Top 10 Most Memorable Grand Finals - Number 2
April 24th 2011 08:07
Top 10 Most Memorable Grand Finals
Number 2
1963: St. George Dragons verses Western Suburbs Magpies
The mud-laden embrace between rival captains Norm Provan and Arthur Summons after the fulltime siren has become the most important image in Australian Rugby League history.
Under the surface though, the Grand Final was plagued by controversy and claims of punting by the match referee.
By this stage the Dragons were well on their way in their campaign to make sporting history. In 1956, the club began its domination of the league by winning the NSWRL Premiership. From there the Saints went on to win a world record eleven straight Premierships, culminating in 1966.
Their main rivals at the time were the Magpies, who ironically, considering they would later represent the working class ‘fibros’ of Sydney, were known as the ‘Millionaires’. After going from Premiers in 1952 to the Wooden Spooners of 1953 and staying there, Wests went on a spending spree.
In 1956 the Magpies bought the likes of Harry Wells, Arthur Summons and Ian Moir and by 1958 their side was basically a team consisted of imported players from other districts. In fairness, the Dragons success was built on doing the same approach, funded by the revenue gained from poker machines at their Dragons Leagues Club.
In hindsight, it was the Dragons and Magpies that were the groundbreakers in luring high profile players from other areas to their club in an effort to ‘buy a Premiership’. Nowadays such activities are common place.
Obviously the tactic worked for both clubs and the Magpies made it to the 1958 Grand Final against the Dragons. The Saints ran out victors 20-9, but Wests would be back at it again in 1961.
The three seasons of 1961, 1962 and 1963 were the panicle in the rivalry between St. George and Wests; with both teams meeting each other in the Grand Final in each year. Unfortunately for the Magpies, they were unable to snare a Premiership in each attempt.
Without doubt, their best chance came in 1963 and the showdown between the two sides did not disappoint.
The regular season had seen both sides finish well ahead of the pack. Despite finishing ahead of the Magpies, the Dragons had been unable to defeat them all season. This culminated in a close Semi-Final where Wests won 10-8, earning their place in the Grand Final.
The Dragons faced Parramatta the next week and won, 12-7, thus setting up the showdown.
After beating their opponents only two weeks before, the feeling amongst the Magpies team and fans alike was obviously positive. Finally the Magpies felt as though they had a combination to beat the Saints. But even before the game had started, that mood took a drastic change.
Whilst preparing before the game in the Wests dressing room, their hooker, Noel Kelly claims that fellow player and future Supercoach, Jack Gibson entered and said; ‘Mate, we can’t win…Darcy has backed them’.
Darcy of course was Darcy Lawler, the referee in charge for the day. His reputation as a punter preceded him and some of his controversial calls during the game only solidified the Magpies suspicions. In true Magpie grit, the Wests players went as far as confronting Lawler on the field in regards to his handling of the match, something they confirmed after his death.
Despite the allegations against Lawler, the day itself was destined to live in infamy. In front of a then-record crowd of 69,860 at the famous Sydney Cricket Ground, the game was played in quagmire conditions of thick mud and slush. The scenes witnessed in the Grand Final of 1963 surely will never be seen again. The Sunday Herald described the players as they left the field as; ‘plastered from head to toe in mud…looking like bronze statues’.
At one point, Saints five-eighth Bruce Pollard was so covered in mud that he was ‘blinded’ and was unable to pass or catch the ball. Ultimately he swapped places with Johnny Raper and played the second-half at lock.
Unsurprisingly, the game itself was a low-scoring, scrappy affair as the two sides battled for every inch of ground. In the end, it was Darcy Lawler’s controversial interpretations that made a paramount difference to the game, not to mention an 18-7 penalty count to the Saints.
Just before half-time and with Wests trailing, Arthur Summons put a grubber kick into the Dragons in-goal. Charging through, Magpies winger Peter Diamond appeared to ground the ball just before the dead-ball line. Lawler ruled that Diamond had not grounded the ball however.
But the most controversial of Lawler’s calls came with 15 minutes to go in his ruling of a fair try to Dragons winger Johnny King, which proved to be the match winner. Receiving the ball, King fended off his opposing winger John Mowbray and raced down the sideline.
With Magpie fullback Don Parish coming across in cover defence, King was forced to the ground, but in the muddy conditions Parish fell off him. According to Wests players, referee Lawler was screaming ‘held’ and thus their defence relaxed. King however, got back to his feet and continued towards the line.
In an opposing version of events, King claims that Lawler in fact ordered him to ‘play-on’ and he continued to score one of the most controversial Grand Final tries in history. With strongly held opinions though, the Wests players still consider that were ‘robbed’ of the Premiership by that decision.
Still bitter about the incident to this day; Noel Kelly went on to write; ‘Every time I see film of the game, I see ‘Darce’ turning us around. I have nightmares about it…I will never forgive Darcy Lawler for what he did that day. It infuriates me to today.’
After the game Darcy Lawler retired and never refereed again.
In the end the Dragons won 8-3, sinking all hopes of the Magpies halting St. George’s historic run of Premierships. As the players limped off the ground, completely covered in mud, opposing captains Norm Provan and Arthur Summons sought each other out for the game’s most memorable embrace.
The image was preserved by photographer John O’Gready and has since been immortalised on the games’ Premiership trophy, starting with the Winfield Cup in 1982.
Despite the glowing symbol of sportsmanship, Arthur Summons has since admitted that while he was embracing Provan, the bitterness of the game led him to say that the Saints were ‘lucky to win’. He may have been in his appraisal.
Provan however, sums up the spirit of the image perfectly by saying; ‘I was trying to tear Arthur’s head off five minutes before I embraced him and they took that photograph. Part of it is the Australian attitude. You can contest very fiercely and then a minute later you can be mates. That’s what Australian Rugby League is all about’.
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