Top 10 finals blunders
Phil Rothfield
Thursday, September 24, 2009 at 12:23am
With pressure on like never before and a full house expected at ANZ Stadium tomorrow night, one error could cost a club a premiership dream.
>
Here’s my list of the 10 greatest blunders he has seen in finals football since 1975.
>
1\. Warren Ryan, coach of Balmain in the 1989 Grand Final. The tactical replacement of the Tigers international forwards Steve Roach and Paul Sironen late in the match against Canberra still has Tigers fans scratching their heads 20 years later. With their departure Balmain lost most of their fire power and the momentum of the match swung back Canberra’s way. The Tigers lost in extra time with their two champions sitting on the bench.
>
2\. Graeme Langlands, captain coach of St George in the 1975 Grand Final. He was given a pain killing injection that went horribly wrong, striking a nerve, rendering his left leg all but useless. Barely able to run, he was only a shadow of the great player he was. With his bright new white boots, his team beaten by a then record Grand Final score of 38-0, The great Changa was a sad sight against the awesome firepower of the brilliant Eastern suburbs combination.
>
3\. South Sydney winger Steve Mavin’s fumbling, bumbling effort in the 1987 minor semi-final against Canberra. Going into the match Souths were firm favorites to win and advance to the following week. However a horrendous opening 14 minutes by Mavin resulted in 3 dreadful errors down his wing, which resulted in 3 tries and a 16-0 lead to Canberra. Coach Piggins hooked Mavin at that point, but the damage had been done and Canberra eventually won 46-12\. Mavin showered and left the ground before half-time.
>
4\. Parramatta winger Neville Glover and his terrible “hands” in the 1976 Grand Final against Manly will forever be remembered as the time their maiden premiership was lost in an instant. With the try-line beckoning centre John Moran made the break and passed to an unmarked Glover just metres from the line, but much to the astonishment of players and fans alike the normally reliable winger spilled the ball in the Paddington corner and title was Manly’s 13-10.
>
5\. Anthony Mundine 99 Grand Final (St George Illawarra v Melbourne) – Mundine’s early second half blunder was a major turning point in the 1999 decider. The Dragons had led 14-0 at half time, and would have skipped to an almost un-assailable 20 nil lead had “The Man” not dropped the ball over the line. With Melbourne eventually winning 20-14, this proved difference.
>
6\. Super-boot Daryl Halligan was the Bears big match-winner in the 1991 Preliminary Final against Penrith. His sure footed right boot was going to guide the long suffering Bears supporters to their first grand final since 1943\. However while Norths scored 3 tries to the Panthers 2, as luck would have it Halligan’s poor kicking, managing just 1 goal 5 attempts in his teams 16-14 loss had Bears supporters in a state of bewilderment.
>
7\. Paul Carige 98 Preliminary Final (Parramatta v Bulldogs) – Paul Carige fled Sydney and then Australia in the wake of the Eels’ dramatic 32-20 loss to the Bulldogs.Fans blamed the then 25-year-old for ruining the Eels’ chance of making their first grand final in 12 years. He will forever be remembered for kicking the ball to the Bulldogs in the dying seconds of the match with the scores locked at 18-18\. It was just the first tackle. Bulldog Rod Silva pounced on the ball and positioned halfback Craig Polla-Mounter for a dramatic 49m field goal attempt which dropped just short. Carige’s mistake was the most spectacular of a series of errors that helped the Bulldogs storm back and win one of the most memorable semi-finals in recent history.
>
8\. Martin Bella 94 Grand Final (Canterbury v Canberra) – Minor premiers Canterbury were hammered 36-12 by the Mal Meninga inspired Raiders. But no-one will ever forget the start of this match as big Martin Bella knocked on from the kick off as the ball was bouncing around in the in goal. Maybe his head band had slipped over his eyes? From the resulting set the Raiders had all the momentum.
>
9\. Jamie Ainscough 99 Grand Final – With St George Illawarra leading 18-14 in the 77th minute Jamie Ainscough secured his place in Grand Final history. Melbourne’s Craig Smith had fielded a Brett Kimmorley bomb and would have scored out wide, meaning a difficult conversion attempt, had Ainscough not nearly knocked his head off and forced him to drop the ball. The referee had little option but to award a penalty try, handing Matt Geyer an easy conversion from in front and the Storm its first premiership.
>
10\. In 1977 Parramatta’s coach Terry Fearnley had pulled all the right reigns through the season. However when it mattered most in the Grand Final replay he badly misread the situation. The St George coach Harry Bath outfoxed Fearnley, with an all out aggressive attitude that had their forwards cautioned 6 times in the first half, with Rod Reddy nabbed 3 times alone. Fearnley’s approach to turn the other check and not retaliate, left his team with little chance, resulting in a 22-0 loss. His tactics did not go down well with some of his players, with captain Ray Higgs electing to leave the club the following year.
