Best Memories

[Old Timer]

Reading recent posts from Wittenberg (Good luck big fella), Sheridan Stand (loved a beer there) and a few others I thought this might be a good thread.

If its been done before so be it it's still worth remembering.

1. Players lining up opposite each other out in the middle and shaking hands before the coin toss on Grand Final Day and the wonderful exchange of jerseys at full time.
2. Tugging the jersey of your hero to get his autograph and be greeted by a smile that in many cases was pretty gummy. Grand Orient you take the cake.
3. Jumping the fence just before the full time hooter to join the inevitable sprint to get a piece of the corner post.
4. The trumpet players in the Sheridan Stand on GF day belting out "Oh when the Saints"
5. "It's high enough, long enough and it's straight between the posts". How good was Frank's call and the Seiko man of the match interview.

On a personal note I loved the start of the new footy season polishing (till they sparkled) a pair of second hand boots from the "club pool" and putting in new white tape.

Hoping that if your side did well you might just get to run out on KJO at some time during the year and have Mum and Dad there to cheer you on.

 

[saint.nick]

Watching from the stand as Darius Boyd intercepted that pass for a certain Bulldogs try to run the length of the field. The swift transition from the Bullscum cheering and yelling to a rapturous Saints crowd was glorious.

 

[Country Dragon]

Watching from the stand as Darius Boyd intercepted that pass for a certain Bulldogs try to run the length of the field. The swift transition from the Bullscum cheering and yelling to a rapturous Saints crowd was glorious.

I wasn't there,but f**k that was glorious!

 

[SBD82]

I don't remember much of my 4 day bender after the 2010 GF. Can I still put that in this thread though?

 

[Sheridan Stand]

Great thread OT. I have so many great memories as the red and whites are quite simply part of my life everyday.

Out of all my memories the one that gave me the most emotion was this one:

1977 Grand final replay and Harry Bath (saints coach) pulls a master stroke that Is Gibson or Bennett like in sheer brilliance. Our halfback was injured in the GF and could not play in the replay. So during the game he gets the very badly injured Mark Shulman (our small and diminutive halfback who had got knees in the back from Ray Price in the first GF and is lucky to still be walking) to make the long walk from the members sheds all the way to the coaches area on the sideline (that is where coaches sat in those days). He had Mark fully dressed in the red V, as if he was going to play. As shulman enters the ground, the entire grand old SCG shook to the core as the crowd just erupts for the entire walk.

Saints went on to flog Parra that day 22-0 with Price and the rest of the parra forwards getting absolutely belted by our forwards. I mean they were just smashed to pieces. To this day they are still my most disliked team, after Canterbury.

That type of passion, muscle and domination was what won us 11 in a row. We played it tough as nails and never gave the opposition a chance. They were scared to play the mighty saints as we had intimidation and mongrel in the forwards and lighting speed in the backs

 

[Sans Souci Sainter]

Great thread OT. I have so many great memories as the red and whites are quite simply part of my life everyday.

Out of all my memories the one that gave me the most emotion was this one:

1977 Grand final replay and Harry Bath (saints coach) pulls a master stroke that Is Gibson or Bennett like in sheer brilliance. Our halfback was injured in the GF and could not play in the replay. So during the game he gets the very badly injured Mark Shulman (our small and diminutive halfback who had got knees in the back from Ray Price in the first GF and is lucky to still be walking) to make the long walk from the members sheds all the way to the coaches area on the sideline (that is where coaches sat in those days). He had Mark fully dressed in the red V, as if he was going to play. As shulman enters the ground, the entire grand old SCG shook to the core as the crowd just erupts for the entire walk.

Saints went on to flog Parra that day 22-0 with Price and the rest of the parra forwards getting absolutely belted by our forwards. I mean they were just smashed to pieces. To this day they are still my most disliked team, after Canterbury.

That type of passion, muscle and domination was what won us 11 in a row. We played it tough as nails and never gave the opposition a chance. They were scared to play the mighty saints as we had intimidation and mongrel in the forwards and lighting speed in the backs

Great post. This is before my time and I always wonder how those Saints premierships unfolded. The personal touches are cool too.

 

[KiamaSaint]

The day at Kogarah where we came from nowhere to beat Manly 21-20 on the bell with the ugliest field goal I have ever seen. The hill at that moment was sublime.

Edit: I would love video of the highlights of that game if anyone has them.

