Sell-out Brookie Crowds

[LeonardCohen]

I think the new stand makes it feel cauldron like. Been going to brooky for 50 years and the atmosphere is up there with the best I have experienced. Imagine if the team consistently plays to its full potential you won’t get near the joint.

Nice to hear that from someone that has been attending the games for so long. I've only seen it via highlights but it looked like the mid 90s were some great times to be on the hill at Brooky. It also looks from the video footage that there used to be a 'tunnel' like dugout on about the 20-30m line, at the southern end of the hill, that you walked through to get onto it? Do you remember that?

 

[Sheikheagle]

Nice to hear that from someone that has been attending the games for so long. I've only seen it via highlights but it looked like the mid 90s were some great times to be on the hill at Brooky. It also looks from the video footage that there used to be a 'tunnel' like dugout on about the 20-30m line, at the southern end of the hill, that you walked through to get onto it? Do you remember that?

Yeah that’s right about the tunnel I’m not sure when it was filled in it just happened.

Late 80’s and early 90’s the team were really going well and some of the crowds were huge regularly over the 25k mark. I sat on the hill up until about 5-6 years ago when I moved to the Jane Try stand for a bit of comfort. Had some great times on the hill. There were some real characters in those days. On game day I used to sell hot chips in this big hall up in the corner of the northern end. We always ran out just before 1sts grade so we could watch the game.

 

[lsz]

Nice to hear that from someone that has been attending the games for so long. I've only seen it via highlights but it looked like the mid 90s were some great times to be on the hill at Brooky. It also looks from the video footage that there used to be a 'tunnel' like dugout on about the 20-30m line, at the southern end of the hill, that you walked through to get onto it? Do you remember that?

Back in the mid 90's I had the pleasure of my girlfriend at the time, now wife being a cheer leader so went to pretty much every game from 1991 - 1996 (she was only a cheer leader in 96 - i have said to her every year she has cheer lead we have won the comp so maybe it is time to have another go at it..)

Funny thing is back in the 90's we all used to get a rugby league pass even though most of us did not play which allowed free entry into every ground. It meant I could travel NSW watching Manly for nothing but bus and train money. This was back when they used to bring in the lights for a Friday night game that would get massive numbers

 

[Terry Zarsoff]

Nice to hear that from someone that has been attending the games for so long. I've only seen it via highlights but it looked like the mid 90s were some great times to be on the hill at Brooky. It also looks from the video footage that there used to be a 'tunnel' like dugout on about the 20-30m line, at the southern end of the hill, that you walked through to get onto it? Do you remember that?

I do. It was built as part of the ground’s ‘rectangularisation’ in the 1969-70 off-season.

The tunnel was apparently removed (and thus the hill reshaped), because they had concerns regarding the structural integrity of the tunnel, after about two decades of service.

I think it disappeared in the 1991-94 timeframe, before the Ken Arthurson Stand was built in 1994-95. Obviously the tunnel/hill move negatively impacted on the ground’s capacity.

 

[LeonardCohen]

Yeah that’s right about the tunnel I’m not sure when it was filled in it just happened.

Late 80’s and early 90’s the team were really going well and some of the crowds were huge regularly over the 25k mark. I sat on the hill up until about 5-6 years ago when I moved to the Jane Try stand for a bit of comfort. Had some great times on the hill. There were some real characters in those days. On game day I used to sell hot chips in this big hall up in the corner of the northern end. We always ran out just before 1sts grade so we could watch the game.

Great story! Thanks for sharing

 

[LeonardCohen]

Back in the mid 90's I had the pleasure of my girlfriend at the time, now wife being a cheer leader so went to pretty much every game from 1991 - 1996 (she was only a cheer leader in 96 - i have said to her every year she has cheer lead we have won the comp so maybe it is time to have another go at it..)

Funny thing is back in the 90's we all used to get a rugby league pass even though most of us did not play which allowed free entry into every ground. It meant I could travel NSW watching Manly for nothing but bus and train money. This was back when they used to bring in the lights for a Friday night game that would get massive numbers

Yeah a colleague was telling me he used to coach a junior team and was given a heap of those free passes and would distribute them all to his mates

 

[lsz]

Yeah a colleague was telling me he used to coach a junior team and was given a heap of those free passes and would distribute them all to his mates

I went to a school on the north shore - the bears players would come in and give them to anyone who would put their hand out.....which to be fair was not huge amount as they were the bears

 

[Sheikheagle]

Yeah a colleague was telling me he used to coach a junior team and was given a heap of those free passes and would distribute them all to his mates

Yeah all junior footy players got free passes.

 

[Freddo]

In the early 60's we use to turn up for the main game (after playing) and they used to let us in for free as Junior players. (the gate next to the entrance opposite St Augustines). I also used to take my girlfriend in this way too as "a junior players girlfriend".

 

[HoldenV8]

I do. It was built as part of the ground’s ‘rectangularisation’ in the 1969-70 off-season.

The tunnel was apparently removed (and thus the hill reshaped), because they had concerns regarding the structural integrity of the tunnel, after about two decades of service.

I think it disappeared in the 1991-94 timeframe, before the Ken Arthurson Stand was built in 1994-95. Obviously the tunnel/hill move negatively impacted on the ground’s capacity.

Just looking at a Manly v Brisbane game from 1991 (Round 16 which was 14 July) ... the tunnel and hill around to the now Lyons-Menzies Stand are still there.

 

[HoldenV8]

Have just seen, the tunnel under the hill was removed after the 1992 season (it was still there during Snoz's last game) and it was gone by the start of the 1993 season.