Charging onto the ball, red bear trips, fallsand generally embarrasses himself
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Partying like it's 1999
Ahh, the nineties. The era where grunge gave way to pop punk which gave way to nu-metal, which everyone has since tried to forget. The era where The Simpsons defined a generation, and everyone my age looks fondly back to afternoons of Round the Twist and The Ferals.
It’s natural that you look back on your first era of life with somewhat rose-coloured glasses. It’s the era that you first became interested in the world around you, where you can really shape what sort of person you mature into.
So I guess it’s no surprise that I’ve always looked back on rugby league from the nineties somewhat fondly. This was the time I first became interested in the greatest game of all. I still distinctly remember the first game I watched, the Winfield Cup grand final of 1994. My dad had trekked out of the snow the week before to find somewhere to go through the classic ritual of watching the Bears steal defeat from the jaws of victory in a preliminary final.
As I approach my 22nd birthday in a couple of months I guess I’ve been reflecting on this era a bit. In part it’s due to the strange feeling I never really anticipated, that is being older than people playing first grade. Despite my personal rugby league dreams being long dead, from realising that a sport where everyone is half a foot and 30 kgs bigger than you was never going to be my forte. It’s the confirmation that the game has passed you by that I guess closes a chapter on childhood dreams.
The other big thing, however, is the players. That first generation of players you watch running around are the ones that stick with you for your life. They’re the generation you really look up to. Dad still talks to me fondly about players like Ron Coote and Eric Simms. For me, Rod Wishart, Greg Florimo, Billy Moore, Brad Fittler, Tim Brasher, they were the players that inspired me.
I know there is debate after every rugby league player indiscretion as to whether the players should be seen as role models or not, but there is no doubt that in that impressionable 5-10 year old age range these players are immensely important to you.
By the time these players have moved on and the next generation of players comes through you are an older, possibly wiser, sometimes more mature person. You’ve reached the age where you no longer seek out role models based on the simple ability to play good football. You tend to look at people closer to you (teachers, lecturers, friends, relatives) for the sort of person you want to be.
So whilst you continue to watch the game you love, the era of living and dying by certain players is gone. And I guess it has me wondering who will be the last from what was a fairly tumultuous era of the game. With only 21 players left on the books of NRL clubs who debuted before the year 2000 the door is rapidly closing. At least five of these players have already confirmed this will be their last season, with many others uncontracted and uncertain as to future plans. Significantly, with Lockyer and MacDougall retiring only Preston Campbell will be left from the Super League era, probably the biggest turmoil the game has faced since the split from rugby union.
From the remaining bunch, Civoniceva, Hindmarsh, Burt, Prince, Campbell, Guluvao, Tahu, Best and Tuqiri are the ones under contract for next season. Just nine left from the nineties. It’s a matter of time before we farewell this period of the game. If you’re a gambling man I guess Luke Burt, who only just turned thirty this year and is playing better than ever, would be the smart bet for the longest serving player. Scott Prince is also under contract until 2014, but with age fast catching up with his on field performances it would not surprise many if he pulled the plug before then.
The demise of North Sydney has probably made me somewhat more nostalgic to this period than if my club was still in existence. In reality it was an era of greed, distrust and bastardisation of the jerseys we knew and loved (see the aqua Broncos incident). But it will always be the time that got me into this game, and always have a spot in my heart.
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745 words between the lines