origin's grubbiest acts

[Ken Gargett]

this piece is pretty much as expected. les boyd and that grub trent barrett were the two most cowardly i've seen.

the reason i posted it is that it is worth anyone from down south who has not twigged to the mckinnon/smith mess, noting that a majority of qlders think 60 minutes piece on smith and mckinnon is the grubbiest act ever performed in relation to origin. most qlders i know believe it is nsw inspired to put him off his game and using a paraplegic to do that is very poor form.

be very interesting to see if it does or if he has a big one.

State of Origin 2015: 10 grubbiest acts in Origin history

· BARRY ****

· THE COURIER-MAIL

· JULY 07, 2015 7:54AM

·

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· STATE of Origin rugby league has had its share of heroics but its had a share of ‘grubby’ incidents, too. Barry **** nominates the 10 worst.

The world has changed, of course, with political correctness ruling, even on the rugby league field unlike in the 1980s when Origin was promoted as out-and-out warfare.

Thanks to Paul Gallen and his flurry of punches in 2013, players these days stay strictly on the straight and narrow.

1. Les Boyd/Darryl Brohman, Game 1, 1983. Lang Park

The incident that ended one player’s season and virtually ended another’s career, occurred in just the 12th minute of the opening game of the 1983 series.

Brohman, making his Origin debut, was carting the ball up for the Maroons and Boyd took him out with a cocked elbow to the jaw.

Agree or disagree? Join Barry from 10am to discuss by leaving a comment below

Referee Barry Gomersall didn’t see the incident and play was allowed to continue. Boyd wasn’t even sent off but was sin-binned later in the match after a series of infringements.

Brohman, who had been a teenage star for Norths Devils before heading to the Big Smoke, tried to play on but his jaw was so badly broken he missed the rest of the season.

Daryl Brohman with a broken jaw after being elbowed by Les Boyd in 1983.

Brohman’s club, Penrith, insisted Boyd be cited and he was suspended for 12 months. Brohman was never the same player and the Boyd citing was still causing problems 30 years later when he had a public falling out with the influential Bob Fulton over it. Brohman has a big media profile in Sydney as the “Big Marn” on Nine’s Footy Show, FM radio and Lowe’s TV ads.

Video still of Steve Price being hit in jaw in high tackle by Ben Kennedy during Game 2 in 2003

2. Ben Kennedy/Steven Price, Game 2, 2003: Telstra Stadium

Referee Bill Harrigan and his touch judges missed this one but replays showed Kennedy’s forearm collecting Price across the jaw in the 25th minute of the match.

The Queenslander was flattened and Kennedy was put on report after advice from the video referee but Queensland did not even receive a penalty because play had progressed too far.

Kennedy was later suspended for four matches and missed the third game of the series which NSW, under Phil Gould, won 2-1.

Game 2, 2009 and Trent Barrett takes Greg Inglis out.

3. Trent Barrett/Greg Inglis, Game 2, 2009, Telstra Stadium

NSW’s Barrett was an unlikely cheap-shot merchant, but there he was with a swinging arm which knocked Greg Inglis out of the last 60 minutes of the second 2009 game in Sydney.

Inglis was dominating the match so much it was hard to think Barrett’s knockout blow wasn’t deliberate. It didn’t help much, Queensland won the match 24-14.

Barrett was put on report and he was later banned for two NRL games, making him — you guessed it — available for Game Three.

Paul Gallen punches Nate Myles in Game 1, 2013.

4. Paul Gallen/Nate Myles, Game 1, 2014, ANZ Stadium

Myles wasn’t even looking when NSW captain Gallen landed a flurry of punches on his chin. Myles wasn’t hurt which said a lot about Gallen’s punching power.

In fact, the repercussions of Gallen’s actions hurt the game a lot more than his girlie slaps hurt Myles because the NRL went into panic mode over the “fight” and the damage it might cause to the code’s image.

As a result, punching was banned and the NRL decreed any player who threw a punch in club or representative football would be sent off.

So now we have the rugby league equivalent of handbags at 10 paces and every former player is holding his head in his hands.

