Watching Classic Grand Finals on Fox this week

[Tonearm Terrorwrist]

I saw the end of a Saints game from the 60's, maybe against Souths idk but after Saints had won there was no real jubilation and carry on or players lying on the ground like you normally see both teams were just shaking each others hands and exchanging GG's I assume.

 

[newman]

Imagine they still had that rule where if you got tackled on the 5th, or went into touch, there was a scrum with your feed?

With regards to the wrestling: Refs back then seemed to have no problem calling held and then the players jump off. For the life of me I cant understand why refs these days say "held! Move! Move!" and then dont do anything when the tackle goes on for about another 10 seconds.

 

[Jason Maher]

What you have to remember is 25 years ago all the players had day jobs. It wasn't until Superjoke the league went full time professional.

Imagine they still had that rule where if you got tackled on the 5th, or went into touch, there was a scrum with your feed?

With regards to the wrestling: Refs back then seemed to have no problem calling held and then the players jump off. For the life of me I cant understand why refs these days say "held! Move! Move!" and then dont do anything when the tackle goes on for about another 10 seconds.

I know. It's hardly rocket surgery. Yet for some reason, the powers that be seem to have zero interest in doing anything about it. All they'd have to do is start blowing penalties in round 1. By round 3, players would be forgetting about the wrestling bullshit and jumping straight up.

 

[newman]

What you have to remember is 25 years ago all the players had day jobs. It wasn't until Superjoke the league went full time professional.


.

And two men hugging or a bloke crying about a sporting result was about as socially acceptable as dressing like Hitler.

 

[Perce]

And two men hugging or a bloke crying about a sporting result was about as socially acceptable as dressing like Hitler.

Good call! I noticed in the Packer mini-series when they had actual footage of the cricket of the late 1970s there was no bum-patting or carrying on or even much overt celebrating after taking a wicket. Now if you bowl a half-tracker and some nuffy skies it and gets caught on the boundary you jump around like you've just split the atom.

 

[Perce]

Damn - just realised that every time I post in this thread I sound more and more like Grandpa Simpson...

 

[newman]

I know. It's hardly rocket surgery. Yet for some reason, the powers that be seem to have zero interest in doing anything about it. All they'd have to do is start blowing penalties in round 1. By round 3, players would be forgetting about the wrestling bullshit and jumping straight up.

So frustrating. Such an easy fix. My u 12s team know that if the ref calls held, and they dont immediately get off (within reason and the context of momentum etc) they will be penalised, and we get on with the game. The correct calling of held also greatly rewards a "big hit" (I am loathe to say dominant tackle), along with hugely assisting the natural flow of the game.

 

[age.s]

It was great to see no players staying down after some incidental contact to the head.

I know we all know it but Rabs really was a fantastic caller back in the day. Some of his calls in the 99 GF were epic. His call of the Blacklock try (with the roar of the crowd in the background) gave me shivers.

 

[Danish]

And two men hugging or a bloke crying about a sporting result was about as socially acceptable as dressing like Hitler.

Yep... Its not like 2 blokes hugging in the 60s isn't the most famous image in rugby league and immortalised as our trophy or anything

 

[axl rose]

What you have to remember is 25 years ago all the players had day jobs. It wasn't until Superjoke the league went full time professional.

Indeed, during the 88 GF they mentioned a Balmain player was in doubt as he stepped on a nail at work during the week.

 

[East Coast Tiger]

The perils of being one of those people who do manicures.

 

[axl rose]

The perils of being one of those people who do manicures.

they bred em tough in those days

 

[Tonearm Terrorwrist]

It was great to see no players staying down after some incidental contact to the head.

I know we all know it but Rabs really was a fantastic caller back in the day. Some of his calls in the 99 GF were epic. His call of the Blacklock try (with the roar of the crowd in the background) gave me shivers.

Rabs made some epic moments extra special. June's try v Brisbane & Mullins' miracle, classic Rabs.

 

[Norths Tiger]

It was great to see no players staying down after some incidental contact to the head.

Ummm....88 grand final. Back Door Benny stayed down after incidental contact from Peter Tunks (in possession) and Tunks was sin-binned.

Great acting by Benny, they even got the smelling salts for him. Heaps was disgusted by the call in commentary.

 

[Canard]

Are the 80's and early 90's GF the ABC commentary or commercial channels?

My endearing memories of a lot of those games are David Middelton, Johnny Peard and Warren Boland.

Growing up in regional Australia, the ABC was the broadcaster of League. At one stage both the ABC and 10 (was it 10?) showed the game simultaneously, but you would have to be stoned to watch a game with ads in it.

 

[undertaker]

Ummm....88 grand final. Back Door Benny stayed down after incidental contact from Peter Tunks (in possession) and Tunks was sin-binned.

Great acting by Benny, they even got the smelling salts for him. Heaps was disgusted by the call in commentary.

Who could forget that dogact he did when he got Mario Fenech sent-off after biting his own hand and claiming Mario did it...as grubby as many people say they are, that's something I couldn't even imagine the Melbourne Storm players doing.

 

[Red Bear]

Made up for though by Terry Lamb staying on the field when he should've been sent

 

[undertaker]

Are the 80's and early 90's GF the ABC commentary or commercial channels?

My endearing memories of a lot of those games are David Middelton, Johnny Peard and Warren Boland.

Growing up in regional Australia, the ABC was the broadcaster of League. At one stage both the ABC and 10 (was it 10?) showed the game simultaneously, but you would have to be stoned to watch a game with ads in it.

I'm not sure about that, but the last time ABC broadcasted finals matches was 1992 (there were three broadcasters that series - Ch9, ABC and TV One in NZ). Ch9 have had exclusive rights to finals matches in Australia since 1993.

ABC did the same with cricket as well, even after the World Series revolution in the late '70s. Up until 1990 (before WIN and NBN became affiliates of Ch9), ABC broadcasted the cricket in regional/non-metropolitan areas where Ch9 wasn't available.

 

[webbland]

The players might have been less athletic and less fit, but the play the ball was pretty damn fast--and in my opinion much, much, better than the mess we have today.

totally agree,tackled around the legs,no wrestling,play the ball .much better than todays high tackling/wrestling get 'em on their backs method

 

[webbland]

75% of plays now are either aimless one off runs by either slow forwards or dummy halves. And that's after the play the ball took 15 seconds because of hold and wrestling techniques.

they are not aimless,they are robotic,no skill(except being able to withstand getting pulverised)grid trained ,brainless runs