 

[Sheridan Stand]

Thanks sans souci.

How about what I think was Ricky walfords last game at kogarah. It was 2004 and we are behind manly by about 34-10 with about 20mins to go and the southerly change hits even harder and its belting rain and about 75% of the crowd leave.

I stayed (have always honored dads rule never to leave until the siren) and we come back and win it with second remaining - that was a great day.

You can find that comeback on you tube.

 

[duck]

2010 grand final. I cried.

 

[Willow]

1977 Grand final replay and Harry Bath (saints coach) pulls a master stroke that Is Gibson or Bennett like in sheer brilliance. Our halfback was injured in the GF and could not play in the replay. So during the game he gets the very badly injured Mark Shulman (our small and diminutive halfback who had got knees in the back from Ray Price in the first GF and is lucky to still be walking) to make the long walk from the members sheds all the way to the coaches area on the sideline (that is where coaches sat in those days). He had Mark fully dressed in the red V, as if he was going to play. As shulman enters the ground, the entire grand old SCG shook to the core as the crowd just erupts for the entire walk.

Saints went on to flog Parra that day 22-0 with Price and the rest of the parra forwards getting absolutely belted by our forwards. I mean they were just smashed to pieces. To this day they are still my most disliked team, after Canterbury.

I was at both those grand finals as well and it remains as one of my strongest memories.

The second grand final, I was next door to you in the Brewongle Stand. It gave me a great view to see Robert Stone break from the scrum and run 20-30 yards to score. It broke Parra's heart. FTR, the length of that run got longer over the years. I had the good fortune to meet Stoney a few times before he passed away - ofcourse he was a very approachable bloke with lots of friends. First time we met I had to ask him about that grand final try and the great run. Rather than be shy about it, he laughed. He said the try started off from 20 yards, then it became a run from half way but nowadays he thinks it was the length of the field.

Btw, I am pretty sure it was Ray Higgs who put his knees into the back of Mark Shulman, and I recall the retribution with Reddy targetting Higgs in the Grand Final replay. Either way the knees in the back were a cheap shot, that's putting it politely. Fans were spewing, I can but imagine what sort of posts there'd be about Higgs if we had the internet back then.

 

[TruSaint]

I was at both those grand finals as well and it remains as one of my strongest memories.

The second grand final, I was next door to you in the Brewongle Stand. It gave me a great view to see Robert Stone break from the scrum and run 20-30 yards to score. It broke Parra's heart. FTR, the length of that run got longer over the years. I had the good fortune to meet Stoney a few times before he passed away - ofcourse he was a very approachable bloke with lots of friends. First time we met I had to ask him about that grand final try and the great run. Rather than be shy about it, he laughed. He said the try started off from 20 yards, then it became a run from half way but nowadays he thinks it was the length of the field.

Btw, I am pretty sure it was Ray Higgs who put his knees into the back of Mark Shulman, and I recall the retribution with Reddy targetting Higgs in the Grand Final replay. Either way the knees in the back were a cheap shot, that's putting it politely. Fans were spewing, I can but imagine what sort of posts there'd be about Higgs if we had the internet back then.

In the days that followed, The Dragons camp spoke confidentially as to how they could defeat their rivals. Officials noted the loss of halfback, Mark Shulman following deliberate knees in the back from Parramatta skipper Ray Higgs but overall, the team had survived the torrid encounter.

http://www.jubileeavenue.com.au/history/1974-1979.php

Described as a "shade over five feet tall and weighing around ten stone", Shulman was the smallest player in first grade when he debuted in 1971. He came into the side replacing Billy Smith, who had been sidelined with a broken arm.[8] A back and kidney injury put an end to his career at the end of the 1978 season.[9]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Shulman_(rugby_league)

 

[Willow]

Thanks sans souci.

How about what I think was Ricky walfords last game at kogarah. It was 2004 and we are behind manly by about 34-10 with about 20mins to go and the southerly change hits even harder and its belting rain and about 75% of the crowd leave.

I stayed (have always honored dads rule never to leave until the siren) and we come back and win it with second remaining - that was a great day.

You can find that comeback on you tube.

It was Nathan Blacklock's last game at Kogarah. Everything else is spot on. The rain was falling and when Manly scored to make it 34-10, it looked like it was all over.

