'Bunny' Reilly (Eastern Suburbs), Neil Pringle (first at the Newtown Jets and later at the Balmain Tigers) and Brian "Chicka" Moore (Newtown) and more besides. I also remember a match between the Cronulla Sharks and Newtown Jets when a young Steve Rogers played the ball and mouthed off to Chicka and got dropped! He copped one right on the chin right in front of the referee and when the Sharks players complained and demanded a penalty the ref just said "He asked for it!" and called play on. Ah, those were the days.

Love the depth and insight you bring sheek with both this post and the one below. Some of these names were a bit before my time as I only started following the game as a little kid in 1970 and was only born a few years before (around the time of your terrific holiday). I am old enough to remember when Newtown were called "the Bluebags" and Canterbury Bankstown were known as "the Berries" (when their uniform was black shorts and their jersey had blue and white stripes) and the Penrith Panthers were known as the chocolate soldiers and had a jersey with vertical brown and white stripes and the two pommies Mike Stephenson and Bill Ashurst played for the club. I also remember Frank Hyde’s call "it's long enough, it's straight enough... it's right between the posts!" It was a different time but there is still so much about it I miss in an age of constant changes to the rules and in jersey design for sales and marketing purposes and sponsorship name changes it is easy to get lost and lose sight of tradition and the history that made the game what it is. Everything these days is so sanitised and politically correct and players lives are under a microscope when the focus should be on the game and not on a players lives outside of it. Games are broadcast live now and started to synchronise with TV time slots and the refs are too scared to make a call because the scrutiny and pressure is so great that the game just does not flow as it once did.

I love the JJ Giltinan shield and saw Easts win it twice in 74 and 75. But I love the current one, the Provan-Summons trophy. It is the best trophy in all of sports in the world imo. It used to be called the Winfield or Optus cup, but it's finally got the name it deserves and I wouldn't change it for anything.

"digging their HEELS..." Doh! "proof BEFORE you post!" "Sharp eye their for" THERE... Oh, I give up! "I can't type and spell at the same time!" - Grouch Marx

Cheers. silvertail47 reminded me of another "blast from the past" that has now gone the way of the dodo since the emergence of the kicking tee... the buckets of sand for conversions! There were ball boys back then but also sand boys who would run the buckets of sand to the kickers. I also remember groups of players digging their heals into the turf and bringing handfuls of soil to the kicker as well (when sand had run out). It must have driven the groundsmen crazy! He also reminded me that the official name for "the metal signage on fences around the ground" is "the hoardings" Good pickup st47. Sharp eye their for a "Sea Eagle!" LOL

SSTID - that was a really evocative piece of writing, that's how I remember going to the footy as a kid. I got that sense of being there by reading your post. Only thing I'd add is the memory of newspapers and programs getting torn into confetti and thrown in the air when a team scored.

Redfern oval was notorious for that "racket" and for the intense pressure that the fans exerted on the refs. It didn't always change the penalty count but it was tribalism at its best! Fans were only metres from the action and it felt like you could reach out and touch the players on the field. You could actually HEAR their grunts of exertion and the calls and the field. The first time I saw a game at the SFS I felt like I needed binoculars to see who was playing and in terms of on field sounds it felt like I was wearing earplugs. I felt a great disconnect from the game I once knew and even travelling to ANZ Stadium (though a better ground than the SFS) the atmosphere is never the same. Redfern oval has gone now in any case, the old scoreboard I once remembered which used to block my view of the middle of the field from the flats I lived in behind it is gone. However, I will always cherish the memories of those days and going to the games at Redfern oval in particular and watching the teams warm up in Redfern park outside the main gates before the game. It is a pity so much of the game has now receded behind a commercial curtain that distances the fans from the game. Thanks to Rhea Bonsey again for this article and giving us oldies here a chance to reminisce.

Unfortunitly a few clubs would sink without sponsers, there taking over everything!

I think the version given by Hanrahan is correct Rhea. Blueing washing and using Blue bags goes back to the 19th century. It is unlikely a depression term had anything to do with it since Newtown was known as "The Bluebags" from 1908, & perhaps the Union team even earlier.

We should respect our heritage.Rhea made a good point that we are now the NRL so the Giltinan shield is outdated. BUT!!! OUR suburban grounds should be kept in the deepest respect No more Suncorp Stadium It should be Suncorp Lang Park. No more pepper stadium it should be pepper Penrith stadium etc.

Yeah its too big for laps of honour and put in nrl terms agree, its an awsesome shield .

In 1969, the best Roos team that played in NZ was as follows: L.Johns, J.Cootes, J.McDonald, G.Langlands, R.Honan, D.Pittard, D.Ward, J.Sattler (c), E.Walters, J.Wittenberg, R.McCarthy, R.Costello, R.Coote. Composite bench: M.Cleary, G.Lye, D.Manteit, C.Weiss. Catholic priest John Cootes made his test debut, as did Bobby McCarthy, while test stalwarts John Raper & Billy Smith were punted, along with the exciting young guns Arthur Beetson & Bob Fulton. By the following year, lots of personnel changes. The following is a composite team against Great Britain in 1970: G.Langlands (c), J.Cootes, J.McDonald, J.Brass, J.King, P.Hawthorne, B.Smith, J.Morgan, E.Walters, J.Wittenberg, A.Beetson, R.McCarthy, R.Coote. Composite bench: R.Fulton, R.Grant, B.Fitzsimmons, C.Weiss. Others to appear in a test were A.McKean, R.Laird, R.Lynch, J.Sattler & R.Costello. By the time the team left for the world cup at the end of the year, which they surprisingly won in a brutal final against Great Britain, there were many changes. Graeme Langlands & John Sattler, both likely tour captains, were both injured. Sattler famously had his jaw broken in the 1970 grand final but saw the match out. Ron Coote took over as captain with many new faces. Composite WC team: E.Simms, L.Williamson, J.Cootes, P.Sait, R.Branighan, R.Fulton, W.Smith, R.O'Reilly, E.Walters, J.O'Neill, R.McCarthy, R.Costello, R.Coote (c). Composite bench: M.Harris, D.Pittard, J.Brown, R.Turner, G.Sullivan, B.McTaggart. Just for the record, here's the 1968 WC final team: E.Simms, L.Williamson, J.Greaves, G.Langlands, J.Rhodes, R.Fulton, B.Smith, A.Beetson, F.Jones, J.Wittenenberg, R.Thornett, R.Coote, J.Raper (c). Composite bench: J.King, B.James, A.Branson, B.Fitzsimmons, D.Manteit, E.Rasmussen.

