Fibros v Silvertails

[Ian Martin tragic]

How was Igor's tackle on Donnelly in the final - one of the best I reckon.

Permit me to requote from a post on another thread where I recalled that tackle from memory. Thanks for the heads up KE, desperate to see that 78 prelim final footage now as I never saw a replay of that game.

...But the ultimate play was a BIG tackle by Terry Randall on Dallas Donnelly. Wests were on a roll and coming to get manly. they got a penalty that put them on the attack in manly's half. Donnelly was taking the hitup off the tap. Randall just ran out of the line at full speed before even the tap had been taken. As Donnelly caught the ball at full pace and looked up he got smashed backward about 3 metres by a horizontal one man flying wedge. Wests' comeback was over.

 

[Matabele]

I watched it last night.  When all this was happening I was on the other side of the world and had not even heard of Rugby League.

It made me angry.  It had massive echoes of what happened 20 years later with Super League. 

The game of Rugby League was threatened by a scourge.  In 1978 the scourge onfield violence aided and abetted by envy with a disreputable and self absorbed cretin (Masters) out to make a name for themself at the expense of the game.  And assisted by some unintelligent and unthinking lemmings. 

And how concerning is it to hear Roudonikis still singing off that hymn sheet even now and at the end basically encouraging his grandchildren to do likewise - exactly the sort of convict scum that sees me taking my boys off to a Union club to play their football.

But what struck me most was that Manly had to wear and repel the full force of the scourge.  It was our players that shed the most blood, and the spotlight shone harshest on us, while the same useless pack of suspects (Rorters, Eels) etc wrung their hands about the situation but also tacitly encouraged Wests to belt us.

It made me prouder to be a silvertail and very grateful to not be the kind of unthinking scum that Masters was able to manipulate so easily. 

Yes, we were and are superior.

 

[Guest]

Manly must have been a dirty team back in the eighties always getting in to brawls:

http://www.talkinsport.com.au/video-view-540.html

 

[Canteen Worker]

If you want to see a tough game either look at the 73 grand final, though the worst of the stuff has been taken out or happened off camera, or find someone with tape of the 81 semi-final between Manly and Newtown. The all-in-brawl went for about 15 minutes. It took me 10 years to get my lady back to a game of footy after that one.

Just checked that video link above and realised it was of the match I am talking about.

It was a known fact in those days that the way to beat Manly was to turn on the biff. We were perceived as being soft in the fight.

 

[Matabele]

Maybe when you live on the Northern Beaches you don't have to play for sheep stations. 

 

[easystreet]

I got my dvd in the mail today,and a major bonus for us manly fans is in the extra features.There is a full match broadcast of the 1978 grand final replay,which isnt available on the official 1978 grand final dvd.
The Manly v Wests semi final is a little hard to watch because the sound quality is so poor,and the vision isnt the greatest....but for $25 the dvd is worth buying if only for the grand final replay,and of course the Fibros v Silvertails feature.

 

[Kiwi Eagle]

My DVD arrived yesterday and i have just finished watching it, LOVED it !!

That hit from Randall was immense, i was blown away by what a cracker it was. All the people they interviewed fitted into it beautifully and the story was very well put together imo

I am a Tommy fan, and I loved his lines about how he gets the tapes out for the Grandkids
"Is that you Grandad"
"Bloody oath it is"
"That was a bit nasty"
"Ah well"

 

[Canteen Worker]

Mine arrived too though it has been put away for Christmas. I am enjoying watching replays of the 72/3 76 78 grand finals. I have never seen a DvD copy of 87 or 96 and my videos of both are starting to get a bit worn.

 

[Matabele]

I am a Tommy fan, and I loved his lines about how he gets the tapes out for the Grandkids
\"Is that you Grandad\"
\"Bloody oath it is\"
\"That was a bit nasty\"
\"Ah well\"

  That bloke is a complete dickhead. 

 

[Canteen Worker]

You probably misunderstood Tommy Mata. He was a cariacature for league at the time, a product of the era. It was a different game then, local and fiercely parochial, when the 13 import rule existed and values were very, very different. He was colourful, loud and successful. Despite the rivalry, there was certainly not the hate that existed between Manly supporters and teams like Parra and Souths. It just set other clubs to hate us - do we really complain about that?? Some in the media, like Masters, still feed on the old Silvertail myth despite the fact it hasn't existed since the 1990s, if it ever did.

 

[Matabele]

Roudonikis is almost the epitome of what I despise of convict culture.  Though given his name I'd imagine he's of immigrant stocks.

He assimilated well. 

 

[Rex]

Poor Tommy.  Once a greater mind (Masters) sucked him in, he was owned.  But then Masters owned generations of intellectual ants (like Laurie Daley) with that puerile line.

 

[Canteen Worker]

Tommy played a part unlike Masters who could never move out of his role.

 

[Ian Martin tragic]

Can't help liking Tommy Ridiculous (as we used to call him) even though he was a dirty grub and a **** stirrer.

He was a great little player who could always do something special in a big game (aside from start a fight Tommy Bishop style). He was fully into the whole Roy Masters ploy but he knew what it was: interview with Max Krilich who was and remained a great mate of his throughout that era make that clear.

2 Raudonikus anecdotes: one (from a 'reliable source') was when he got picked as origin coach while coaching wests. He rings up Des Hasler (who was at wests at the time) and Des says 'Congratulations'. Raudonikus: 'Yeah thanks, but they want me to submit a training plan and schedule tomorrow. What's that?' So Dessie writes one for him....

2.  1982 Grand final day: Tommy has announced his retirement from first grade to play up in Brisbane. After the 1981 final series the League has been cracking down hard all year on foul play. A couple of incidents in the 82 finals have caused a big flare up in the news media about violence again. Tommy is honoured with a presentation as part of the GF buildup. He's invited to say a few words..... Clearly under the influence of one or more substances, it goes something like this: 'Thanks. Well I'm retiring from first grade. Going up to play in Brisbane, cos they're payin me heaps of money. To today's teams, good luck....... oh and I hope there's heaps of biff, yeah BEAUTIFUL!'

 

[Canteen Worker]

I still remember the way that a young half called Mortimer used to cut teams to pieces but in an interstate game he was being killed, as were NSW. With 20 mins to go, Tommy came on and inspired NSW to a big comeback to beat the Canetoads. He was a tough bugger.

 

[eagle_predator]

Agree C W Tommy was a tough.