Ask a bulldogs old timer....

[diddly]

Some great names, and great memories. I was at that Manly game where we had three sent off. We were up by about 8 points, and lost all three just after half time. I think one for a foul, and two for backchatting the ref. I also recall the winning try coming from a coathanger head high tackle on our fullback, who dropped the ball when he was laid out (no penalty against Manly).The Telegraph reported it as a courageous comeback win by Manly.

Stars who I remember seeing play were:
the legendary Les Johns - just brilliant in attack and defence. Always my number one player.
Ross Kidd - smart ball player
Terry Reynolds - first player to sport long hair
Merv Hicks - the "Pale Whale" a pommie forward who was Kasiano like, with stamina for a full game.
Leo Toohey - consistent and fearless
George Taylforth - long range goal kicking forward.
Johnny Greaves - big, tough centre
Kevin Ryan - the hardest forward I've seen play
Norm Thomas - involved in the try against Manly that even Rex Mossop called the try of the century, and earned us the nickname "the entertainers"
Johnny Rhodes - fast
Henry Tatana - powerful player.
Stan Cutler - could play any position in the backs
Garry Dowling- great fullback
All the Hughes boys
And who could forget Gus Gould, who gave us a premiership.

Terry Reynolds was dropped bby i think Kevin Ryan because he wouldnt get a hair cut!

 

[Bulldog1966]

I started following the dogs as a child from the 1974 gf as the area was bulldogs territory and i was captivated by all the streamers, banners, balloons. Everything seemed surreal seeing many houses with decorations on their front windows.
However the semi final steak of 1979 was when me as a supporter and the way the team was never meant to win came of age.
After coping a thrashing by manly in the final round on a Saturday, all a favourite balmain had to do was dispose a lowly placed souths the next day. Souths win and we sneak into the top 5 by one point.
Every final game was meant to be our last yet we where giant killers. A completely different team. Sadly we lost the gf against the dragons and i was at the game crying. If Steve Gearin had somehow not missed 2 conversion attempts we could of played in extra time and i feel we win as we had all the momentum.
Can't blame Gearin, They where difficult kicks. 12 months later he played brilliantly scoring one of the best gf tries ever and kicking 6 from 6 and all of his kicks never looked like missing.

I was at a lot of those semi finals in '79 we sure were the entertainers, my dear old man was a Wests supporter and a former lower grade player he was torn as he was happy for us boys team winning yet sad for his beloved team lol..Stan the man Cutler carved them up think he scored a long range intercept try that day? and we just rolled on to the GF with great play throughout the finals.

I was at both of those grand finals too @oldpuppy, you forgot to mention we wuz robbed in '79 though, there was a blatant forward pass i think it was Graham Wynn who threw it maybe to Reddy in the lead up to one of their 1st half tries, as you say we stormed home to just miss would have definitely still won it in another few minutes even we were all over them in the second half, very sad to lose it but a great great game.
Honorable mention to the Morris boy's dad Steve "slippery" Morris who played for the Dragons boy he could play(was lightning fast over 40 to 50 metres), him and Steve Mortimer had some great clashes including in that game.

1980 was unbelievable the crowd and everyone watching i think were stunned at that try off the Brentnall missile bomb it was just that great.

The 80's generally were a great time to be a bulldog supporter and in 1984 we got a nuggety shortarsed bloke who could play a bit, went by the name of Terry Lamb fuck i loved/love this guy(even as someone mentioned the day he kicked a pointless field goal when we were 2 points behind we were on the hill and just laughed a little no-one was pissed off he was loved by all)what a great player.

 

[Disposable Hero]

And then there was Marty Bella dropping the ball from the kick off.

 

[2144superman]

in the 90s, I saw a chick get fingered at belmore sports ground once

Good memories

Please elaborate ... asking for a friend LOL

 

[alchemist]

Mark O'Meley - only player who could knock out opposing players while he was carrying the ball. Tough as. I remember a game where he came back from a broken jaw in NZ against the Warriors. He wasn't the least bit gun shy. Virtually took on the whole Warriors forward pack all by himself

one of my favourite stories about O'Meley was him destroying blenders while trying to liquify steaks to consume while recovering from that broken jaw... maniac

by the way, the Panthers prop SBW put that shoulder charge on was Joel Clinton

 

[Bulldog1966]

TRUE beast the Ogre, absolute maniac indeed i reckon nearly everyone alive doesnt get up wheh he broke his jaw that day, he got up and just tried to play on from memory.

