The 11 most memorable moments ahead of Allianz Stadium’s demolition
AFTER the NRL preliminary final between the Roosters and Rabbitohs the bulldozers will roll in to demolish the 30-year-old Allianz Stadium. But hasn’t it hosted some incredible contests.
NRL
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
IT’S the end of an era. Saturday night’s NRL preliminary final between the Roosters and Rabbitohs will be the last match played at the 30-year-old Allianz Stadium before it is knocked down and replaced by a new sporting arena. We revisit 11 memorable moments in the stadium’s history:
1989 ARL grand final - Sunday, September 24
Balmain v Canberra classic
ARGUABLY the greatest grand final, for Balmain it remains a case of ‘what might have been.’
Having lost in the previous year’s decider to Canterbury, Balmain was determined to get the job done this time around. Three key factors conspired against them – the crossbar and Canberra’s John ‘Chicka’ Ferguson and Steve Jackson.
With just minutes left and the Tigers ahead 14-8, Balmain hooker Benny Elias looked to ice the game with a field goal. He hit the ball from about 15m out and right in front but saw his effort thud against the crossbar.
Still Balmain looked like they would hold on but with 37 seconds to go 35-year-old John ‘Chicka’ Ferguson scored an incredible evasive try and the resultant conversion squared the game up. Twenty minutes of extra time followed, Canberra’s Chris O’Sullivan kicked a field goal to make it 15-14 and then with just thee minutes of the game remaining, replacement forward Jackson scored the try of his life.
Balmain’s Andy Currier tried a grubber kick but it was fielded by Canberra’s Mal Meninga on the 20 metre mark and as he was tackled he passed it inside to Jackson. The forward ran to the 10 metre mark before somehow rolling and barging his way through five defenders and reaching out to plant the ball over the tryline. Glory for the Raiders, heartbreak for the Tigers.
Bledisloe Cup Wednesday, August 17, 1994
THAT tackle
A match in which everything was on the line because just one Bledisloe Cup Test was played that year.
New Zealand were the holders, having won the previous year, in Dunedin in another one-off Test, and with four minutes left at the Sydney Football Stadium, Australia were ahead 20-16 but seriously under the pump.
The All Blacks launched another attacking raid and winger Jeff Wilson (also a New Zealand international cricketer) embarked on a swerving, jinking run from 25 metres out that saw him evade three despairing tacklers before he dived forward for what looked a certain try.
While in mid-air he was hit in desperate cover defence by Wallabies halfback George Gregan, one of the smallest players on the field, and ball was jolted loose.
No try and the prized trophy was Australia’s.
State of Origin II – Wednesday, May 29, 1991
O’Connor lands the winner from the sideline
On a filthy night at the SFS, the Cockroaches and Maroons turned on a classic. With rain sheeting down so hard it was forming small lakes on the field, NSW and Queensland went to-to-toe – literally.
NSW enforcer Mark Geyer was in the thick of the action and sparked an all-in brawl right on half time when his loose arm and forearm chop on Steve Walters was not well received by Walters’ teammates. As the smoke cleared and the players ran off for the break, Lewis got up in Geyer’s face to try to goad him, and produced one of the enduring images in Origin history.
In the dying minutes NSW, trailing 12-8 and needing a win to square the series, scored in the corner through Mark McGaw.
It was now 12-12 and dual international Michael O’Connor had the chance to win it for NSW with a conversion from the sideline. In the days before kicking tees, O’Connor placed the leather Steeden vertically on his sand kicking mound (which was quickly turning to mud) and sent a terrific curving kick through the sticks with just over two minutes left. NSW won 14-12 to keep the series alive.
Mundine v Green I – Wednesday, May 29, 2006
Arch rivals finally get it on
After years of baiting each other, the biggest rivals in Australian boxing finally met on a clear autumn night at the then Aussie Stadium.
The weigh-in the night before, broadcast live on A Current Affair, was raucous, with scores of Green fans (about 2000 reportedly flew from Perth for the bout) booing Mundine and cheering their hero.
The super-middleweight bout, watched by an estimated 37,000 fans at the stadium and a record pay-per-view TV audience, lived up to expectations and after an even first few rounds Mundine took control of the fight and won by unanimous points decision.
You sensed the rivalry was far from finished but the rematch only came last year, with Green winning the cruiserweight fight at Adelaide Oval.
Australia v Argentina – Thursday, July 14, 1988
Charlie Yankos free kick
STALWART Australian defender Charlie Yankos’s free kick was an absolute belter on its own merits but the fact it came against World Cup holders Argentina in a match we won 4-1 made it an instant Socceroos classic.