Steve Price on the ground after being decked by Brett White in Game 3, 2009.

5. Brett White/Steve Price, Game 3, 2009. Suncorp Stadium

Just to show there is no such thing as a dead rubber in Origin, the third game of the 2009 series (Queensland had won the first two) descended into chaos with the game already decided in the 79th minute.

White and Price, playing his 28th Origin match, traded wild punches before one of White’s connected and Price hit the ground like a felled tree.

What really stirred the Maroons was Blues forward Justin Poore’s action in lifting the kayoed Price up and dropping him back to the ground.

Agree or disagree? Join Barry from 10am to discuss by leaving a comment below

NSW forward Trent Waterhouse was unlucky as the third man into the brawl and became the third player in history and the first Blue to be sent off. He was later exonerated.

After a five-minute delay Queensland took the penalty and then hoisted the ball high at the restart. NSW’s Kurt Gidley bravely took the “bomb” but another melee erupted and Sam Thaiday and Ben Creagh were sent to the sin bin.

Tony Hearn collects Mark Carroll with a butt in 1995.

6. Tony Hearn/Mark Carroll, Game 3, 1995. Suncorp Stadium

One that almost escaped the judiciary system. Hearn was lucky not to be sent off after he clearly butted Carroll in the first half, sparking a brawl.

Video replays showed Hearn collecting Carroll with a classic “Liverpool Kiss” and he was cited and suspended for eight weeks.

The suspension cost Hearn a Test call-up and he never got to wear the green and gold.

Craig Greenhill leaves field after being sent off for high tackle on Paul Harragon in 1996.

7. Craig Greenhill/Paul Harragon, Game 2, 1996. Sydney Football Stadium

Queensland’s Greenhill became the first player sent off in an Origin match when he took out Harragon with a high tackle in the 62nd minute.

Queensland referee David Manson quite rightly had no hesitation in sending Greenhill off.

The rugged prop was suspended for four weeks and might have been lucky it wasn’t longer. In today’s game he would have been looking at 12 weeks.

The NSW players gathered around the felled Harragon and hurled abuse at Greenhill with current Blues coach Laurie Daley the most vocal.

Greenhill didn’t play Origin again until 1999 and finished his career with six matches to his credit.

Queensland’s Bob Lindner braces himself as Steve Roach is about to hit him.

8. Steve Roach/Bob Lindner, Game 1, 1986. Lang Park

Hardly anyone saw Roach’s blatant king-hit but the talented Lindner certainly felt it.

Roach was not penalised, cited or suspended, leaving many to wonder whether one set of rules applied to Origin football and one to club football.

The hit is rarely mentioned in Origin retrospectives but Wayne Bennett, who took over as Queensland coach in 1986, was furious.

Video still of Adam MacDougall (ball) lifting his knee during game 2 of 2001.

9. Adam MacDougall/Petero Civoniceva, Game 2, 2001. Stadium Australia

MacDougall had developed a habit of lifting his knee into defending players when he was running with the ball and got Civoniceva, who was playing only his second Origin match, with a beauty.

MacDougall was cited and this time the judiciary caught up with the Newcastle winger and he was suspended for one match.

Tough-as-teak Civoniceva bounced back and went on to play 33 Origin matches.

Game 2, 1991 and the Wally Lewis-Mark Geyer confrontation erupts.

10. Mark Geyer/Wally Lewis, Game 2, 1991. Sydney Football Stadium

An enduring image of Origin football is the picture of Geyer and Queensland captain Lewis straining to get at one another as the teams leave the field at halftime with NSW hooker Ben Elias and referee David Manson trying to keep them apart.

Geyer, who later revealed he had been told by a NSW selector to get stuck into the Maroons, ran riot in the first half and Lewis, with 10 years of Origin football under his belt, decided enough was enough and confronted Geyer.

Geyer was later cited and suspended for five weeks for an elbow to Maroons fullback Paul Hauff’s head.

The Panthers firebrand eventually played only three Origin matches and later joked that when Lewis ran towards him he “didn’t know whether to belt him or ask for his autograph”.