 

[wendog33]

I was at a lot of those semi finals in '79 we sure were the entertainers, my dear old man was a Wests supporter and a former lower grade player he was torn as he was happy for us boys team winning yet sad for his beloved team lol..Stan the man Cutler carved them up think he scored a long range intercept try that day? and we just rolled on to the GF with great play throughout the finals.

I was at both of those grand finals too @oldpuppy, you forgot to mention we wuz robbed in '79 though, there was a blatant forward pass i think it was Graham Wynn who threw it maybe to Reddy in the lead up to one of their 1st half tries, as you say we stormed home to just miss would have definitely still won it in another few minutes even we were all over them in the second half, very sad to lose it but a great great game.
Honorable mention to the Morris boy's dad Steve "slippery" Morris who played for the Dragons boy he could play(was lightning fast over 40 to 50 metres), him and Steve Mortimer had some great clashes including in that game.

1980 was unbelievable the crowd and everyone watching i think were stunned at that try off the Brentnall missile bomb it was just that great.

The 80's generally were a great time to be a bulldog supporter and in 1984 we got a nuggety shortarsed bloke who could play a bit, went by the name of Terry Lamb fuck i loved/love this guy(even as someone mentioned the day he kicked a pointless field goal when we were 2 points behind we were on the hill and just laughed a little no-one was pissed off he was loved by all)what a great player.

Ever heard it confirned that his field goal was deliberate for a Footy Tab payout tho. I thought he had always denied it and explained that in that early interview, he was only joking about the Footy Tab reference.

Hate to have anyone's opinion of him sullied due to a wrong aspersion on his character (he is so loved that not many Dogs fans would hold it against him if it was true lol)

No Cookies | Daily Telegraph

No Cookies

www.dailytelegraph.com.au

 

[alchemist]

The game that turned me into a bulldogs nut was against roosters in 2003. The utai slam. I was 9 years old and remember for the next week I was practicing my utai slam in the backyard against my brother

I was sitting in an RSL with a group of friends watching that match and I was copping it from my mates the whole game... trolls... and then, with the scores tied and Anasta lining up for a drop goal, Shifty spreads it wide and Utai goes through Hodges, Minichiello and Crocker (?) and slammed the ball down to score and win

I think my next line to my mates was: "shut your f*+#ing mouths! and you're all shouting for the rest of the night"... glorious

 

[oldpuppy]

.Stan the man Cutler carved them up think he scored a long range intercept try that day? and we just rolled on to the GF with great play throughout the finals.

yeah i remember that intercept. Cutler was out of nowhere like a sonic boom taking that at speed
I also recal in that game Gearin with a freaky diving pick up and score in the one motion try.
I agree so much with your thoughts that the 80s was an awesome time to be a fan. Even when we weren't winning, we where challenging. Just being able to evolve with the right roster retention balance. I think the Strom fans of today would be the closest to understanding that consistency.

 

[Bulldog1966]

Ever heard it confirned that his field goal was deliberate for a Footy Tab payout tho. I thought he had always denied it and explained that in that early interview, he was only joking about the Footy Tab reference.

Hate to have anyone's opinion of him sullied due to a wrong aspersion on his character (he is so loved that not many Dogs fans would hold it against him if it was true lol)

No Cookies | Daily Telegraph

No Cookies

www.dailytelegraph.com.au

definitely NO cheating Wen, i'd be ever so confident of that..so how do i put this nicely the great man wasn't always the sharpest tool in the shed LOL which is why he had a brain "fart" at that moment.
Bit of gossip, Terry used to come into a bank in Greenacre where i worked(can't remember what year i was there exactly late 80's/maybe 1990)to umm see a lass who worked there, a pretty young woman she was too!

 

[wendog33]

definitely NO cheating Wen, i'd be ever so confident of that..so how do i put this nicely the great man wasn't always the sharpest tool in the shed LOL which is why he had a brain "fart" at that moment.
Bit of gossip, Terry used to come into a bank in Greenacre where i worked(can't remember what year i was there exactly late 80's/maybe 1990)to umm see a lass who worked there, a pretty young woman she was too!

