1978 Rugby League Season Tries

[@gerryloveday3142]

What a beautiful game it was at that time. The 'draw and pass' skills were fantastic. Really enjoyed watching this video thanks.

[@markeggins890]

Not as good now, seems a lot of tries are scored with shallow passes closer to the line.

[@AdamHoward-lz7lx]

Anyone who believes the game is better now than in 1978 obviously wasn't alive back then. Its a bit like saying "looking up at a full moon on a cloudless night is more beautiful than looking at the earth from the moon" Its a statement of stupidity if you've never been to the moon.

[@stewartdavies929]

Love these. So much variety in those tries unlike today where every try looks the same.

[@markeggins890]

Yep, most seem to be scored 5 metres out from the line nowadays - it’s really quite different from this era.

[@coolhand1964]

Back when the game was fair dinkum. Suburban fields packed to the rafters, proper scrums, no bunker intervention and rules that were easy to understand. 1978, the year Hartley cost Cronulla the Grand Final, sadly,even back then, the game was corrupt. Nice to see Endeavour Field as I remember it as a teenager. Hansard, Glossop, Andrews, Kneen, Mullane, Bourke, Edmunds, Rogers, Pearce, Sorenson. I can still name most of my sporting heroes. 🇪🇪🦈🇧🇼 Edit: And Mooney's try was a metre forward ol' one eyed Rex, not just a bit. 😅😅😅

[@eagleeric2598]

What's a few inches

[@coolhand1964]

@@eagleeric2598 I'm sure Hartley used that line a lot. Mostly in a the bedroom 😅

[@AnthonyKiyola]

Great footage. Some rare matches there. Btw, the first three matches are 1977 - Penrith Newtown at Henson and Balmain St George at Leichhardt and Kograh.

[@eagleeric2598]

Thanks, I shall check it out

[@peterrunge5501]

Penrith vs Newtown game - from memory Rex said he chose that game for the NFL player Manfred Moore who played for Newtown and was signed up by John Singleton.

[@AnthonyKiyola]

@@peterrunge5501 That would have been something different: to see an NFL player playing league. I saw Balmain play Newtown that year at Leichhardt but Manfred had been dropped by then…. he may have played in the lower grades but I was too young to remember. I only remember Paul Hayward and John Floyd. I met up with some classmates there and we were heckling John Floyd - mind you we were 7 years old but we thought his name was John Fly which to a 7 year old was funniest thing imaginable 👍🏽

[@peterrunge5501]

@@AnthonyKiyola good story ...

[@peterrunge5501]

@@AnthonyKiyola if you check the 1977 results (rugbyleagueproject a good resource) you will see Newtown won their first game against Wests (Manfred Moore scored their first try) but lost 20 in a row, starting with this Penrith game. Their only other win was against Souths in the last round, and they finished with the wooden spoon. Rex certainly regretted televising that match for the novelty value of the one NFL player in what was otherwise an ordinary and forgettable game ...

[@swkenny]

These clips are in such great condition, almost immaculate, great job! Have to say some of those old shirts look better than some of todays & it was interesting to see Penrith's old brown & white shirt with red inserts, never seen that before & I think it looked better than just the brown & white version I grew up watching.

[@percyfree9831]

Rod Reddy showed pace as well as footy sense in scoring or setting up tries,one of toughest players too

[@SPOOKSTR]

2:13 Johnny Gibbs, Head back....sock down.

[@AdamHoward-lz7lx]

I think the NSWRL had a special development program that identified gifted halfbacks. They went to the high schools searching for players that may have been overlooked.... because at 3ft 6 they got lost in the grass. To fish them out they put oranges (left overs from last week's halftime break) on the end of a fishing line then reeled it in fast. The end result was players likec John Gibbs and Allan Neil came running out, looking skyward. First identification usually come about via the constant, high pitched yapping from somewhere in the long grass of a footy field. Once fished out they had to be silenced periodically or they may end up being banished permanently. The only option available was to use the electrical tape lying around but this meant that there was severe shortages come game day. This is why those directly responsible had to go without tape to keep their socks up. Hope this helped explain what us experts of the game learnt before we could talk.

[@christouvelos4897]

Ratings would have been huge in the early years of Sevens Big League 1975-82

[@markeggins890]

Lord Ted!

[@absoluteb22]

Great footage, as someone suggested-the first few mins were 1977.

[@MikeLewis-h8v]

When rugby was played properly , proper scrum downs

[@markeggins890]

Gartner reminded me a bit of Kenny in that they were both such natural and well balanced atheletic runners - Manly had such a great side around then. Still remember one Brookie game where I got the corner post!

[@peterbett7161]

Rod Reddy!

[@trevorsully3054]

1978? As a parramatta supporter I’m still disappointed we didn’t win in 77. But I’m sure St. George had Penfold wines on their jumpers

[@anthonycoleman1909]

Eric you must be working fulltime on these videos at the moment, pumping them out all the time. GREAT WORK. I wish we could go back to these days, where the players were mostly Australian or aboriginal.

[@eagleeric2598]

Thanks Anthony, love getting feedback. Would love to work on it full-time however just for love.

[@youchwb6005]

Mick Stevenson playing hooker for Panthers. Bill O'Reilley the Panthers prop. Bill Ashurst must have been injured.

[@glencoe1266]

A lot more creative play with the limited skills on offer. Kick and chip try, forwards running up the guts drawing defenders offloading on the inside to a running small player, hard tackles. Wingers used sparelying unlike today's methodical robotic game. What an absolute bore fest the NRL is in 2024. Oh and I don't care but its great to see hardly any pacific islanders, if any, dominating. Sure they have been a lifeline for the NRL but they lack the creative flare and nous and just run and show boat.

[@markeggins890]

What they used to call a ‘ball player’ is in rare supply these days with most tries being scored close to the line with shallow passing - compared to Aussie Rules and Union it has changed the most over the years and not for the better overall.