Rugby league history

I was in Canberra those days... We didn't get a lot of news about the team but I remember reading about this in the paper and it's like nothing's changed... Get all excited then just disappointing... First season wasn't bad the first half sitting second.midway thru the year then slipping to 10th finally
That Penrith loss was the catalyst remember I'd moved back to. Maroubra was listening to round the grounds at home... we went fro. 31- 8 lead I think to lose 32-31....how very WTs 😏
 
I was in Canberra those days... We didn't get a lot of news about the team but I remember reading about this in the paper and it's like nothing's changed... Get all excited then just disappointing... First season wasn't bad the first half sitting second.midway thru the year then slipping to 10th finally
That Penrith loss was the catalyst remember I'd moved back to. Maroubra was listening to round the grounds at home... we went fro. 31- 8 lead I think to lose 32-31....how very WTs 😏

Back then and I still feel it today, the tackle that finished Jarrod McCracken also finished us that year.

"McCracken's football career came to a premature end in round 15 of the 2000 NRL competition in a game against the Melbourne Storm, when Storm players Stephen Kearney (a long time Kiwis team mate and in later years test second-row partner) and Marcus Bai performed a dangerous spear tackle on him, inflicting a career-ending neck injury."
 
I was in Canberra those days... We didn't get a lot of news about the team but I remember reading about this in the paper and it's like nothing's changed... Get all excited then just disappointing... First season wasn't bad the first half sitting second.midway thru the year then slipping to 10th finally
That Penrith loss was the catalyst remember I'd moved back to. Maroubra was listening to round the grounds at home... we went fro. 31- 8 lead I think to lose 32-31....how very WTs 😏
The Penrith game rot set in after Hoppa did the stupid WWF try celebration bouncing off the goal posts - and got shoved by an angry Matt Adamson mid-way though...

It was all downhill from there!
 
I was in Canberra those days... We didn't get a lot of news about the team but I remember reading about this in the paper and it's like nothing's changed... Get all excited then just disappointing... First season wasn't bad the first half sitting second.midway thru the year then slipping to 10th finally
That Penrith loss was the catalyst remember I'd moved back to. Maroubra was listening to round the grounds at home... we went fro. 31- 8 lead I think to lose 32-31....how very WTs 😏
I remember watching that game on channel 9 when the Sunday arvo game was still on delay. When we got to 31-8, commentators were praising the performance so much that they were comparing it NSW who had demolished Qld by 40 or 50 earlier in the week. I was thinking “how good is this“, and I decided to go and turn the radio on and bask in the glory of our domination. To my horror I was greeted with all heroics about Penrith

We got ours the following year though when we came back from 24-0 and 32-12 at half time to beat the Knights at Cambo. Owen Craigie’s greatest game of all time
 
Thanks for the memory champion @innsaneink - remember the game, the teams, the Wests Tigers jersey they wore and all the hope we felt as fans for a "new beginning."
I’ve still got the team list sheet they handed out lying around somewhere. I remember an anti merger protest group trying to hand out stuff. I just wanted to watch some footy.
 
Was funny in those days how magpies. / balmain we were

There was little WTs gear everyone still had magpies or Balmain stuff...

There'd be a group that whenever a Tigers chant went up they came out with the Wests Wests Wests one... AlWays sounded like a dozen n
Blokes only...
 
Roosters back in the day - famous for their longish hair!
Ian Shubert, Russell Fairfax,Des O'Reilly


1710795018914.jpeg
 
I remember watching that game on channel 9 when the Sunday arvo game was still on delay. When we got to 31-8, commentators were praising the performance so much that they were comparing it NSW who had demolished Qld by 40 or 50 earlier in the week. I was thinking “how good is this“, and I decided to go and turn the radio on and bask in the glory of our domination. To my horror I was greeted with all heroics about Penrith

We got ours the following year though when we came back from 24-0 and 32-12 at half time to beat the Knights at Cambo. Owen Craigie’s greatest game of all time
I was at that game with my brother and remember saying to him not to crow just yet even though we were up 31-8.
I had a theory which never let me down in those days that a team could defend a converted try every 5 minutes. They needed 4 converted tries to beat us, so we had to keep them out till the 15 minutes to go mark.
They scored with 16 or 17 minutes to go 🥴. The rest is history.
My brother said you and your effing theory 😄. (No longer valid with all the rule changes since, haven’t come up with a decent new one.)
 
Think I was there that night if it was Hodgos last Cambo game... Think it was a Mon or weeknight... Maybe Thur?
Yeah, I stayed behind that night for the players' presentation of man of the match in the club - they had a sort of send off for Hodgo, it was prettty emotional.
 
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