So Baa came and filled out a withdrawal form for $100 and you, being a star crossed fan, handed over $200 lol

 

[oldpuppy]

Nasheed i always knew you'd eventually start a good thread . This is the one!

 

[albatross]

It’s funny how a certain game really turns you into a mad supporter as a young fella
I remember being absolutely gutted losing to the raiders in the 94 gf
I think that was the point for me I went from loving the dogs as a kid to a blue and white tyrant lol

It was the 79 gf for me. It had been so long and I hated saints. The great thing is we got GF wins straight after 79 and 94.

 

[bulldog butch]

Can someone confirm/deny that in the mid 90s we signed a Japanese international rugby union player... Maybe on a train/trial contract.... Obviously didn't work out but I'm sure I can remember reading about it back then........

 

[FZ1-S]

My Dad started taking me to Dogs games at Belmore in the mid 70s when I was probably around 12. Steve Mortimer was always great both in attack (including his chip and chase) and the best cover defender I've ever seen. George Peponis would score tries virtually every time he got a play the ball right on the opposition tryline. One of my favourites was a tough second rower called Steve Hage. I still remember a game against the Sharks. A Sharks forward Steve Kneen (who played for Australia) gave Hage a bit of a tap on the head as Hage was playing the ball. The next time Kneen took a hit-up and Hage tackled him I don't know what Hage did but Kneen was carried off on a stretcher. I always liked hard second rowers who could hit hard.

I remember a game in the 70s against Manly when 3 players were sent off in the one game (Max Krillich - Manly hooker, Peponis, and Hage)

I remember being at the game at the SCG against Souths where Peter Kelly was sent off in the first minute and we still won the game

I remember that great comeback win against the Eels in a semi when we were down like 18-2 with only 9 minutes left

I remember the record breaking streak of wins in 2002 when our fast defence would make good teams and usually great players look ordinary / full of mistakes. That's what line speed pressure can do

I've watched all the Grand Finals wins since 1980. We've won the comp 6 times since I've been a supporter. Makes it harder to accept the way we are now I think.

Some of my favourite players over the years

Steve Mortimer. Have bumped into him a few times over the years around Revesby (pub, service station) and one of the Easter Show signing days when I was at school
Steve Hage - hard c..t
Mick Potter - great sidestep and always stepped the first defender when bringing the ball back from his own end
Hazem El Masri - he started off with real pace and ability to break the line (why we started calling him Magic) but he seemed to become slower for the majority of his career. One of the best goalickers of course and always great at coming in off his wing to shut down opposition backline raids
Steve O'Brien - a great winger who could step and had strength to break tackles
Allan Geelan - the year we won both the first grade and reserve grade comp in reserve grade he looked like he was going to be a star but he never lived up to it unfortunately
Mal Creevey - fast tiny half-back in the same reserve grade winning comp team. I remember one week where he scored 3 tries in reserve grade then was called up for first grade and scored another 3 (so 6 same day)
Jason Williams - fast winger with a fantastic side step
Jamal Idris - one of the best fends I've ever seen. I remember a game where he played all over Greg Inglis. I watched the highlights again recently
David Gillespie - could really smash players in defence
Dean Pay - could really smash in defence too. I remember that semi final when he smashed Glen Lazarus out of the game.
Geoff Robinson - man without fear. Hardest running forward. I remember a reserve grade game when someone tapped him on the head while he was playing the ball and he charged into 3 guys swinging punches at them all
Ewan McGrady - like Ben Barba in his day. Brilliant side step and lightning acceleration
Mark Brokenshire - underrated prop who was one of the best hitters we ever had also
Solomon Haumono - could smash people in defence and also break tackle after tackle in attack
Steve Folkes - could hit really well in defence for a smaller forward. Great technique. I used to learn karate at a gym he owned near Belmore for a while in the early 80s I think. He was always there.
Terry Lamb - never saw him play a bad game (even the one where he kicked a field goal late in the game when we were behind by 2 points. Best support player EVER. Tough as when tackling big forwards
Mark O'Meley - only player who could knock out opposing players while he was carrying the ball. Tough as. I remember a game where he came back from a broken jaw in NZ against the Warriors. He wasn't the least bit gun shy. Virtually took on the whole Warriors forward pack all by himself
Sonny Bill Williams - after only a few games in his first season of first grade I thought he was the best forward I'd ever seen. Every time he touched the ball he did something special. He started getting injured a a lot because he was always trying to twist and break tackles. I read he was advised to slow down for his own health. Loved his shoulder charge especially the one against the Panthers prop (can't remember his name). I was at that game.
Jason Hetherington - Hardest tackling hooker I've ever seen.
Sam Kasiano - loved watching him break tackles
Nigel Vagana - his 5 tries in that game against Souths I'll always remember. Best centre in the comp for a few years. Fast and great side step
Frank Pritchard - loved when he knocked out Wade Graham and someone else with massive shoulder charges.
Matt UtaI - loved watching him prove virtually unstoppable for defenders. So strong
Josh Morris - could be magic in attack especially the first few season he played with us
Remis Smith - 1 great game against the Dragons
Ben Barba - simply brilliant. 2012 probably the best players I've ever seen. Was pure magic. What a shame he wasted many more years of such skills

