Top 10 Most Memorable Grand Finals - Number 1
May 7th 2011 09:31
Top 10 Most Memorable Grand Finals
Number 1
1989: Canberra Raiders verses Balmain Tigers
Unfortunately, there must always be a loser in any big game, but the way in which the Balmain Tigers lost the 1989 Grand Final was heartbreaking in the extreme. Despite the fact the game is held in such a high regard by the vast majority of fans; for Balmain supporters, many are still yet to come to terms with what transpired. In many ways, the Grand Final of 1989 was the last hurrah for such a proud and successful club.
It was only a decade later that Balmain would be omitted from the Premiership, forced to merge with Western Suburbs. Considering their eventual demise as a stand alone club, having won on that day would have been hugely momentous for the Tigers.
As it was, it was not meant to be and Balmain would not win their twelfth title. Instead, the Premiership of 1989 would signal a new era for the game. An era in which clubs from beyond the Sydney basin would enter the league and dominate; while traditional foundation clubs would slowly fade from significance.
For Canberra, it was a huge win for a young club. Upon their admission into the Premiership in 1982 the club had struggled badly. Despite defying expectations in 1984 and finishing equal fifth with South Sydney with the help of new signings Ivan Henjack and Dean Lance, Canberra lingered at the bottom of the ladder. It was evident that the Raiders needed a world class player; they found it in Mal Meninga.
In 1985 Meninga had won a Premiership in Brisbane with the Souths Magpies and was looking for a new challenge. According to Meninga, he did not want to live in Sydney and did not have an offer from Illawarra, so Canberra was his only option, despite advances by Manly-Warringah.
The addition of Meninga made a huge difference to the club and they were able to attract more high profile players; mainly from Queensland. Steve and Kevin Walters followed, along with Gary Belcher in the same year, while Peter Jackson joined in 1987.
Suddenly, Canberra had a competitive team and despite a lean season in 1986, the Raiders were establishing themselves as the ‘Green Machine’.
In the two seasons prior to 1989, both Balmain and Canberra had featured prominently. In 1987, with Wayne Bennett also attracted to the club by Meninga, the Raiders reached their first Premiership decider. Facing Manly-Warringah, Mal Meninga played with a broken arm as the Raiders went down 18-8. The year after, an up-and-coming Balmain took on the stellar Canterbury-Bankstown, losing 24-12.
In 1989, the season was dominated by South Sydney. The Rabbitohs finished the regular season as Minor Premiers with only three losses and a draw along the way. Unfortunately for the Bunnies, their good form during the regular season did not carry into the finals and they sensationally choked against the two eventual Grand Finalists.
Balmain beat them in the Semi Final 20-10 and a week later the Raiders demolished them 32-16. With the Rabbitohs out of the way, the stage was set for the third placed Tigers to take on the fourth placed Raiders. Up until that point no team had gone on to win the competition from fourth place and thus Balmain were cemented as favourites.
For Balmain, their success had been the product of blooding younger players following their Wooden Spoon season of 1981. Youngsters such as Steve ‘Blocker’ Roach, Gary Jack and Ben Elias were quickly promoted into the top side, while they also recruited the likes of Scott Gale, Paul Sironen and Englishman Gary Schofield.
After their success in 1988, the club also announced the signing for New Zealand half-back Gary Freeman and former Canterbury-Bankstown Premiership winning coach, Warren Ryan. In keeping with their success in blooding young players, the club also promoted Tim Brasher, who was still at school, into the top side.
The start could not have been better for the Tigers, establishing a 12-2 lead at half-time, including a memorable try to second-rower Sironen. The lead electrified the Tigers and their fans, with many feeling that the Premiership was already won. Iconic Balmain prop Steve Roach was one who felt distinctively different however, sensing that the excitement of his team-mates at half-time was a dangerous sign, recognising that the Tigers had been ‘lucky’ to be ahead.
Meanwhile, in the opposing dressing room, young Canberra coach Tim Sheens steeled his players with the notion that they had been marginally the better side in the first half. In hindsight, Canberra had furthered their signings in 1986 and 1987 to form a stellar side; held together solidly led by the imposing Meninga.
From one to seventeen, the Raiders line-up featured the biggest names of the era including Gary Belcher, Laurie Daley, John ‘Chicka’ Ferguson, Ricky Stuart, Steve Walters, Kevin Walters, Glenn Lazarus and Bradley Clyde.