The fans that stayed were given a very special treat. Tingha grew an extra leg, came infield looking for the ball and scored two tries and then set up another, he became an extra five-eighth. The whole team llifted and of course we all got right behind it in the crowd. The last try to Poore and Riddell's conversion brought the house down. 36-34 fulltime. The team had just scored 26 points in 24 minutes in the rain.

Complete strangers in the crowd were shaking hands and patting each other on the back, sort of congratulating each other for staying. We were all soaking wet but didn't give a stuff.

 

[BradMackay]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kR2nNyh1gWk

My first ever game at Kogarah was to see this miracle comeback against Manly.

 

[Old Timer]

I was at both those grand finals as well and it remains as one of my strongest memories.

The second grand final, I was next door to you in the Brewongle Stand. It gave me a great view to see Robert Stone break from the scrum and run 20-30 yards to score. It broke Parra's heart. FTR, the length of that run got longer over the years. I had the good fortune to meet Stoney a few times before he passed away - ofcourse he was a very approachable bloke with lots of friends. First time we met I had to ask him about that grand final try and the great run. Rather than be shy about it, he laughed. He said the try started off from 20 yards, then it became a run from half way but nowadays he thinks it was the length of the field.

Btw, I am pretty sure it was Ray Higgs who put his knees into the back of Mark Shulman, and I recall the retribution with Reddy targetting Higgs in the Grand Final replay. Either way the knees in the back were a cheap shot, that's putting it politely. Fans were spewing, I can but imagine what sort of posts there'd be about Higgs if we had the internet back then.

The paper that year had a big iron on Dragon transfer which I put on a brand new T Shirt and when I got there they were everywhere in the crowd.

I was with a heap of mates in the front of the Brewongle booing Cronin as he had a shot at goal to win the original GF and we all gasped in extra time when Tony Quirk hit the cross bar with a drop goal attempt.

I think it was actually Price who put the knees into Schulman aka Bantom surely it must be on record somewhere.

In the replay Garry Cook just before kick off told St George they had 10 m minutes of square up and Reddy ran amok belting Price and Higgs (a mild tempered player) from pillar to post for almost the entire 1st half.

Fittingly one of the tries they scored that day (Starkey's I think) was an old move from the glory days called Billy's ball.

 

[SIR LANCELOT]

Being at and watching the great Dragon sides winning the grand finals 1960 to 1966. A great era and still the best of times re Rugby League I have seen.

Lancelot

 

[steggz]

2004, smashing the gummies 42-12 away. Standing with the Army, loving every minute of it

 

[steggz]

And ANZAC Day 2012

 

[Divine]

Being at and watching the great Dragon sides winning the grand finals 1960 to 1966. A great era and still the best of times re Rugby League I have seen.

Lancelot

Hard to beat

 

[chuckling]

The day at Kogarah where we came from nowhere to beat Manly 21-20 on the bell with the ugliest field goal I have ever seen. The hill at that moment was sublime.

That is one of my all-time favourites also. It was 1993 - i was 11 years old. I don't think i've heard the hill go up the same way again...

 

[Dragsters]

It was Nathan Blacklock's last game at Kogarah. Everything else is spot on. The rain was falling and when Manly scored to make it 34-10, it looked like it was all over.

The fans that stayed were given a very special treat. Tingha grew an extra leg, came infield looking for the ball and scored two tries and then set up another, he became an extra five-eighth. The whole team llifted and of course we all got right behind it in the crowd. The last try to Poore and Riddell's conversion brought the house down. 36-34 fulltime. The team had just scored 26 points in 24 minutes in the rain.

Complete strangers in the crowd were shaking hands and patting each other on the back, sort of congratulating each other for staying. We were all soaking wet but didn't give a stuff.

My brothers and I took my late mother to that game.

82 years young, a life long dragons fan and her first time ever at Jubilee (first game anywhere in fact) and she loved Tinga, he was her fave after slippery retired.

She was wheelchair bound and the ground staff treated her like royalty and I am forever grateful of that.

When we were down by plenty at half time , my bros and I were like "it's not looking good sorry mum" and she was saying "don't count em out yet, have faith in the boys, they'll come back" so we put on a brave face during the break for her.

Then well, the second half panned out just as she said it would as we all know now.

Biggest comeback ever if I recall correctly.

We wheeled mum down to the fence at full time when all the last gamers (there were a few that day) were doing a lap and Tinga gave mum a hug and a kiss.

Best day at the footy ever!

Ps for those counting, I'm the youngest of 10 by a long way so I'm not THAT old