Following the viral blow dealt to a Mackay streaker, we rank Australia’s 10 most notorious pitch invasions
Following footage of a Mackay streaker getting poleaxed going viral we have ranked Australia’s 10 most notorious pitch invasions. See where the latest hit ranks.
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Everyone remembers Andrew Symonds’ bruising shoulder charge and Greg Chappell dishing out spanks with his cricket bat.
Mostly lighthearted, yet sometimes dangerous, pitch invasions can make for enthralling moments that etch themselves into folklore, both locally and nationally.
A new incident that has captivated the nation took place in Mackay over the weekend, with a spectator lining up a streaker from some 15 metres and laying him out at the local T20 grand final.
It prompted us to reflect on 10 of Australia’s most notorious pitch invasion incidents below.
10. Young bull wreaks havoc
A left-field entry onto this list comes from a non-human pitch invader. In 2016, a young bull charged onto the field of a junior soccer game being played between Sunbury and the Fraser Flames. The bull emerged out of foliage to the side of the field and ran at players, coming narrowly close to one. Fortunately he pulled up before reaching the spectators on the other side, and as quick as he arrived, he was gone, disappearing back into the wilderness.
9. The one that got away
While Symonds etched his name into Aussie legend for his bruising blow on the international stage in 2008, he may have learnt a thing or two from his failed attempt years earlier when playing a Mercantile Mutual Cup Game for Queensland at the WACA in 1997. A spritely bare-chested man had dashed onto the pitch and tried to nick a bail, but took off for the stands when he realised Symonds was closing in. The burly Queenslander grasped the troublemaker around the neck and crunched him into the turf - a superb take-down - but it was so good his grip loosened and the streaker slipped to freedom, but not after Symonds continued to give chase and made one last desperate lunge.
8. Naked bloke poleaxed by disgruntled local
The hit that inspired this list. It’s gone viral after the story was broken by this masthead of a streaker interrupting Mackay’s T20 Shootout final between Walkerston and Pioneer Valley. Aside from getting his kit fully off, it wasn’t an occurrence too out of the order in streaking terms. Enter a six-foot-five disgruntled local, with bright red hair and a durry hanging out of his mouth. He wound up from at least 15 metres and absolutely crunched the unsuspecting streaker.
7. Sam Kerr’s sly bump
One of Australia’s favourite sportspeople, Sam Kerr endeared herself to the public even more when she hip and shouldered a pitch invader at Chelsea’s Champions League clash with Juventus. The invader was fully clothed and being a plain nuisance, in no hurry to get off the pitch and taking photo and video with players on his phone. Kerr must’ve had enough, slyly stalking the man like a starved lion before lining him up and bundling him over with the perfect hip and shoulder. While it didn’t happen on Australian shores, it’s certainly a part of Australian sporting folklore, which qualifies it for this list.
6. Alderman gets his man, but at what cost?
For this one we’re winding the clock back to 1982, when chaotic scenes ensued at the first Ashes test of the summer in Perth. About 20 or so fans - that hadn’t been impartial to a drink that day - stormed the pitch, with one whacking Australian fast bowler Terry Alderman on the head as he whizzed by. Alderman hunted the unruly spectator down from behind and tackled him, but hit him with such force he went flying over the top, dislocating his shoulder in the process. Several other player would rush to the scene to drag the spectator off Alderman. It would be over a year until the quick would manage another Test. “I should’ve just put my boots with the spikes into him,” Alderman would later reflect when recounting the incident to Optus Sport in 2017.
5. Javon Johanson pummelled by security
Taking to an NRL field in an activity fraught with danger, and Gold Coast punter Javon Johanson found this out in early 2022. Having removed her shirt, her escapades saw her dodge the first security guard, before the second nailed her with a clean shot worthy of an NRL deal in itself. She got some serious air. The guard faced scrutiny for his heavy-handed hit on the female punter, but Johanson took no exception, issuing him a personal apology and insisting she “got what she deserved”.
4. A-League’s dark day
While most incidents on this list are relatively lighthearted, the Melbourne derby pitch invasion in December of 2022 certainly doesn’t fit that bill. Tensions had been brewing between the A-Leagues governing body, Australian Professional Leagues, and the fans after a contentious decision - which would later to be revoked - to sell the men’s and women’s grand finals to Sydney for the next three seasons. There had been talk from Melbourne Victory fans of invading the pitch at that fateful Melbourne derby in protest, but tensions came to a head after Melbourne City goalkeeper Tom Glover threw a flair from the field which landed within metres of the stands.
Victory supporters erupted in rage, with about 150 storming the pitch, and one launching a bucket some 20 metres that struck Glover on the cheek, causing a significant gash The match would be abandoned and replayed at a later date, with 13 supporters charged for their actions and Victory handed major sanctions.
3. Chappell makes an example
Another incident that may not have happened on Australian shores but is certainly entrenched in our sporting history, is when Greg Chappell took exception to a streaker in a Test match against New Zealand in Auckland, 1977. Streaking had rose to prominence in the preceding years, and a frustrated Chappell was determined to put a stop to it. When a nude Bruce McCauley approached him while he was batting, he seized his chance, grabbing the man by the arm and forcefully spanking his backside with his bat four times before letting him free with a disgruntled shove.
2. Origin game disrupted
Wati Holmwood made headlines in 2013 when he streaked 100m across the ANZ Stadium turf in the deciding moments of an Origin match, causing a Queensland try to be disallowed and evoking rage among New South Wales players and fans after they were robbed of a chance at a late comeback as the set had to be restarted. Holmwood was later jailed for three months as it was his second streaking offence, having previously done so at a 2011 NRL clash.
1. The bump of all bumps
Arguably the most famous moment in Australian pitch invading history, a streaker got more than he bargained for when he ran across the Gabba at an Australia v India ODI at the Gabba in 2008. The late Symonds, affectionately know as ‘Roy’, lined the unsuspecting perp up and lent into him to deal an almighty blow that launched him into the air and left him sprawling on his back an police officer swarmed in. The hit should’ve surprised no one given he had previously been seen training with the Brisbane Broncos NRL squad.
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