Grahame Moran will never forget the day he ran on to Penrith Park, looked across the other side of the field and laid eyes on some of his St George heroes for the first time.
It was 1967, Penrith had just entered the competition and the mighty Dragons had won the previous 11 premierships.
“Being a kid from the bush in Taree, there was no TV and you only ever heard about the likes of [St George legends] Reg Gasnier, Graeme Langlands and Johnny Raper on ABC radio,” Moran told this masthead.
“All the blokes were so nervous when we played them, but I was so excited. I was even like, ‘There’s Gasnier, there’s Raper’. I was only a kid.
“The Dragons lost the [preliminary] final that year, and I still maintain it was because they never got over the shock of losing to us at the start of the year.”
Graeme Moran with James Fisher-Harris.Credit: Rhett Wyman
Moran and many other club greats will be in the stands when the Panthers host the Gold Coast Titans on Saturday night in what will be one of the last games at their beloved home ground before the wrecking ball flattens it in a few weeks’ time.
As a nod to their past, Penrith will wear the famous chocolate brown playing strip. The last time the club ditched their black or pink jerseys for brown was for their 50th anniversary in 2016.
James Fisher-Harris plays his 200th NRL game, and emotions will be running high for the tough Kiwi prop who – along with Jarome Luai and Sunia Tuiruva – will leave the club at the end of the season.
Fisher-Harris loves running out to AC/DC’s Hells Bells, and knowing the old-school visitors’ sheds make life uncomfortable for visiting teams.
Moran and fellow Hall of Famers Greg Alexander, Royce Simmons and Craig Gower recalled some of their favourite moments at Penrith Park, which will be out of play due to redevelopment next season.
The four names sit high up on the eastern grandstand, and are expected to be displayed at Penrith home games when they play at CommBank Stadium next year.
Like the powerhouse St George team Moran played in round three of the 1967 season, Penrith’s Class of 2024 could easily make it four on the bounce themselves.
Life’s a beach for Moran
Moran may have idolised the Dragons stars, but will never forget trying to stop Canterbury front-rower Kevin ‘Kandos’ Ryan.
“He whacked me so hard one day at Penrith that I thought my shoulder blades had touched each other,” Moran said of Ryan, who was nicknamed ‘Kandos’ after a cement company because he was so tough.
Tough customer: Kevin Ryan gives Bob McCarthy a big ‘don’t argue’.Credit: John Patrick O'Gready; Frank Albert Charles Burke; Murray/Fairfax Media
The centre also recalled how the sandy loam playing surface, especially in those early years, was an advantage for the Panthers.
“We always knew if we could stay with a team until half-time, we’d run over the top of them because they’d get tired on the heavy ground,” Moran said.
“We trained at the ground so we were used to it. I also remember wearing white pants and brown socks for each home game, and vice versa the away games. The boys would always get it wrong and turn up with nothing. Even the other day I stumbled across a fresh pair of socks at home.”
Gowie’s Manly upset in 1996
Craig Gower had two standout memories at Penrith Park, including the 2003 qualifying final come-from-behind victory over Brisbane – the Panthers went on to win the premiership that year – and one of the biggest upset wins in 1996.
Craig Gower is tackled by Luke Ricketson in the 2003 grand final.Credit: Craig Golding
“I’ll never forget the day we beat a stacked Manly team in 1996,” Gower said. “We were a bunch of kids taking on the likes of Terry Hill, Steve Menzies and ‘Toovs’ [Geoff Toovey]. It was a low-scoring game, maybe they took us lightly, but we got the job done.”
Captain Steve Carter was unavailable and replaced by Gavin Clinch at halfback, a youngish Des Hasler started at hooker for the visitors and the Panthers won 18-14 – but the Sea Eagles won the ARL premiership six weeks later.
Full house for Eels classic in 1984
Greg Alexander started going to Penrith Park when he was about 10, and would sit on the railing which surrounded the tunnel on the halfway line and cheer the players.
He won the 1979 Harold Matthews title with the Panthers, played his first top-flight game at Penrith against the Roosters in 1984 and will never forget the last game of that season.
“We played the Eels, they were coming off the back of three straight premierships and we needed to beat them to finish fifth and make the finals,” Alexander said.
Greg Alexander in 1984, the year he made his first-grade debut for Penrith.Credit: Barry James Gilmour/Fairfax Media
“They had Ray Price, ‘Sterlo’ [Peter Sterling] and Mick Cronin. We were gallant in defeat, but I remember just seeing the hill where the eastern grandstand is now just packed. There were over 20,000 fans there that day. It was a record crowd at the time.”
To put that attendance into perspective, less than 6000 turned up a fortnight earlier for a win over Western Suburbs.
Royce’s farewell goal
Royce Simmons is the first to admit his memory is slipping, but he can still remember his first and last game at Penrith. Simmons asked us to fact-check the two games in question, and he was bang on.
Royce Simmons says farewell to the Panthers fans after his last home game at Penrith park in 1991.Credit: Steven Siewert/Fairfax Media
“My first game at Penrith was against the Dragons, and all I remember is Craig Young taking an intercept late in the game and him passing to Brian Johnson, who basically ran the length of the field to win the game,” Simmons said.
“And my last game I’ll never forget, because it was the only time I kicked a goal. It was against Balmain, and they let me take the shot from right in front with a few minutes to go. I’ll always love Penrith.”
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