Looking back, if Balmain had gone on to win the game, it could be said it was something of an upset considering the multitude of talent in the Raiders side. Unfortunately for Balmain it was not to be and the second-half saw them make numerous and critical blunders that surely ripped the hearts out of their supporters.
Things started to go wrong for Balmain fifteen minutes into the second half when ‘Chicka’ Ferguson set up a try for fullback Gary Belcher, narrowing the gap to four. This is when the Tigers nerves truly began to take a toll on their game.
Receiving the ball in open space and destined to score, Balmain five-eighth Michael Neil was desperately ankle-tapped by Meninga in a true Grand Final ‘try-saver’. Then, only moments later, another opportunity went begging when Captain Wayne Pearce sensationally dropped the ball in a back-line movement that had Canberra heavily outnumbered. Both potential tries would have secured the game and the Premiership.
The most controversial decision that cost the Tigers came from their coach Warren Ryan, demonstrating that even he was not immune by the pressure of the situation. With fifteen minutes to go, Ryan pulled both Steve Roach and Paul Sironen from the field.
The travesty of the decision was that in 1989, once an interchange was made, the replaced player was not eligible to return to the field. This meant that the Tigers were without two of their best players, both Australian and New South Wales representatives, for the most critical period of the game. Many League luminaries, including the Tigers players themselves, consider Ryan’s decision as the key factor that cost them the match and the Premiership.
Undoubtedly the replacement of Roach and Sironen was the turning point to the match and the Raiders began their charge. Balmain’s last shot to secure the game came shortly later, with hooker Benny Elias making the most famous field-goal attempt of all time.
Positioned straight in front of the posts and only ten to fifteen metres out, Elias’ kick went agonisingly close to securing the Tigers a Premiership. Elias certainly had enough time to take the shot and his positioning could not have been better, but again it was not meant to be. The well struck kick remained low and thudded hard against the cross-bar, ricocheting off it and back into the field of play.
The attempt is arguably one of the most memorable moments in all of Rugby League history, let alone the history of Grand Finals. It has since gone on to live in infamy and has been the subject of a number of advertising campaigns.
Leading 14-8, Elias’ field-goal would have sealed the game for Balmain, but instead it saw Canberra lift and begin to roll over the demoralised Tigers in a dramatic display. With only 90 seconds on the clock, Canberra were surging on the Tigers line. Looking to put Balmain under as much pressure as possible, their five-eighth Chris O’Sullivan sent up a towering bomb, in which Laurie Daley successfully tapped back to Ferguson.
Stepping back on his right foot, Ferguson made the play of his life when he sliced past three covering Balmain defenders to score. The pressure now fell to Meninga to convert, but he made light work of it to send the game into extra-time. From here Balmain were pretty much hapless, with the Raiders momentum seemingly unstoppable.
With Roach and Sironen still unable to return to the field despite the game going to extra-time, Balmain continued to battle on. When fullback Garry Jack knocked on after only two minutes, O’Sullivan seized the opportunity and kicked a field-goal.
From there Canberra held firm and minutes from the end, Canberra replacement Steve Jackson beat two men in a powering effort to score and seal the game.
The Raiders went on to celebrate their first Premiership and the first for a club outside of Sydney. That feat was memorable itself, signalling a new era for the game. Undoubtedly, Canberra’s victory paved the way for the likes of Brisbane, Melbourne and Newcastle to challenge for the Premiership from outside of Sydney. Equally as memorable was the pain and despair shown by the Tigers as the full-time siren sounded.
Dropping to the ground, the Tigers were left inconsolable, with hollow and empty looks on their faces as the Raiders celebrated around them. The loss was so hard for the Tigers players, and many of their fans, that they still lament it to this day.
Fifteen years later, players from the game were reunited by Big League magazine. Many Balmain players had not seen a replay of the match up until that point, with many refusing to watch it at all. Wayne Pearce has still refused to watch a replay of the game, even to this day.
Such was the drama and emotion of the day, Thomas Keneally went on to write a recount of the game titled; ‘A Movie Script That Came To Life’. The game is also commemorated by the Raiders and Wests Tigers each year with the 1989 League Legends Cup.
Balmain featured in the finals series the year after, but beyond that the club declined as a stand-alone entity. As for Canberra, the Raiders would go on to win the 1990 and 1994 Premierships, while finishing runners-up in 1991. To this day, the Raiders side of that era is considered to be one of the greatest teams of all time, establishing, rightfully, the club’s nickname as the ‘Green Machine’.
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