SPORT

As readers of this column are aware, I’ ve been referring to Rugby League as The Greatest Shame of all for several seasons. Reasons? Wingers not marking wingers. Two and three-man flops on tackled players. Defender lying around at play-theball, hindering the dummy half. Hands all over tackled player as he strives to get to his feet. The bunker. And how can one 110kg ball-carrier make ground when confronted by three 110kg players and still make another 10m or so metres? Simple really, no-one wants to tackle around the legs.

But the Greatest Game of All has been reinstated after watching the thrill-aminute 2025 Grand Final between the Brisbane Broncos and Melbourne Storm.

Two well- matched teams chockful of tough-as-nails forwards and brilliant backs.

It truly was a game for the ages, featuring rugged defence and scintillating tries including one of the best tries I’ ve ever witnessed during my time as a sporting journo.

And that was of course, the amazing barnstorming 20 metres run by mesmerising Broncos’ fullback, Reece Walsh, in beating five players to plant the pill between the posts. His try was reminiscent of two of the gutsiest tries I’ ve ever witnessed in covering footy matches for 57 years. They were: Eric Grothe’ s 40m run to burst through six tackles to score in Parramatta’ s preliminary final win over Canterbury in 1983, and the Rabbitohs’ George Piggins’ blockbusting run to crash through the heart of a rugged Wests pack, busting five tackles to score in a club game in 1976.

That Magpies pack was chockful of fearsome defenders and included Les Boyd, John Donnelly and Bob Cooper, three of the toughest men to have played the game. Back to Walsh! He was a laydown misère to be named the Clive Churchill Medal winner after his superb 80-minute effort, with and without the ball.

He scored THAT try, assisted in three others, terrorised the defence whenever he had ball-in-hand and made two sensational try-saving tackles with his team hanging onto a precarious lead. Both efforts were mindboggling! The Storm’ s Ryan Papenhuyzen is a flying machine, yet Walsh was able to muster a shade more“ toe” in coming across in cover to run him down and force the Storm man to throw an inside pass which went to ground only 10 metres

SMART AND DAPPER is out of Brett Thompson’ s Gulgong stables and there was a lot to like about effortless 800m trial win at Narromine on October 18. Keep tabs on bush meetings.

JUDIITH’ S REVENGE and CLIFF HOUSE went round in a 1000m open trial at Wagga on Oct 18 and both were never under any pressure despite finishing powerfully final 200m, with the former winning and latter winding up fourth.

AMOR VICTORIUS and WHINCHAT finished first and second respectively in 1200m trial at W’ Farm on Oct 17. Both were only out for a pipe-opener but like the way they hit the line.

PROUD IMAGE rattled home in fast run 805m trail at W’ Farm on Oct 17. The race was full of quality neddies which indicated this mare is ready to fire first-up.

WEEPING WOMAN wound up only 6 th of 8 in a 805m trial at W’ Farm on Oct 17 but she was under a stranglehold from go to whoa. Goes well fresh.

JARRITO is a lightly raced filly by I Am Invincible and indicated she is in for a strong campaign this time in, with strong performance in showing speed and racing away untouched in 798m trial at W’ Farm on Oct 17. short of the Broncos’ tryline. His other try-saving effort was one for the ages!

Eliesa Kotoa burst through a tackle 10 metres into the Broncos’ half and bolted infield with Papenhuyzen looming up in support on his inside with just Walsh to beat and then a clear 20m run to score the match-winner.

Walsh noticed the quick-silver Ezra Mann giving chase to Kotoa and made split decision that Mann would run down Kotoa, so launched himself to the right as he grabbed Pappy’ s legs just as he took the pass from Kotoa. Absolutely amazing! The Greatest Game of all is back! Well, it is unless those flops and hands in the tackles continue, wingers don’ t mark wingers, blokes don’ t tackle around the legs, and, of course, the bumbling bunker!

Whenever I’ m in my office, I run my eyes of my small sporting library and usually pick out and browse the great Alan Whiticker’ s 1992 publication, Grand Finals of the New South Wales Rugby League.

Alan is a researcher par excellence with the book covering all aspects of every grand final from the birth of the game in Australia in 1908 until Penrith’ s historic( and heart-stopping) win over Canberra Raiders in 1961. Did you know? The first mandatory grand final was in 1954 when Souths tossed Newtown 23-15.

Prior to that it was not known if a grand final was needed until the season all but finished – if the minor premiers lost either their semi-final or the final, only then would a grand final take place.

The new four-team semi-finals series in’ 54 took away an advantage the minor premiers once held in challenging a side to a grand final if beaten in an earlier finals match. Did you know? Both South Sydney and Eastern Suburbs fielded well below player strength in that inaugural 1908 grand final which was won 14-12 by the Rabbitohs.

While the game was being played, the historic First Kangaroos touring side was aboard RMS Macedonia on its way to England with each grand-final team providing six players each.

Believe it or not, the 1909 grand final was even more of a shambles!

For some unknown reason – probably to put some money into coffers, a fourmatch series was played between a Kangaroo lineup and the Rugby Union’ s Wallabies who had just returned from a tour of Great Britian.

Again, with the for some unknown reason!

The fourth of the matches was scheduled to be played as the main event on rugby league grand final day, relegating the Souths-Balmain game to a support role.

The Tigers camp was of the( just) opinion that the league final should take precedence, and blued like bad mugs( but justifiably so).

Tigers officials believed the league grand final should not be used as a drawcard to prop up an ill-advised promotional match.

They told the NSWRL that they would forfeit the game and their premiership hopes if the game wasn’ t rescheduled. The NSWRL folk said“ no” and the Tigers made the decision to forfeit the game and premiership aspirations.

Around 4000 desperates turned up to witness the Rugby Union match after witnessing one of the most remarkable sights in the history of the – OK, Greatest Game of All.

To claim the premiership, the Rabbitohs donned their footy gear, ran onto the field, kicked off to an empty other half and claimed the 1909 premiership.

However, the Rabbitohs did get onto the paddock as a curtain raiser to the Kangaroo-Wallabies match, beating a hastily organised invitation team 18-10.

Where they got that mob from we’ ll never know!

SAD MARKS: The passing of Monica“ Mon” Purcell, wife of the late NSW, Australia and Rabbitohs legend, Bernie. Bernie was knocking out a weekly column for the Daily Mirror when I commenced my career in journalism. We remained close until his passing, aged 73, back in 2001.

Team

22 ISSUE 56 // NOVEMBER 2025 theindependentmagazine. com. au BLACKTOWN CITY INDEPENDENT