Yankos, built like a truck, lined the free kick up 35 metres out and hit the ball with everything he had. It swerved around the Argentinian wall and kept drifting away from the despairing dive of goalkeeper Luis Islas before nestling in the bottom corner of the net.
The match was part of a four team tournament (Saudi Arabia and Brazil were the others) to commemorate Australia’s Bicentenary. The win over Argentina meant remarkably the Socceroos were now in the final, which Brazil won 2-0 a few days later.
State of Origin Game 1 – Monday, May 23, 1994
Mark Coyne try
‘That’s not a try, that’s a miracle!’
Commentator Ray Warren’s legendary declaration summed up an astonishing piece of team play that saw Queensland come back from 12-10 down with less than 60 seconds left to seal the match 16-12.
The desperation effort started on the 40m mark on Queensland’s right hand touchline and saw the ball pass through 10 sets of hands and sweep to the opposite sideline and back again before Coyne, gratefully accepting a pass from Mal Meninga, reached out to score.
One of the great Origin tries, possibly the greatest, but that was as good as the series got for the Maroons, with NSW winning the next two games, in Melbourne and Brisbane.
Wallabies v British Lions third Test - Saturday, July 15, 1989
David Campese horror pass
Oh Campo! The brilliant but erratic winger pulled out a play that went straight to the lowlights reel in the third Test between the Wallabies and the British Lions.
The series was on the line after Australia won convincingly in the first Test at the same ground two weeks earlier before the Lions hit back in Brisbane to even it up.
Just after halftime and with Australia ahead 12-9, Lions five-eighth Rob Andrew sent a field-goal attempt wide and it was fielded by Campese, who instead of touching the ball down for a 22m dropout decided to run it. Fullback Greg Martin was in support but Campese’s pass went behind him and as the ball bounced just behind the tryline Lions winger Ieuan Evans pounced. The Lions ended up winning the match 19-18 to take the series and Campese was castigated for the defeat.
ARL grand final - 28 September, 1997
Darren Albert try
Super League meant two grand finals were played this year and the ARL version featured a classic finish that delivered the Newcastle Knights their first premiership.
With the scores locked at 16-16 and just seconds left, Knights halfback Andrew Johns saw space on the blindside and scooted into the gap from dummy-half.
As he was tackled 12m out he passed inside to the man who had just played the ball, Darren Albert, and the Newcastle flyer crossed untouched to win the match. Cue pandemonium.
1995 ARL grand final – Sunday, September 24
Halftime entertainment debacle
OPTUS copped an absolute caning for issues with its World Cup coverage this year, but the company also endured a degree of public embarrassment on the biggest day on the rugby league calendar 23 years ago.
Part of the halftime entertainment for the match between Manly and Canterbury featured a giant ‘Optus Vision’ television suspended a few metres above the ground by cables attached to a hovering helicopter.
The sides of the television were meant to open to allow hundreds of red and green balloons to spill out, which was great, until the giant TV ‘exploded’, the sides fell to the ground and the television hung at a wonky angle.
Wonderful entertainment.
2017 A-League grand final - Sunday May 7, 2017
Sydney FC’s incredible shootout
They had been the best team by a country mile but Melbourne Victory were determined not to let the reputation of Sydney FC overwhelm them. This was a grand final with everything. A pulsating match that had fans and football lovers on the edge of their seats from minute one until its incredible climax.
On the field the match always threatened to boilover and yellow cards were dished out on a regular basis. Besart Berisha opened the scoring in the first half with Rhyan Grant finally levelling the match in front of a nervous home crowd in the second half.
The match went into extra time and James Troisi almost sealed it for the visitors but the woodwork spared Sydney FC. Finally in penalties, Milos Ninkovic delivered the winner after successive misses from Victory to deliver victory to the home team.
1991 ARL grand final - Sunday, September 22
Simmons’ fairytale finish
This game was a rematch of the previous year’s grand final, in which the Raiders beat the Panthers 18-14.
Proving the adage ‘you have to lose one to win one’, Penrith prevailed 19-12 in a tight contest that was sealed in the final minutes when veteran hooker Royce Simmons received a pass from prop Mark Geyer, (who had fielded a short kick-off), and darted 7m unhindered to score.
It was 33-year-old Simmons’ second try in the last match of his career.
What a way to finish.
Get ready for cricket like never before. FREE Sport HD + Entertainment until the first 4K cricket ball as part of 3 months free on a 12 month plan. SIGN UP TODAY. T&Cs apply.
