News ‘The boys got a huge kick out of it’: Steve Mortimer’s special visit to inspire Bulldogs

[DinkumDog]

Has anyone watched his speech after the 1985 GF? When he thanks the Dogs supporters?

Saw it live and remember Steve, Chris and Peter do the lap of honour with their then young children:

 

[Bulldog1966]

The great man so our players bloody well should get pumped up with royalty visiting the rooms..
Ditto for that tough little 5/8 who could play a bit, both absolute greats and best of the best of our club.

 

[Pity Fool]

I deeply love this man, what a true legend he is! One day when the time is right I will share a special memory of a very kind gesture Turvey did for me and my old man ( God rest his soul ) back in 2003 when he was CEO of our great club.

 

[D- voice]

One by one they passed, and each gave a greeting to perhaps the best Bulldog of all.
The public appearances are rarer these days, which means that when they do come, they are cherished. But even to the youngest pups, Steve Mortimer is a man you can’t walk past without conveying your warmest wishes.
On Saturday night after a shock win against the Roosters which might have just saved their season, the Bulldogs paid tribute to one of their favourite sons.

They brought Mortimer into their dressing room at Accor Stadium to celebrate the team song at the end of their six-game losing run, even undergoing the relevant COVID-19 tests to allow for the special occasion.

Never has an old face meant so much in a winning dressing room.

Phil Gould might have started a week of headlines, but Mortimer was the one the Bulldogs really listened to in a quiet corner when the ink had finally run dry on the training drama.

“It was great to see him,” Bulldogs coach Trent Barrett said. “We haven’t seen a lot of him lately because of his health, but I think it not only means a lot to us, but it’s good for ‘Turvey’ as well.

“All of our players are welcome back at the club and it was good that we could get a win, and such a good win, while he was at the ground. Everyone is aware of who he is and what he’s done for the club. The boys get a huge kick out of it when he’s around.”

There’s always been a natural charm about Mortimer, who was diagnosed with dementia last year. His physical health hasn’t been the best, with a heart attack and pneumonia towards the end of 2021 followed by a bout of bronchitis.

His old teammates and rivals have gathered around tables for long lunches to spark his memories of battles on the field and frivolity off it, just enough for a weekly break from his Sydney nursing home.

This time his mere presence might spark the modern-day Bulldogs, some players almost 45 years his junior, as they try to climb out of the NRL cellar.

If any of them can achieve only a fraction of Mortimer’s three premierships and honour of leading NSW to its first State of Origin series win, then they would have had satisfying careers.

“He still enjoys getting out to the footy and the good thing was that everyone who came through the door, from current players to others, all took the time to say g’day,” said Mortimer’s son Andrew. “It was fantastic.”

The Bulldogs will likely have their own skipper Josh Jackson back from isolation in time for the trip to Canberra to take on the struggling Raiders on Friday night.

Jackson missed the win over the Roosters after contracting COVID-19, which also kept four players out of Canterbury’s team for the loss against the Broncos.

I have said this to his face in Baa's Farewell TURVEY you are the GREATEST !!!
He Looked me in the face with a great wide grin and said...Thank you

 

[TABOO]

What a legend he is. So glad that they educate the younger guys on what a special player he was and how important he still is to this club.

He used to give up his time to come and run a training session with us when I was a young fella. Meant a lot to me because I was always a dogs fan but I was growing up in sharks territory.

 

[Novdoggie]

View attachment 48850

Gives me goosebumps remembering when I was a kid what is was like following the Dogs when Turvey was playing. When we talk about DNA you can immediately think of Steve Mortimer....LEGEND!!

 

[DaBulldog]

Absolute tear to the eye.

Him and Baa. Daylight third since 1980

 

[James zac]

Turvey is my all time fav had a soft spot for his brother Chris too

 

[enoughsaid]

The Greatest Canterbury Player

 

[D- voice]

I hope they make him an immortal soon.

Immortal He is and always will be !!!

 

[blue & white blood]

Saw it live and remember Steve, Chris and Peter do the lap of honour with their then young children:

View attachment 48858

Absolutely, I was fortunate enough to be there as well, Steve Mortimer ( The Arch Bishop of Canterbury ) Is a Legend both on and of the field, the greatest player I have ever seen, I believe he laid the platform to mold our Beloved Bulldogs into great club it is today, We are blessed to have him in our corner, And it makes me very angry that he has been over looked for Immortal status by the Bullshit NRL Elite, But at Belmore and to all the fans young and old & especially fans like us that were fortunate enough to be there to witness the skill & magic that Turvey brought to Bulldogs and the NRL he will always be immortal in our hearts and in our memories.

 

[billy beane]

Saw it live and remember Steve, Chris and Peter do the lap of honour with their then young children:

View attachment 48858

They walked the victory lap in the reverse direction to what it had always been done.

 

[billy beane]

Turvey is my all time fav had a soft spot for his brother Chris too

Peter was very underrated as well. Scored a stack of tries.

 

[Turvey Chip and Chase]

My most favourite sporting icon of all sports of all time.
Apart from being born in the area, he IS the reason I’m a blue blood bleeding Dogs fan.
Beautiful man in real life, chatted a few times.

Couldn’t give a fk about the media chosen, agenda driven, “mate’s club” Immortal group, he will ALWAYS be a true immortal of the game. It’s actually a travesty that the 80’s are forgotten in the convo as Turvey and Kenny are deadset Imortals. More so than Baa and Sterlo I think, even though the latter were such legendary players also.