Agree or disagree? Join Barry from 10am to discuss by leaving a comment below

Thanks for your vote!

Boyd on Brohman 30.67%

Kennedy on Price 1%

White on Price 8.83%

Barrett on Inglis 4.33%

Gallen on Myles 10.5%

Hearn on Carroll 1.92%

Greenhill on Harragon 2.75%

Roach on Lindner 1.33%

MacDougall on Civoniceva 0.83%

Geyer and Lewis 1.33%

60 Minutes on Cameron Smith 36.5%

[Habana Mike]

Wow, Ken. For us outside Oz it's like Oik Oik Birdie Milz!

Can someone please decode carting, cocked, sin-binned, girlie slaps, handbags at 10 paces, dead rubber, lifting the kayoed, rugged prop, Roach’s blatant king-hit for the Yanks?

[Ken Gargett]

it is more a qld-nsw thing.

[westg]

Hope Gallen cops one right on his Vera Lynne tomorrow night ..go Queensland

[jabster]

Seems nsw are grubbier than qld, oh no it's from the courier mail. Oh the up roar from the poor hard done by Qlders. Watch every game and see the hand in face, elbow in face whatever in face from the qld players. Makes for a great spectacle and so easy to dislike the maroon jersey.

Not the grubbiest but funniest is when Ben Creagh is challenged buy hodges and he literally runs backwards as fast as his fairy wings can carry him!

[Ken Gargett]

Seems nsw are grubbier than qld, oh no it's from the courier mail. Oh the up roar from the poor hard done by Qlders. Watch every game and see the hand in face, elbow in face whatever in face from the qld players. Makes for a great spectacle and so easy to dislike the maroon jersey.

Not the grubbiest but funniest is when Ben Creagh is challenged buy hodges and he literally runs backwards as fast as his fairy wings can carry him!

yes, i think both sides have their fair share.

i always remember the cronulla manly grand final from way way ago - pretty much the first i can recall. tommy bishop, tiny pommy half back playing for cronulla - tough as nails. belted a monster manly forward who chased him around the cronulla forwards but could not catch him. very funny.

[jabster]

Found it complete with wings!

http://s697.photobucket.com/user/mojosphotos/media/Funny%20Pics/scaled.gif.html

[Ken Gargett]

priceless.

did he ever play origin again?

[jabster]

Too many times in my armchair opinion

[JohnS]

Les Boyd's hit on Darryl Brohman is by far the grubbiest act in State of Origin and I believe it will remain so. I remember this hit watching it live in 1983 and I was sickened.

[Fuzz]

Wow, Ken. For us outside Oz it's like Oik Oik Birdie Milz!

Can someone please decode carting, cocked, sin-binned, girlie slaps, handbags at 10 paces, dead rubber, lifting the kayoed, rugged prop, Roach’s blatant king-hit for the Yanks?

Carting - carrying the ball (eg rushing)

Cocked Elbow - his elbow was intentionally ready to hit

Sin Binned - penalty box (you sinned, you sit in the naughty corner)

Girlie Slaps - a light hit, love tap or a social "you pissed me off" punch, that does absolutely no damage to the receiver

Handbags at 10 paces - just what it is, stand 10 paces apart with your handbag, ready to start swinging

Dead Rubber - a match played where the series (eg best out of 3) is already won

Lifting the KO'ed - Picked up a knocked out player

Rugged Prop - a Prop is a player position, usually the biggest guys on the team. They use their size and strength to batter into the defensive line whilst carrying the ball. In a scrum, they form the front row with the hooker (he "hooks" the ball back with his foot in the scrum, not the other kind of hooker...) in the middle. A rugged is just a descriptive term for a tough prop.

King Hit - a hit to the head from behind

[Ken Gargett]

Les Boyd's hit on Darryl Brohman is by far the grubbiest act in State of Origin and I believe it will remain so. I remember this hit watching it live in 1983 and I was sickened.

agreed.

utter thug, coward and grub. shame on officials not kicking him out of the game long before. johnS, if you felt sickened, image what we north of the border thought!

bizarre thing was that he had one of the highest pitched voices i've ever heard. so odd. a thug who should have been jailed always talked like a 5 year old girl.

and for those who always said the grasshopper was biased, the fact that he was not even sinbinned let alone sent off would suggest he was not as bad as thought.

