Great Grand Finals: Allan Langer sings 'St George can't play' after 1993 Grand Final between Broncos and Dragons

GREAT Grand Finals: THE 1993 decider was most famous for what happened after the game, certainly not during it.

Allan Langer

THE 1993 Grand Final was most famous for what happened after the game, certainly not during it.

And certainly not before.

Crowd surfing after the game, on stage in a beer can hat, Allan Langer sang “St George Can’t Play” in drunken, party tones.

It sparked a minor war with the Dragons that lasted the length of the decade, until the Dragons finally merged with Illawarra and the sting went out.

Langer’s serenade was seen as symbolic of the arrogant, upstart Broncos.

“We didn’t want to be seen as arrogant or big-headed,” said Kevin Walters, Langer’s partner in crime.

But nobody knew what provoked Langer’s ridiculing of the Dragons. That the Broncos had unwittingly been dragged into a slanging match, and were only responding in kind.

Days before the game, Broncos coach Wayne Bennett revealed to his team that St George’s tip sheet was leaked to him, with some pretty scathing criticisms.

One of the focal points of the tip sheet was Walters.

“I can’t remember it word for word but it went along the lines of ‘the least potential of the Walters brothers, lives in Langer’s shadow’, all that sort of stuff,” Walters said.

“It probably wasn’t that far off the mark,” he laughed, “but still ... it rattled the cage a bit and got me a bit fired up. You like to prove people wrong.

“Lazzo [Glenn Lazarus], he was slow around the ruck. Gilly [Trevor Gillmeister], he was over-rated with his defence ... He put that to bed in the first couple of minutes.

“We took it pretty personal.”

All well and good, except the tip sheet was a con.

Bennett hadn’t been leaked it by a disloyal Dragons staffer. He got hold of St George stationery and made it up himself.

Yet it had the desired the effect, the Broncos taking their second premiership in a row over the Dragons, 14-6.

It took years for the truth to finally emerge.

In that time Walters, 45, won more premierships, took up a minor coaching job with the Broncos, won titles in the Queensland Cup, had a head coaching role with Catalans in the English Super League before resigning as Craig Bellamy’s assistant earlier this year to return to Brisbane.

Earlier this week he missed the North Queensland job, which went to Paul Green, after Walters was included in the final round of presentations.

It was a knockback, not a knockout.

Unlike many where the dream is alive but the reality dead, Walters is a first grade coach in waiting, and now merely awaits his opportunity.