Mike Colman: One little girl sticks in my mind as the spirit of the ‘89 Raiders

One little Raiders fan sticks in Mike Colman’s mind the most from the 1989 finals series. Passionate, adorable, and eager for Canberra to rule. It’s a spirit that lives on at the Green Machine 30 years later.

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For those of us of a certain age the 1989 rugby league grand final is like Australia II winning the America’s Cup or JFK getting shot.

We all remember where we were when Steve Jackson ran onto a Mal Meninga pass and bumped, spun and crashed his way through five Balmain Tigers defenders to win the Canberra Raiders their first premiership.

Hard to believe it was 30 years ago, and equally hard to believe that the Raiders were considered underdogs that day, just as they are today.

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With the likes of Meninga, Ricky Stuart, Laurie Daley, Brad Clyde, Gary Belcher and Steve Walters you’d think they would have been odds-on but the Tigers had Test players Wayne Pearce, Steve Roach, Benny Elias, Paul Sironen and Garry Jack and after going down to the Bulldogs the year before were expected to be too experienced for the young Raiders.

The 1989 Canberra Raiders celebrate winning the NSWRL Grand Final. Picture: Patrick Riviere/Getty Images

History tells us that was not how it worked out. The Raiders became the first non-Sydney team to win the premiership in the first grand final to go to extra time.

But great as that premiership decider was – and in many people’s opinion it was the greatest ever played – when I think back to that season and the Raiders’ charge to the grand final it’s not the actual game that I think about first.

It is a little girl in a lime green jersey.

I was working for the Sunday Telegraph in Sydney at the time and covered all the finals games at the Sydney Football Stadium that season.

I liked to sit in the media seats in front of the press box so I could pick up the atmosphere, and week after week at the Canberra matches the same family was seated in the row across from me.

From memory there was a mum and dad, a couple of boys and this beautiful four or five year-old girl, all decked out in their Raiders gear.

And at fulltime when they had beaten the Sharks, Panthers, Rabbitohs and Tigers, over the PA would come the Raiders’ victory song and the little girl would stand up on her seat and sing along.

A young Raiders fan shows her colours before this year’s preliminary final. Picture: AAP Image/Lukas Coch

I can still see her, clapping her hands and belting out, “We’re the bad and mean Green Machine, fearsome men from the A-C-T. Don’t try to stop these men in green, ‘cause we’ll hit ya, hit ya, hit ya … and you’ll see green.”

It was so cute.

After every game I’d get home and my wife would ask, “Was the little girl there?”

Now I know that sometimes rugby league drives us all crazy. We can get frustrated by referees and player behaviour and administrative decisions that we don’t agree with, but when you see a family like that, bonded together as they support their team, you can’t help but get a warm feeling inside.

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Apparently the community support the Raiders have received throughout the ACT over the past month or so has been phenomenal, just like it was back in 1989.

Funny thing is, the first thing I thought of when they reached the grand final was that little girl.

She’d be 34 or 35 years old now, maybe with a little girl of her own.

I like to think she’ll be at the game on Sunday and at fulltime she’ll lift her daughter up onto her seat and together they’ll sing:

“We’re the bad and mean Green Machine …”