Big Mal, Bowie and Tooheys Bombs: The greatest games ever seen

So I’m sitting here watching 27 replays of Korbin Sims’ elbow maybe grazing the grass before he grounded the football to score a hat-trick before half-time against the Dogs, and I’m ever convinced the double-movement law is an ass.

I’m convinced that the people in the bunker missed the memo about sufficient evidence being required to over-rule the ref.

And I was all set to bash out a thousand about it, all set to set the word devils free.

But on a day that Jarrod Lyle’s news put plenty in perspective about what’s important in life – which is living and loving, and playing golf, and enjoying yourself, and doing your best, and not being such a miserable git – it’s a bit hard to get all het up about some bloke’s elbow, and a bunker man pressing the ‘No Try’ button when the ref ruled try.

And all that.

But compared to Jarrod Lyle’s news, all that stuff doesn’t matter a dud Joe Root.

So stuff it. Stuff the bunker, and stuff stupid carping about stupid rules. I’m going to knock out something good. Something positive. Something happy and fun.

And when I think of it I’ll let you know.

No.

What I was thinking was this: ‘A Magnificent Seven … Best Games I’ve Seen Live’

Like that?

Good.

I only had room for four. And it was these:

1. That’s not a try it’s a miracle: State of Origin Game 1, May 23, 1994
Yes, went up to Sydney with some mates in ‘94, paid a hundred bucks or something to stand in a marquee thingy near Moore Park and drink tins of Tooheys Red, a beer so bad they used it for war in Iraq.

Then the organisers of this pre-match pissy shindig ran out of Toohey’s Red and told thirsty punters never mind, we still have plenty of Toohey’s Blue, the deranged bastard son of Toohey’s 2.2, which tasted like bathwater for Belgian soap-dodgers.

So halfway through this ‘function’ annoyed patrons were opening tins of Toohey’s Blue, taking a quick skull-sip, and tossing frothy mortars onto the roof of the tent. And repeat.

And so! Into the Sydney Football Stadium we went to see a sensational State of Origin fixture that the Blues led from pillar-to-post, and which was effectively theirs with one minute to play.

And you know what happened next. All those Queenslanders, all those plays, all that running.

And they were running and running, passing and passing, and so many were coming, backing up, there seemed no end to them. And then Mal Meninga dished to Mark Coyne who did plenty to score.

And you thought, How about that? The greatest Origin try. Fact. Full stop. New par.

And then you thought, gee there are a few more Queenslanders here than I thought.

Anyway I was 12 rows back from the 10m line where Meninga passed to Coyne, and won’t forget it until I get Alzheimer’s.

(AAP Image/Brendon Thorne)

2. Bowie does Brooki: NSWRL Round 12, May 16, 1982
Canberra kid, me, but Grandma had a place in Balgowlah on Sydney’s northern beaches which meant we’d get up to see Manly play a time or two, and slide down the back of Brookie Hill on cardboard, as one did.

A cousin of ours was a Roosters man and came across the Harbour this day in 1982 to see the Chooks.

Look through the old name lists: Paul Vautin, Les Boyd, Geoff Gerard, Max Krilich, Phil Blake, Noel Cleal, Kevin Hastings, Royce Ayliffe, Ian Schubert, and others quite prized in a Scanlen’s gum card collection.

Ron Giteau kicked ’round the corner’ for Manly. Mike Eden did the same for Easts.

‘The Redfern Express’ Terry Fahey bombed down the wing for the Chooks. John Ribot did the same for the Eagles. Stuie Davis looked like a marathon runner too poor to cut his hair.

But the bloke we were to see was Bowie – Kerry Boustead. He was playing for the Chooks at the time, and we were on the eastern touchline hanging over the fence when he burned down the right and raced away to score under the posts.

I remember this: he was smiling his head off. So were we.

3. Meninga 38 Roosters 4: NSWRL Round 5, April 15, 1990
Greg Hartley and Peter Peters used to call games on the radio, can’t remember the station, and one of the good things about driving home in traffic was listening to the post-match wrap.

Because you’d get all the other scores and match wraps because all games bar the match-of-the-day were on Sundays at 3pm, which remains the best time to play footy, another story.

Anyway we’re driving home after the Raiders had scored 66 points to the Roosters 4 points, when a talkback caller rang in to declare that the scoreboard didn’t accurately reflect how well the Roosters had played.

And it’s fair to say Zorba and Hollywood didn’t give the fellow much more airtime given Mal Meninga scored five tries, Johnny Ferguson three, and Gary Belcher, Mark Bell, Laurie Daley and Ricky Stuart touched down across the white paint for the Green Machine.

Easts points came from a try to winger Tim Dwyer, who a fortnight later came off the bench in the Roosters 30-2 loss to Cronulla and never played again.

4. The second-greatest grand final:NRL Grand Final, October 3, 2015
Did a story for dear, departed Rugby League Week about watching the 2015 grand final in the stands with the Cowboys fans, and you can imagine how good that was standing directly behind the line of Johnathan Thurston’s match-winning field goal.

And I could only imagine it too because I left at half-time, and listened to the match on the radio in the car, and got home just as the Cowboys scored in the corner.

Things you do for love? I believe it was. But as Robin Williams said of missing that baseball game in Good Will Hunting, I didn’t know that would happen.