Matthew Ridge Doco - the memories

[EOL now nesting on the GC]

I know it will have been posted before but what a great watch. This popped up on YouTube and is such a great watch.
Before the Manly way. Before the tales from Tiger town. This has such great access and is done in a proper doco style instead of trying to sensationalise every moment.

Ps. I now know why Tooves is so angry all the time. Having the world see this special dance with Ridge would drive most men to drink.

 

[Waz13]

I know it will have been posted before but what a great watch. This popped up on YouTube and is such a great watch.
Before the Manly way. Before the tales from Tiger town. This has such great access and is done in a proper doco style instead of trying to sensationalise every moment.

Ps. I now know why Tooves is so angry all the time. Having the world see this special dance with Ridge would drive most men to drink.

I remember watching this in NZ on I think channel one as a kid. It was around this point where a lot of kiwis including myself started supporting Manly.

 

[EOL now nesting on the GC]

I remember watching this in NZ on I think channel one as a kid. It was around this point where a lot of kiwis including myself started supporting Manly.

Its so interesting and very well put together. To have kirwan as host was a nice segway to bring rugby and League together in one place.
Loved the training or lack of.

 

[manly al]

Probably through this era , recruiting Ridge as a full back meant losing Ivan Cleary as a long term Manly one
Guess that would have to say on balance , better to have had Ridge but no question that Cleary had some real ability as a full back as well , though also did seem to do quite well as a centre with Norths for some seasons .
Very competitive individual player in Ridge however and sure that his quite rigid playing outlook and discipline rubbed off on a few other Manly top graders in a positive way at the time ..

 

[Shoe1]

In my view we shoulda let ridge walk. Cleary would have strengthened manly through the late 90s and early 2000s, and we might still have him and Nathan.

 

[EOL now nesting on the GC]

In my view we shoulda let ridge walk. Cleary would have strengthened manly through the late 90s and early 2000s, and we might still have him and Nathan.

thats a big what-if right there.

 

[The '47ers]

Loved Ridgey, 4pts almost always became 6

 

[Under the Sticks]

Tough win at all costs type of player. Starting to see some of this tenacity and high standards setting from Trbo.

 

[Mac Man]

Loved Ridgey, 4pts almost always became 6

I remember an article in one of the Sydney Papers back in the day and the tile was Radar Ridge. Amazing Goal kicker and player

 

[patorick2010]

In my view we shoulda let ridge walk. Cleary would have strengthened manly through the late 90s and early 2000s, and we might still have him and Nathan.

All due respect to Ivan as a player, but Ridge was on another level.

Both as a player and a leader of men on the field.

We probably don't make those grand finals without Ridge in the team either.

 

[MadMarcus]

One of the keys to our success in the mid 90s.

Can you imagine playing in a team with Ridge at the back, Tooves in the halves and Spudd up front? No room for any laziness or mistakes in that team or you’d know about it. And if the players on the field didn’t ensure you didn’t screw up then you’d have to deal with Bozo!!

 

[Ron E. Gibbs]

I also found the training footage fascinating: blokes dancing awkwardly, lifting loose weights here and there, and throwing a ball around Brookvale Oval at night (because most of them had jobs during the day). And video sessions consisted of Ridgey and Graham Lowe sitting in front of an old TV set, with Lowe providing basic instruction as to how the game of rugby league is played.

Professionalism in the game has come a long, long way.

And that beating Ridge was subjected to (at around 22 minutes) from Tooves and OJ Cunningham brought to mind the huffing and puffing around the unnamed Canterbury player objecting to similar "training" last season. But the Bulldogs have always been well behind the times…

 

[EOL now nesting on the GC]

An even better one. YouTube keeps giving.

 

[Waz13]

All due respect to Ivan as a player, but Ridge was on another level.

Both as a player and a leader of men on the field.

We probably don't make those grand finals without Ridge in the team either.

Yep I read the comparisons and thought the same thing. Not even close.

 

[Kiwi Eagle]

Ridgeys latest podcast appearance. Cliffy smoking in the tunnel lol

 

[HoldenV8]

Ridgeys latest podcast appearance. Cliffy smoking in the tunnel lol

You mean to tell me we could have had Ridgey AND Zinzan Brooke??

Brooke was an effing awesome rugby player. Damn.

 

[Kiwi Eagle]

You mean to tell me we could have had Ridgey AND Zinzan Brooke??

Brooke was an effing awesome rugby player. Damn.

What could have been !

 

[jbb/james]

One of the keys to our success in the mid 90s.

Can you imagine playing in a team with Ridge at the back, Tooves in the halves and Spudd up front? No room for any laziness or mistakes in that team or you’d know about it. And if the players on the field didn’t ensure you didn’t screw up then you’d have to deal with Bozo!!

Was tezza in there too, no shrinking violet in any era

Yeah Ridgey was a competitive freak
Had the BK juice flowing through his veins
Muscled his way instantly into the Manly leadership group

Its that juice Manly lacks now. We have too many athletes and not enough players that know what it takes to “get over” other competitive freaks.

He seemed to make waves but he was all in. Might have went to his head in the end

 

[Barry Hogan]

Loved Ridgey. Such a shame he was so invested in Super League. Had he not come back in 96 I’m not so sure we win the comp. Would have easily gone back to back in 97 if he was with us.

 

[HoldenV8]

Was tezza in there too, no shrinking violet in any era

Yeah Ridgey was a competitive freak
Had the BK juice flowing through his veins
Muscled his way instantly into the Manly leadership group

Its that juice Manly lacks now. We have too many athletes and not enough players that know what it takes to “get over” other competitive freaks.

He seemed to make waves but he was all in. Might have went to his head in the end

Terry Hill didn't care about reputations. If he thought you were slacking off out there then he'd tell you. I remember one time in a Final (might have been the 96 GF) Cliffy made a tackle and stayed down injured after. We were defending our own line and you could hear it clearly on the TV, Hill screamed at him to get up and defend his line.

I wish our current squad had the same commitment to defence that Bozo's boys had 30 years ago.....