Will the bunder in the 89 grand final ever be beat…......No mention of Harrigan...... :laughing:
Phil Rothfield
Thursday, September 24, 2009 at 12:23am
With pressure on like never before and a full house expected at ANZ Stadium tomorrow night, one error could cost a club a premiership dream.
>
Here’s my list of the 10 greatest blunders he has seen in finals football since 1975.
>
1\. Warren Ryan, coach of Balmain in the 1989 Grand Final. The tactical replacement of the Tigers international forwards Steve Roach and Paul Sironen late in the match against Canberra still has Tigers fans scratching their heads 20 years later. With their departure Balmain lost most of their fire power and the momentum of the match swung back Canberra’s way. The Tigers lost in extra time with their two champions sitting on the bench.
>
2\. Graeme Langlands, captain coach of St George in the 1975 Grand Final. He was given a pain killing injection that went horribly wrong, striking a nerve, rendering his left leg all but useless. Barely able to run, he was only a shadow of the great player he was. With his bright new white boots, his team beaten by a then record Grand Final score of 38-0, The great Changa was a sad sight against the awesome firepower of the brilliant Eastern suburbs combination.
>
3\. South Sydney winger Steve Mavin’s fumbling, bumbling effort in the 1987 minor semi-final against Canberra. Going into the match Souths were firm favorites to win and advance to the following week. However a horrendous opening 14 minutes by Mavin resulted in 3 dreadful errors down his wing, which resulted in 3 tries and a 16-0 lead to Canberra. Coach Piggins hooked Mavin at that point, but the damage had been done and Canberra eventually won 46-12\. Mavin showered and left the ground before half-time.
>
4\. Parramatta winger Neville Glover and his terrible “hands” in the 1976 Grand Final against Manly will forever be remembered as the time their maiden premiership was lost in an instant. With the try-line beckoning centre John Moran made the break and passed to an unmarked Glover just metres from the line, but much to the astonishment of players and fans alike the normally reliable winger spilled the ball in the Paddington corner and title was Manly’s 13-10.
>
5\. Anthony Mundine 99 Grand Final (St George Illawarra v Melbourne) – Mundine’s early second half blunder was a major turning point in the 1999 decider. The Dragons had led 14-0 at half time, and would have skipped to an almost un-assailable 20 nil lead had “The Man” not dropped the ball over the line. With Melbourne eventually winning 20-14, this proved difference.
>
6\. Super-boot Daryl Halligan was the Bears big match-winner in the 1991 Preliminary Final against Penrith. His sure footed right boot was going to guide the long suffering Bears supporters to their first grand final since 1943\. However while Norths scored 3 tries to the Panthers 2, as luck would have it Halligan’s poor kicking, managing just 1 goal 5 attempts in his teams 16-14 loss had Bears supporters in a state of bewilderment.
>
7\. Paul Carige 98 Preliminary Final (Parramatta v Bulldogs) – Paul Carige fled Sydney and then Australia in the wake of the Eels’ dramatic 32-20 loss to the Bulldogs.Fans blamed the then 25-year-old for ruining the Eels’ chance of making their first grand final in 12 years. He will forever be remembered for kicking the ball to the Bulldogs in the dying seconds of the match with the scores locked at 18-18\. It was just the first tackle. Bulldog Rod Silva pounced on the ball and positioned halfback Craig Polla-Mounter for a dramatic 49m field goal attempt which dropped just short. Carige’s mistake was the most spectacular of a series of errors that helped the Bulldogs storm back and win one of the most memorable semi-finals in recent history.
>
8\. Martin Bella 94 Grand Final (Canterbury v Canberra) – Minor premiers Canterbury were hammered 36-12 by the Mal Meninga inspired Raiders. But no-one will ever forget the start of this match as big Martin Bella knocked on from the kick off as the ball was bouncing around in the in goal. Maybe his head band had slipped over his eyes? From the resulting set the Raiders had all the momentum.
>
9\. Jamie Ainscough 99 Grand Final – With St George Illawarra leading 18-14 in the 77th minute Jamie Ainscough secured his place in Grand Final history. Melbourne’s Craig Smith had fielded a Brett Kimmorley bomb and would have scored out wide, meaning a difficult conversion attempt, had Ainscough not nearly knocked his head off and forced him to drop the ball. The referee had little option but to award a penalty try, handing Matt Geyer an easy conversion from in front and the Storm its first premiership.
>
10\. In 1977 Parramatta’s coach Terry Fearnley had pulled all the right reigns through the season. However when it mattered most in the Grand Final replay he badly misread the situation. The St George coach Harry Bath outfoxed Fearnley, with an all out aggressive attitude that had their forwards cautioned 6 times in the first half, with Rod Reddy nabbed 3 times alone. Fearnley’s approach to turn the other check and not retaliate, left his team with little chance, resulting in a 22-0 loss. His tactics did not go down well with some of his players, with captain Ray Higgs electing to leave the club the following year.
Will the bunder in the 89 grand final ever be beat…......No mention of Harrigan...... :laughing:
