Balmain Wests History Chronicles
- Thread starter AmericanHistoryX
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AmericanHistoryX
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David Brooks. Another warrior.
A lot of people forget he played an origin game. Good toe poker too!
Jolls
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Loved his play back in the day, one of my favourite Balmain Tigers. While I was a Balmain Supporter as a kid I really liked players from across the competition. I tried to tackle like Terry Randall from Manly, hit the line with the skill of Brian Lockwood from Balmain, be as crafty as Billy Smith from Saints and be as tough as Tommy from Wests. If I had the opportunity to have dinner with those guys and throw in Neil Pringle and Greg Bandiera from Balmain and I would die a happy dude.
AmericanHistoryX
Well-known member
AmericanHistoryX
Well-known member
Jolls
Well-known member
Thanks Mate,
Great little vids those two. Now I have to find part 2 of the history and part 1 of the inside Wests Tigers
Jolls
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AmericanHistoryX
Well-known member
Thank You
AmericanHistoryX
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AmericanHistoryX
Well-known member
The following are extracts from the great Roy Masters' column in today's Sydney Morning Herald that you might be interested in. Yes, sadly, we aren't part of the Magic Round this weekend.
Singo’s ‘Leagueathon’ walked so Magic Round could fly
In 1977 and 1978, all six NSWRL games in one round were played at the SCG over the Anzac weekend, with three double-headers staged the first year and two triple-headers the next. Dubbed a “Leagueathon”, it was the brain child of adman John Singleton.
“We had f--- all in the promotions budget and I had to hire over-the-hill entertainment,” Singo recalls. “[American singer] Burl Ives sang Pearly Shells and then walked off [said Singo].
“I chased him into the dressing-room and said, ‘Burl, mate, you’ve got to go back out’. But he pointed to his contract, which said he only had to sing at half-time.
“I said, ‘No mate, you’ve got to sing for half-time [meaning the duration of it]’. So Burl goes back out and what does he sing? Pearly Shells!”
Back in 1977-78, the players were living at home during the Leagueathon. This weekend, all 16 NRL teams are being housed at two hotels, a symbol of the increasing collegiality between NRL players at rival clubs.
Today, opposing players walk from the field together, with the losers often smiling at private jokes with their rivals. The sight of players joking with their opponents after losses is an aspect of the modern game that grates on the players from the original Leagueathon days.
Wests and Balmain are now a merged entity, but in the 1978 Leagueathon they went head-to-head, with the Tigers’ Larry Corowa scoring three tries against my Magpies side.
The rivalry back then came to mind when Singo asked me if I remembered Ives’ half-time entertainment.
“Didn’t see him,” I said. “I was too busy using the break to work out how to stop Larry Corowa.”
Singo’s ‘Leagueathon’ walked so Magic Round could fly
In 1977 and 1978, all six NSWRL games in one round were played at the SCG over the Anzac weekend, with three double-headers staged the first year and two triple-headers the next. Dubbed a “Leagueathon”, it was the brain child of adman John Singleton.
“We had f--- all in the promotions budget and I had to hire over-the-hill entertainment,” Singo recalls. “[American singer] Burl Ives sang Pearly Shells and then walked off [said Singo].
“I chased him into the dressing-room and said, ‘Burl, mate, you’ve got to go back out’. But he pointed to his contract, which said he only had to sing at half-time.
“I said, ‘No mate, you’ve got to sing for half-time [meaning the duration of it]’. So Burl goes back out and what does he sing? Pearly Shells!”
Back in 1977-78, the players were living at home during the Leagueathon. This weekend, all 16 NRL teams are being housed at two hotels, a symbol of the increasing collegiality between NRL players at rival clubs.
Today, opposing players walk from the field together, with the losers often smiling at private jokes with their rivals. The sight of players joking with their opponents after losses is an aspect of the modern game that grates on the players from the original Leagueathon days.
Wests and Balmain are now a merged entity, but in the 1978 Leagueathon they went head-to-head, with the Tigers’ Larry Corowa scoring three tries against my Magpies side.
The rivalry back then came to mind when Singo asked me if I remembered Ives’ half-time entertainment.
“Didn’t see him,” I said. “I was too busy using the break to work out how to stop Larry Corowa.”
