That was great. As someone who only got into footy in the last 10 or so years the rules were a bit hard to follow but it was certainly a more savage game. Easy to see why Gould is always complaining about how soft the game is now.
When Radonikous and the Parra player were punching on the commentator was saying how the referee should stay out of it and let them sort it out. Compare that to now with Gould complaining about refs getting involved after (shock horror) heavy tackles.
Ausage I'm offended. "The commentator?" "The Commentator?" It's Rex Mossop mate - the Moose, legend that he is and always will be. King of tautology - "It's deja vu all over again", "They've decimated, dissected and absolutely diabolicially destroyed this Great Britain side today"; "He is running sideways across the field, without making forward progress"; "Nobody should have to put up with having genitalia rammed down their throat" [after making a citizen's arrest of a nude bather near his home] are just some of the great man's pearls of wisdom.
The thing that always gets me when I watch old games like that is the lack of panic if someone got caught on the 6th, or lack of a worry if someone knocked on because there was a chance you'd get the ball back from a scrum anyway. I'm not an advocate for fully contested scrums, but you should be able to push the opposing pack off the ball IMO. MG on the radio the other night was saying that when he came into grade, you'd go into scrums and know you would get tired. These days they're just a pit stop for tired forwards.
Also, the depth of the back lines in attack was a sight to behold.
As an aside, I was at that game, sitting with my grandparents right next to the Bob Stand on the Hill. My abiding memory was how windy it was that day - we were right near a light tower and you could see the tower swaying back and forth pretty violently in the wind. After the game, IIRC the SCG trust lopped a few metres off the towers as there was a thought they might topple over.
Also, when the Parra players ran on the field, they each kicked a ball into the crowd. Sterlo kicked his in our direction, it bounced up off the path leading into the Bob Stand, headed towards us, got tapped on by a few people and my grandmother, of all people, flew high above the pack and grabbed it. We went into Westfields Parra the next week and had it signed by the entire team. I still have it at home.
Great times the 80s for Parra fans. Now we're completely ****house in every material aspect of the game.