[soutso]

The grubbiest? Going on memory here so could be a bit dodgy:

What about Qld's attempt to clusterf..k poor Kurt Gidley after Brett White pounded Steve Price? They kick the ball straight to Gidley and about 6 of the filthy fockers smash a hapless Gidley to bits. Real tough boys!

[Habana Mike]

Thanks Fuzz. Much clearer now!

[Ken Gargett]

The grubbiest? Going on memory here so could be a bit dodgy:

What about Qld's attempt to clusterf..k poor Kurt Gidley after Brett White pounded Steve Price? They kick the ball straight to Gidley and about 6 of the filthy fockers smash a hapless Gidley to bits. Real tough boys!

may i suggest you check the video.

after the cheap shot on price and then after the grub who attacked a semi conscious man on the ground (yeah, as you say, real tough), they kicked it as a monster up and under. it was never aimed at gidley - they didn't care who got it. gidley, to his credit, took it.

after the blatant cowardice perpetrated by several nsw players, and it was nothing less, they were after anyone they could get. not surprisingly, it was left to a player like gidley to take it - not the grubs. cowards don't step up.

and i think that was the same play as the video above which shows ben creagh running away. although i always thought of him as a decent player.

[JohnS]

agreed.

utter thug, coward and grub. shame on officials not kicking him out of the game long before. johnS, if you felt sickened, image what we north of the border thought!

bizarre thing was that he had one of the highest pitched voices i've ever heard. so odd. a thug who should have been jailed always talked like a 5 year old girl.

and for those who always said the grasshopper was biased, the fact that he was not even sinbinned let alone sent off would suggest he was not as bad as thought.

Yes indeed, Ken. I was 10 or 11 at the time, so no bias that comes from age is inherent in my opinion of what I saw. Yes, Les had a high-pitched voice and was apparently quiet off the field. I wonder why he was so violent on it? I hypothesize that he was instructed to be tough on the opposition and this possibly started at Wests in the late 70's, when Roy Masters was coach and they were a competitive team. When he moved to Manly in the 80's he must have been similary cajoled to do the same, hence why he eye-gouged Canterbury's Billy Johnstone in 1984 and earned himself a record 15-month ban from the game. Even though his Representative and NSW Rugby League Premiership career was over, he still managed to get a gig after this at Warrington in England.

[soutso]

The worst thing to happen that night was the player who lifted Price once he was knocked out. Dumb in every way. Terrible.

The toe to toe fight was a staple of SOO back then.

I still don't see Qld's up and under attack on a small fullback as anything less than grubby. It was a fight they (5/6 on 1) couldn't lose.

You'll argue that the tackle that Price suffered as he was knocked out was grubby - and it probably was though you won't have to look hard to find similar examples from Qld.

That's Origin. That's how it rolls however now it's just an awkward looking shove fest.

You kill by the sword you die by the sword

Just a note on Cam Smith - no reasonable person would focus on the crap 60 minutes went on with. Nobody in the Blues camp would have orchestrated that. That's just gutter journalism and an attempt by 9 to stir interest. I'm genuinely pissed about that. Smith is a player I love to hate but this debacle has sickened me.

[madbunny]

Seems nsw are grubbier than qld, oh no it's from the courier mail. Oh the up roar from the poor hard done by Qlders. Watch every game and see the hand in face, elbow in face whatever in face from the qld players. Makes for a great spectacle and so easy to dislike the maroon jersey.

Not the grubbiest but funniest is when Ben Creagh is challenged buy hodges and he literally runs backwards as fast as his fairy wings can carry him!

ben creagh is known as a ***** for that and i support nsw

[madbunny]

i want a craker of a game and quckly change the channel to the cricket and back again

[Ken Gargett]

The worst thing to happen that night was the player who lifted Price once he was knocked out. Dumb in every way. Terrible.

