The Great Grand Final Heist: How Balmain beat the Rabbitohs by laying down

[tiger05premier]

Didn't Benny bite himself in a scrum to get Mario Fenech sent off…I seem to recall Blockhead having a giggle about it...could have been a Club game...

Yeah I'm guessing it was a club game around 86 to 88\. I remember Fenech being absolutely bewildered about what had just happened. Benny did well that day

In the semi. It may or may not be true. Mario got marched though

Yes he got marched.
Benny probably still laughs everyday about it.
Mario hated Benny with such a pasaion but with Blocker as a bodyguard pretty much Benny got away with everything he did to Mario.
Poor Mario wasn't that smart and got outplayed by Benny on most occasions

 

[Fade_To_Black]

Minor Semi in '86.
You are right about Blocker though Byron, Benny could basically do whatever he wanted to whomever he wanted while Block was on the field. Must of been a reassuring feeling for him to have the Big Unit by his side. 2 fantastic footballers that is for certain.

 

[Byron_Bay_Fan]

The 89 prelim against Souths, Benny playing the ball and then grabs Michael Andrews to stop him getting at Sironen who goes on to score. Our Benny would not do anything like that.

 

[Tigers4ever]

Great post Smithy. You have covered all the stats and facts perfectly. A great day for the Mighty Tigers. I will never forget the day. was on the Paddo Hill cheering the Premiers of 1969.

 

[oldprop]

Great post Smithy. You have covered all the stats and facts perfectly. A great day for the Mighty Tigers. I will never forget the day. was on the Paddo Hill cheering the Premiers of 1969.

You would have had a great view of the try. I was on the other side of the field. Great day.

 

[MG1962]

I have never gotten the yelling and screaming from Souths. League does not have any rule about the spirit of the game. So do whatever you can get away with to win a game.

And it is not like this kind of thing is unknown in League. All the way back to 1908 Messenger used to throw the ball in the air when he was about be tackled forcing either the defender to pull out of the tackle or risk giving away a penalty for tackling a player without the ball.

The rule for that was changed pretty quick

Then the is the famous mousetrap play, the flying wedge, intentionally missing shots at goal, etc etc etc

 

[GoldXR50Leroy]

Funny how it's 'only' taken 48 years for Heads to write the book, with so many Souffs members he must think he's onto a best seller, senile old git must be kidding himself if he thinks half the Rabbitohs fans are literate, everyone who was around back then knows that Balmain slowed the game down, fake news!.

 

[MG1962]

Funny how it's 'only' taken 48 years for Heads to write the book, with so many Souffs members he must think he's onto a best seller, senile old git must be kidding himself if he thinks half the Rabbitohs fans are literate, everyone who was around back then knows that Balmain slowed the game down, fake news!.

Maybe he even included a chapter about how South's stabbed Balmain in the back to win the 1909 grand final!!!

 

[Byron_Bay_Fan]

My cousin from Coogee, a mad bunny's fan, has sent me these gems:

http://www.ssralmanac.com/mobile/1909/news_19090916.htm

http://www.ssralmanac.com/mobile/1909/news_19090918.htm

http://www.ssralmanac.com/mobile/1909/news_19090921.htm

http://www.ssralmanac.com/mobile/1909/news_19090923.htm

 

[Byron_Bay_Fan]

If only Farah was selected he could have knocked over a field goal for Souths.

You must be devastated with the result Byron…

Listen mate he could have done it with a patch over one eye - but funny how Mitch can get them for Parra the other day but not for us against the Titans last year. It will be funny when Mitch and RF are in the same World Cup team (presumably).

 

[Peter_B]

I was age 9 when the 1969 grand final was played. I listened to it on my [This word has been automatically removed] (transistor radio for you young'uns) whilst Frank Hyde called the game. All while lying down, in the shade, in the backyard. It's my first full memory of a league grand final. Happy memories !!

 

[Byron_Bay_Fan]

Here is another pic going back to 1910 Birchgrove Oval packed - the 1909 GF
http://www.ssralmanac.com/mobile/1910/news_19100430.htm

 

[Tigrr]

I was at the 1969 GF and it made me Balmain supporter for life. It was a tremendous and brave win against all the odds as Souths had about 11 Australian internationals in the side. Balmain won fair and tackled them out of it with solid defence,

 

[Spook]