In an era when Parra had Sterling surrounded by Cronin, Ella, Kenny and Grothe, TURVEY was our star attacking man. He was the entertainer in the entertainers team.

My older brother is a Dragons fan, and he only just said to me a couple of years ago, in the 80’s, as great as the Parra team was across the back line, no player EVER made him feel sick in his stomach attacking writhing the saints 20-30 metre line than Steve Mortimer. He had no equal.

The way he defended us after he was retired was just as important.

Forever the number 1 BULLDOG (and yes, I do love Baa dearly too)

Your the best Turvey!

 

[D- voice]

Saw it live and remember Steve, Chris and Peter do the lap of honour with their then young children:

View attachment 48858

So was I, it was surreal it was magic...This is how it all unfolded for me,
I was a teenager on the 1st train from Campsie to Central, a bloke on the train asked where was I off to so early, I replied to the Grand Final I'm meeting my mates who are there already, you are mad he said and you are going to lose and laughed declaring he is a St George fan ( Typical ).
When I got to the SCG thousands of fans were there at the gate luckily I found my mates, the place was buzzing but there was major delays for the gates to open, the crowd got very rowdy throwing foods cans and bottles of drink luckily I found a milk crate I used it to protect my head eventually the place turned into a stampede suddenly The Gates of Heaven were forced open allowing the fans to stream through.
What followed was the most amazing and magical day of football ever, I witnessed our reserve grade beat Arthur Beatson and his Parramatta reserve grade, The history making two sets of three brothers the Mortimers and the Hugheses in one team in a grand final, one of the greatest tries ever scored in a grand final by Steve Gearin and the greatest player ever Steve Turvey Mortimer not only preforming his magic also making Three try saving cover tackles...One for the Father one for the Son one for the Holy spirit and we all said Amen as Belmore exploded in celebrations
Who missed out ?

 

[DinkumDog]

Absolutely, I was fortunate enough to be there as well, Steve Mortimer ( The Arch Bishop of Canterbury ) Is a Legend both on and of the field, the greatest player I have ever seen, I believe he laid the platform to mold our Beloved Bulldogs into great club it is today, We are blessed to have him in our corner, And it makes me very angry that he has been over looked for Immortal status by the Bullshit NRL Elite, But at Belmore and to all the fans young and old & especially fans like us that were fortunate enough to be there to witness the skill & magic that Turvey brought to Bulldogs and the NRL he will always be immortal in our hearts and in our memories.
View attachment 48863View attachment 48864View attachment 48867View attachment 48865View attachment 48871View attachment 48870View attachment 48872View attachment 48866View attachment 48868View attachment 48873

I was also at the same ground earlier that year when Turvey captained NSW to our first Origin series win and was chaired off the ground as the hero who helped engineer the end of the Maroons dominance in the early days of Origin. By the end of 1985 with back to back Dogs titles and the Blues series win it was a great time to be a footy fan as a Blues and Dogs supporter. That said, as much as I enjoyed the Origin win and Turvey’s role in it, nothing ever beats a Bulldog GF victory - it’s the sweetest of all and I’m lucky enough to have lived it 6 times (along with the disappointment of 5 GF losses - but let’s not talk about those ).

 

[DinkumDog]

So was I, it was surreal it was magic...This is how it all unfolded for me,
I was a teenager on the 1st train from Campsie to Central, a bloke on the train asked where was I off to so early, I replied to the Grand Final I'm meeting my mates who are there already, you are mad he said and you are going to lose and laughed declaring he is a St George fan ( Typical ).
When I got to the SCG thousands of fans were there at the gate luckily I found my mates, the place was buzzing but there was major delays for the gates to open, the crowd got very rowdy throwing foods cans and bottles of drink luckily I found a milk crate I used it to protect my head eventually the place turned into a stampede suddenly The Gates of Heaven were forced open allowing the fans to stream through.
What followed was the most amazing and magical day of football ever, I witnessed our reserve grade beat Arthur Beatson and his Parramatta reserve grade, The history making two sets of three brothers the Mortimers and the Hugheses in one team in a grand final, one of the greatest tries ever scored in a grand final by Steve Gearin and the greatest player ever Steve Turvey Mortimer not only preforming his magic also making Three try saving cover tackles...One for the Father one for the Son one for the Holy spirit and we all said Amen as Belmore exploded in celebrations
Who missed out ?

I was lucky that my dad was an SCG Member (and still is to this day) so it was pretty smooth going this end (and yes have been on the end of many a ‘Members are Wankers’ chant over the years, mostly at the cricket ). I remember the disappointment of Baa not playing the GF due to injury as he quickly emerged a Bulldogs hero, but Michael Hagan competently stood in. Great day indeed when we went back-to-back.

 

[GrogDog]

Keep fighting the fight legend!

 

[D- voice]

I was lucky that my dad was an SCG Member (and still is to this day) so it was pretty smooth going this end (and yes have been on the end of many a ‘Members are Wankers’ chant over the years, mostly at the cricket ). I remember the disappointment of Baa not playing the GF due to injury as he quickly emerged a Bulldogs hero, but Michael Hagan competently stood in. Great day indeed when we went back-to-back.

I was one of those chanters...Nah just kidding
My mates and I were lucky enough to get tickets in that small stand that was next to the hill,
I bet we had more fun than you did, we had the 3 Gs
The Grog The Girls and The Grand final
Silly me, 1984 and 85 we decided to hold massive grand final BBQs despite having couple of complementary tickets from none other than the Wok himself, no regrets but I should have gone !

 

[wendog33]

Show our current players the value of backing up!