By Jacquelin Magnay and Jessica Halloran
The Sydney Morning Herald
May 5th, 2003
Rugby league reclaimed its suburban heartland and the Dragons their soul, write Jacquelin Magnay and Jessica Halloran.
While rugby league yesterday confirmed it had gone full circle from the vision of corporate expansion back to its suburban roots, it seems some things never change.
On the field there was a Gasnier accelerating down the sideline, a Young taking a few hit-ups. With standing room only on the grassed hill, supporters waved huge flags and had dug deep in the cupboard to find their oldest famous red V jerseys. One jersey was so old there was no sponsor logo on the front, back, collar or sleeve. Instead, the white was filled in with famous autographs from the halcyon '60s.
"This is where the St George history started and this is where it should finish, I am so glad we are back," said the club's famous halfback Billy Smith.
"For us old guys it brings back so many memories, I can tell you that is where I scored a try - X marks the spot, just 10 metres in from the [side] line. It is like coming home."
While St George have been joined by the footballing tribe of Illawarra, there was little doubt yesterday that Kogarah remains the Dragons' lost soul.
Yesterday, Kogarah Oval resounded to the thundering roar of a red-and-white supporters' army and the ground reverberated under the collective weight of nostalgia. The match was sold out two days ago, and the club could have filled the stadium twice over.
Hundreds of fans hoping to get in with junior footy passes were turned away at the gates. The match was delayed 15 minutes to allow the 500m red-scarfed queue snaking its way up Jubilee Street to get into the ground.
Carss Park swimming coach Dick Caine got a call yesterday from a friend at Temora who had 10 mates ready to hotfoot it to Sydney if he could get them tickets. No such luck.
"We had lost our identity for a few years, now it is back," said Kogarah council general manager Gary Sawyer.
Carlton local Peter Callaghan, 30, a former Kingsgrove Colts junior, was at the nearby Royal Hotel (which publican John Buckingham said experienced a tenfold increase in business) to swill a few ales before the start. Like so many of his generation, he organised to sit on the hill with his dad, Tony.
"I went to a couple of matches at the SFS and I go to Illawarra off and on, but it is a real relief that they are home now," Callaghan said. "It is the atmosphere, the excitement, the anticipation."
This was a familiar and comfortable experience for the 16,713 who got in. The tree that used to give a bird's-eye view for non-paying peerers has been chopped down, but milk crates still gave those locked out a vantage point.
The old toilet block that supporters used to crawl over in the pre-Occupational Health and Safety days has been replaced with a concrete construction named "The Slab", which yesterday housed 60 construction workers who have worked 80 hours a week for eight weeks to prepare the ground.
Host of this particular party was St George general manager and former prop Robert Stone. His new moniker: "Bob the Builder".
"It is enormous and, for me, this day is almost a religious experience. I played all my footy here," Stone said.
"Even if the rain pours down, everyone is packed in that tight I don't think they will get wet."
But God was a Saint yesterday and the heavy rain stopped almost as soon as Sharks halfback Brett Kimmorley kicked off.
Those wanting to be among the diehards in the middle of the hill had to rid themselves of any Cronulla blue clothing and be prepared to sing When the Saints Come Marching In, as well as "Kimmorley is a wanker".
Others on the hill behind the posts had enough room to put down picnic blankets. They were treated to the most unusual sight of the current St George team, warming up at the southern end, singing to Queen's We are the Champions as 14 of the club's 15 legends were presented to the crowd.
"We were just having a bit of fun," said captain Trent Barrett, who later said when he ran out and saw players like Graeme Langlands and Reg Gasnier it put a tingle down his spine.
Over at another of rugby league's former suburban meccas, Leichhardt Oval, the hill was littered with tinnies. Kids chasing footballs slipped and slid on the wet grass. Meat pies were stuffed into mouths.
The Wests Tigers' fans were resilient to the downpours, the sheets of rain whipping their faces, umbrellas blown inside out and a flogging by the Broncos on the scoreboard.
Leichhardt Oval is a ground where there are hardly any social divides. Fancy corporate boxes are scarce, while two stands bear the signs "closed for public safety". It's bring your own comfort. Fans sat in the stands with doonas over their legs, and plastic ponchos to keep them dry.
Suburban grounds are intimate things, demonstrated before kick-off when one mum jumped the fence to rescue her child being drenched while playing in a mini-league match.
Tigers' fan Bill James travelled from Woy Woy with his family, and sat on the hill. Beer in hand, he said there should be more games at suburban grounds.
"It's very, very important to have games here, it's a working-class sport, it's a working-class area... well it's a little bit trendy these days," he said. "But it's the grassroots of the game."
Wests Tigers chief executive Steve Noyce said while only 7100 braved the unfavourable conditions, "there's no doubt smaller grounds have more atmosphere".
The people are also not as uptight. As the players walked off the sopped turf, a Tigers fan streaked, showing off his black-and-white boxer shorts. The security guards half-heartedly pursued him. No one really cared.
Back at Kogarah, the beer was turned off in the second half at the request of the police, who feared the crowd was tanked enough. But in truth it was a mass of happy people, revelling in the runs of Ben Hornby, the crushing defence of Jason Ryles, Lance Thompson and Luke Bailey and the long balls of Brett Firman.
Just like the good old days.
Copyright © 2003 The Sydney Morning Herald