Virtually the whole media had us despised outsiders in 69, and put in the boot big time when we won.
Clive Churchill's son wrote that his father came up with a game plan to get Beetson taken out in the Semi-Final that worked to perfection. Each Souths forward goaded him individually until he was sent off. He also admitted Nosworthy countered perfectly with his own game plan, and they didn't see it coming.
You have to remember though, Balmain needed to have the game already won for the plan to succeed.
Alan Clarkson & Col Pearce wrote in the Sun Herald that Souths needed to be careful and weren't certainties after they scraped home against a 12 man Balmain team in the Semi-Final.
Balmain was on Souths heels all season having beaten them in the first round. Tutty was sitting out the season. Norm Miller had been replaced at hooker by John Crawford, who was having trouble winning the ball and was replaced by Peter Boulton during the Final against Manly. Manly were leading that game with 90 seconds to go, Balmain were 20 yards out from the Manly line in possession when Bob Smithies at dummy half made a 35 metre pass out to George Ruebner on the wing who ran over two Manly players to score and win the Final. (Hence Ken Arthurson's sour comments in the O.P.)
Apart from defence, the 2 things I put down to the win are the brains and guile of the best half back in Sydney at the time David Bolton. Arguably part of the greatest halves combination of all time with partner Alex Murphy. They were part of the Gt. Britain team that humbled the Dragons in 1962\. Bolton then played in the 1966 Balmain team that defeated the touring Gt. Britain.
It was the Balmain forwards that made the victory possible. Gary Leo moved from 2nd row to Prop to partner Barry McTaggart, and young Joe Walsh was bought in to partner Jack Spencer in the back row.
Walsh never took a backward step. The forwards more than held their own against the giant Manly and Souths packs.

 

[Russell]

Virtually the whole media had us despised outsiders in 69, and put in the boot big time when we won.
Clive Churchill's son wrote that his father came up with a game plan to get Beetson taken out in the Semi-Final that worked to perfection. Each Souths forward goaded him individually until he was sent off. He also admitted Nosworthy countered perfectly with his own game plan, and they didn't see it coming.
You have to remember though, Balmain needed to have the game already won for the plan to succeed.
Alan Clarkson & Col Pearce wrote in the Sun Herald that Souths needed to be careful and weren't certainties after they scraped home against a 12 man Balmain team in the Semi-Final.
Balmain was on Souths heels all season having beaten them in the first round. Tutty was sitting out the season. Norm Miller had been replaced at hooker by John Crawford, who was having trouble winning the ball and was replaced by Peter Boulton during the Final against Manly. Manly were leading that game with 90 seconds to go, Balmain were 20 yards out from the Manly line in possession when Bob Smithies at dummy half made a 35 metre pass out to George Ruebner on the wing who ran over two Manly players to score and win the Final. (Hence Ken Arthurson's sour comments in the O.P.)
Apart from defence, the 2 things I put down to the win are the brains and guile of the best half back in Sydney at the time David Bolton. Arguably part of the greatest halves combination of all time with partner Alex Murphy. They were part of the Gt. Britain team that humbled the Dragons in 1962\. Bolton then played in the 1966 Balmain team that defeated the touring Gt. Britain.
It was the Balmain forwards that made the victory possible. Gary Leo moved from 2nd row to Prop to partner Barry McTaggart, and young Joe Walsh was bought in to partner Jack Spencer in the back row.
Walsh never took a backward step. The forwards more than held their own against the giant Manly and Souths packs.

Thanks for the written commentary Spook - brought back a few memories - what good players Leo, Spencer (and his old man according to my uncle Vic) and Smithies were over a number of years.

 

[Spud_Murphy]

GUTLESS MY ARSE…Balmain won fair and square.Heads is an old souths man who has never got over it.both Balmain and Wests have been maligned over the years,when wests were strong during the 70s it was always Raudonikis and Donnelly were thugs and cheats and Balmain copped the same.Even when Wests Tigers winning in 2005 what did some press call it THE STEVEN BRADBURY grand final.nothing has changed.dont believe half the stuff written in this book and I will definitely not be buying it.

Hear hear Smithy! I was only young also, but remember watching it on the telly with my family. Though we were avid Wests fans, we were all stoked when Balmain won. All I remember about Souths during that era was that they were near unbeatable, so it was great to see them actually beaten in the GF.

It was all very surreal, but I don't remember the tactics employed by Balmain being as bad as Heads is making out. He's just trying to stir up some controversy so he can sell his book, because God knows that no one would buy it otherwise. I might go buy a copy to put on the dunny roll holder, best place for it I reckon :laughing:

 

[Byron_Bay_Fan]

I was age 9 when the 1969 grand final was played. I listened to it on my [This word has been automatically removed] (transistor radio for you young'uns) whilst Frank Hyde called the game. All while lying down, in the shade, in the backyard. It's my first full memory of a league grand final. Happy memories !!

Listen mate, I used to be at Lidcombe Oval when Frank was calling the game and we had our radios on, he only had a card table near the sideline by the way, no elevated position, no umbrella either. Well poor Frank's eyesight wasn't very good and would always be out by about 10 to 20 yards - we would be laughing at poor Frank and he didn't know why.