The fans banging on the metal signage on fences around the ground and singing out their tribal chants This is my favourite part about suburban grounds. The racket this makes is insane and along with the chants gets pretty hypo.

Thanks Rhea, I was born & raised in PNG & when we came 'south' for our bi-annual 3-month holidays, it was usually in spring/summer, e.g., Oct-Jan period. So it wasn't until I came down to boarding school in 1969 that I really got into the league, although I had followed the Kangaroos a little in England & France in 1967/68 & the world cup in 1968. I boarded in the Eastern Suburbs, just up the road from Bondi Junction, but I secretly followed Manly Warringah at the time. I say secretly because most of my schoolmates were into Souths Rabbitohs, Easts Roosters or St. George Dragons. Manly, then as now, was everyone else's dreaded "enemy". Why did I choose Manly? Well, I remembered a terrific holiday there in either 1965 or 67 when we stayed at/near Avalon. I just thought it was a lovely area, a huge contrast from the PNG bush. I was also a fan of the Sea Eagles centres, new buy John McDonald from Qld & the bustling Bozo Bobby Fulton. They played an attractive game of rugby league. My best mate at the time was a diehard Rabbitohs fan & took me to many games over those halcyon Souths years 1969-72. The private school I went to played rugby union, but that didn't stop us following rugly league with a passion. In those days, students were expected to attend the 1st XV match in the afternoon, especially at home games. Us boarders had little choice, we went whether it was a home game or away. I didn't mind as I was right into our school rugby as well. The funny thing though, is that so many kids would have one ear glued to their transistor radio listening to Frank Hyde's call of the match of the day, with another eye on the 1st XV game in progress. i remember after an away game at Cranbrook, the headmaster was quite annoyed about kids listening to the league while watching the rugby. The funny thing was sometimes a huge roar would go up, but it had nothing to do with the 1st XV play. But there really wasn't much the teachers could do to stop us. Although I had a soft spot for both Manly & Souths for different reasons, I just enjoyed watching a good game of sport. My heroes tended to come from all teams. Back in 1969-70, there were many Rabbitohs heroes - John Sattler, John O'Neill, Ron Coote, Bobby McCarthy, Eric Simms & rugby defectors Mike Cleary & Bob Honan. Manly had John McDonald, Bobby Fulton, Freddy Jones & the somewhat unlucky fullback Bob Batty. Over at the Tigers, surprise champions that year, you had Artie Beetson, Peter Proven & the brilliant pommie Dave Bolton. The Dragons still had plenty of stars - Johnny Raper, Graeme Langlands, Billy Smith, Johnny King, John Wittenberg, Barry Beath & rugby defector Phil Hawthorne. The Roosters had another rugby defector in John Brass, while across town tough man Noel Kelly was still leading the Magpies. Late in the season a future star by the name of Tom Raudonikis joined Wests. The Bears still had the lightning fast Ken Irvine, the Bluebags were underpinned by Brian Moore while Canterbury missed its 'Roos trio of Les Johns, John Greaves & John Rhodes, who all spent long periods on the sidelines with injury. The big guns at the Eels were their two back row giants, Ron Lynch & rugby defector Dick Thornett. As for new chums Penrith & Cronulla, goal-kicking winger Bob Landers was a hit for the Panthers while Tommy Bishop arrived mid-season 1969 to begin his successful association with the Sharks. Three Raper brothers played in 1969 at three different clubs, each at lock. Johnny with St. George, Ron at Canterbury & Merv at Penrith. Life was good back then. It was a simpler time & we all seemed to enjoy it.

Ah the good old days! Thanks for the walk down memory lane. For a moment I was back there again and lost in time. I remember it all, the team coloured streamers, the first try scorer raffle tickets, the hotdog stands, the black and white programs in plain paper with no glossy finish. The fans banging on the metal signage on fences around the ground and singing out their tribal chants, updates of scores from other games in progress being broadcast around the ground over the PA (and the following communal cheers or boos after the progress scores from each game was announced). Then at the end of the day everyone (particularly the kids) would jump the fence and race to grab the black and white striped cardboard corner posts and people would be patting their heroes on their heavy old woollen jerseys full of sweat! The people were a part of their game and not apart from it. Growing up in the flats behind the old scoreboard at Redfern oval I went to every single home game and watched the team training during week nights. It is too bad that the game has become less accessible for fans in these respects and that crowds seem low in numbers since they have been moved away from the smaller suburban grounds. The atmosphere of the grounds from the old days is lost today sadly. Still, it's great to remember there was a time when the game felt alive and heroes and legends walked amongst us.

Thanks Vincent. The amazing you tube. I first heard that from my grand father all those decades ago.

Rusty cleared this up on a Jimmy Kimmel Segment https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewXKz6g3v7M