innsaneink
Well-known member
Hartley was an out & out cheat...Loved Manly hated Wests
Western Suburbs Magpies Thread
- Thread starter Suzie-Q
- Start date
broke my heart when i heard that / understood .But wasn't that a beat up for a few years that time of year
diedpretty
Well-known member
Yea i think it was too - he was also the only one i ever saw go close in a game.Might be wrong … but think that may have been Tony Ford.
Tony Ford (rugby league) - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
diedpretty
Well-known member
momo_amp_medo said:
You might be right. I started watching Tony in 3rd grade at Pratten Park. He was a brilliant ball runner who could have been anything. He had an unusual running style however that left him susceptible to coat hanger tackles and he copped quite a few. I think that dented his confidence and he never lived up to his early promise. I met him a few times after he retired because his wife worked with mine. He was a lovely unassuming and modest bloke.
He scored one of the most memorable solo tries i have ever seen at Lidcombe. It was against Newtown and he got in the clear about 50 mtrs out and was being chased by the Newtown winger Kevin Gentles who was a noted flyer. Just as you thought Gentles would get him he swerved. He did it a second time and Gentles missed the tackle for Ford to score.
You might be right. I started watching Tony in 3rd grade at Pratten Park. He was a brilliant ball runner who could have been anything. He had an unusual running style however that left him susceptible to coat hanger tackles and he copped quite a few. I think that dented his confidence and he never lived up to his early promise. I met him a few times after he retired because his wife worked with mine. He was a lovely unassuming and modest bloke.
He scored one of the most memorable solo tries i have ever seen at Lidcombe. It was against Newtown and he got in the clear about 50 mtrs out and was being chased by the Newtown winger Kevin Gentles who was a noted flyer. Just as you thought Gentles would get him he swerved. He did it a second time and Gentles missed the tackle for Ford to score.
diedpretty
Well-known member
They were cheated out of a GF spot in 78 the year they were minor premiers. Hartley cheated to get Manly home against Parra in the major semi final - then cheated Wests in the prelim.
One finals win is diire. I was looking at the 1978 season. I don’t think they lost any game by more than 10 points.
They were definitely grand final drinkers those boys , they would hit rooneys after training and it was nothing for them to be in a stink but they were a great group and probably very unlucky to be there on the big day
westTAHger
Well-known member
I was lucky enough to be coached by Tony Ford in 1978, the under 14 b team for Holy Cross College Ryde.
He was a great coach/mentor, taught us all a life lesson about being good people and good sportsmanship.
One of first things he told the entire team, if any of you do a head high tackle on anyone, you will never be playing in this team for the season.
Nobody ever did, he taught us to hit hard around the hips, and slide down locking up the feet of the person with the ball.
The team won the comp that season, in the grand final beating Leichhardt wanderers 6-5, yep by a field goal, played at Leichhardt Oval.
When we catch up occasionally, yes we are happy to have won, but majority of blokes say, it was the lesson's about sportsmanship/life that Tony taught us, that we still use today.
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