Was on the hill and as soon as I saw Randall retaliate, I knew our season was over. Knew he'd be sent off and even if Manly won would be suspended for the GF. We needed him more than any player. Newtown saw they had little hope of winning without the fight, but their tactic only got them one game further, and killed any chances of them winning the comp.
What happened to Broadhurst that day was criminal in my eyes.
Interesting to read that Joe Cool, John Dorahy, went into that game with the same injury as Darren Lockyer. Depressed fracture of the cheekbone. He too had an operation in the lead up to the game, but they didn't use titanium plates to provide strength back then. I remember him saying in the following days that he did his best to keep away from any fighting. Now we know why.