I've been following the Dogs since the late 70'. Reading your post bought back alot of great memories. Thanks

 

[UmoGus]

I was sitting in an RSL with a group of friends watching that match and I was copping it from my mates the whole game... trolls... and then, with the scores tied and Anasta lining up for a drop goal, Shifty spreads it wide and Utai goes through Hodges, Minichiello and Crocker (?) and slammed the ball down to score and win

I think my next line to my mates was: "shut your f*+#ing mouths! and you're all shouting for the rest of the night"... glorious

It was the first game my uncle took me to. I remember kicking my drink into the guy Infront of me when utai scored that try

 

[Turvey Chip and Chase]

Mid nineties is just a pup. I don't consider myself an old timer & I have supported since the beginning of 1979!

You’re about my vintage my man. I vaguely remember 78’.
Cried like a little bitch in 79’

 

[chisdog]

Some great names, and great memories. I was at that Manly game where we had three sent off. We were up by about 8 points, and lost all three just after half time. I think one for a foul, and two for backchatting the ref. I also recall the winning try coming from a coathanger head high tackle on our fullback, who dropped the ball when he was laid out (no penalty against Manly).The Telegraph reported it as a courageous comeback win by Manly.

Stars who I remember seeing play were:
the legendary Les Johns - just brilliant in attack and defence. Always my number one player.
Ross Kidd - smart ball player
Terry Reynolds - first player to sport long hair
Merv Hicks - the "Pale Whale" a pommie forward who was Kasiano like, with stamina for a full game.
Leo Toohey - consistent and fearless
George Taylforth - long range goal kicking forward.
Johnny Greaves - big, tough centre
Kevin Ryan - the hardest forward I've seen play
Norm Thomas - involved in the try against Manly that even Rex Mossop called the try of the century, and earned us the nickname "the entertainers"
Johnny Rhodes - fast
Henry Tatana - powerful player.
Stan Cutler - could play any position in the backs
Garry Dowling- great fullback
All the Hughes boys
And who could forget Gus Gould, who gave us a premiership.

Do you remember when that Manly game was? I though I might try & find the newspaper article out of interest.

 

[mountain_dog]

I'm definitely not an old-timer. First match I remember watching was the 1980 GF, we got to go into the proper lounge @ my grandparents & watch it on the big colour TV. My Nonna taught me to shout "Up the Bulldogs - Down the Roosters".

Matches at Belmore in the 80s & 90s are some of the best moments I had...

 

[Turvey Chip and Chase]

I wrote in another post, I remember the 79’ semis.
Every Monday there was a cartoon strip in the paper my mum would show me. It was of a Bulldog getting praised by his owners.
1st week it was “ look what Butch brought home “ and it was a Bulldog with a magpie in his mouth.
2nd week was the same but with a dead shark in front of him
3rd week again same comment and he had an eel in his mouth
Then, after the GF, his owners where calling out his name and there was a Dragon standing in the corner with a toothpick between his teeth.

my brother was a Dragons fan and he kept showing it to me, I was crying like a little bitch…. Lol