The toe to toe fight was a staple of SOO back then.

I still don't see Qld's up and under attack on a small fullback as anything less than grubby. It was a fight they (5/6 on 1) couldn't lose.

You'll argue that the tackle that Price suffered as he was knocked out was grubby - and it probably was though you won't have to look hard to find similar examples from Qld.

That's Origin. That's how it rolls however now it's just an awkward looking shove fest.

You kill by the sword you die by the sword

Just a note on Cam Smith - no reasonable person would focus on the crap 60 minutes went on with. Nobody in the Blues camp would have orchestrated that. That's just gutter journalism and an attempt by 9 to stir interest. I'm genuinely pissed about that. Smith is a player I love to hate but this debacle has sickened me.

just watched it again. i think we are both a bit wrong.

starts with a price tackle (remember that this was last minute and nsw had won the game and qld had won the series), white takes a cheap shot at price for no apparent reason. the two exchange pinches. nothing too much in it. waterhouse runs in and takes price out from the side - that was the grubby cowardly act and i think he was suspended for it. he was sent off.

it cost nsw a try as it was called back. qld penalty.

last few seconds, qld put up a bomb. a thousand sides have done it at the death. fair tactic. that said, i have no doubt that the maroons wanted to be tackling, not attacking at that stage. they were clearly pissed. i was wrong - gidley was the bloke there to take it and no one else. the tackle was by three qlders and lockyer who did little more than put a hand on them. it was a perfectly legal tackle, i suspect far less hard than they hoped. tough but fair. there was a bit of pushing between JT and gidley which really was handbags at ten paces. creagh ran in and escalated it and then all qld ran in. creagh ran away. creagh was sinbinned and nsw penalised. there was lots of shoving. sam got sinbinned but no one could see what he'd done. but bit rich for nsw to whinge about a tackle in which they were the ones penalised.

no doubt qld has many examples just as bad - though nothing like boyd, and i would submit nothing like that heap of cowardly crap, trent barrett - attacking inglis from behind was a disgrace.

understand what you say re smith and it is so poor to involve a young kid who was paralysed but the timing has left the majority of qlders in no doubt that this is designed to disrupt the team. not to give the bloke the right to speak. just appalling treatment of a bloke who has been a credit to sport in this country. it might have been done by supporters of nsw without the team's involvement but at the very least, they knew what was happening - mckinnon was with the team all week. shame on them for not putting a stop to it or at the very least distancing themselves. they chose not to do that. they are just as guilty.

and to madbunny - the plan for this evening.

all phones, mobiles, computers off. no contact with the outside world.

ashes up to kickoff. then first half of origin. flick across when one can, especially if we are bowling. as soon as half time blown, set the tape for the rest of origin. across to the cricket. at the lunch break, watch the 2nd half of origin. return to the cricket - unless golden point, you'll only miss a few minutes post lunch.

so all you miss is the 40 minutes of the first session.

[madbunny]

sounds good ken im setting the harddrive to record both ,bbq dinner some beer some rum and if its not too cold a smoke ,

[madbunny]

no tea/smoke break ken ?

[Ken Gargett]

no tea/smoke break ken ?

i reside solo (all the family are gathering for my sister's birthday at my other sister's - they know better than to invite me on an origin night, especially compounded by the ashes).

hence, i will be rugged up (coldest house in history). one of my finest rums will be poured and i will watch both ashes and origin with an as yet undecided cigar - most likely a DC. though i have learnt not to make it too good - if the game is close, i will puff frenetically and end up taking no notice of a good cigar. a waste. i think i have one more old hoyo DC - might be time, though they have got a lot better lately.

i remember ayala coming around to watch - i am certain it was the game above with the price/white/creagh stuff. in the days he still smoked cigarettes. i made him sit outside and watch through the window - cigars are one thing but there will be no cigarettes inside.

[Ken Gargett]

i want a craker of a game and quckly change the channel to the cricket and back again

you got your wish. a cracker of a game!

[Dimmers]

Queenslander!