As the NRL prepares to commemorate Anzac Day, chief rugby league reporter Adrian Proszenko tracks down the key men from five of the most memorable clashes to provide their recollections.
2005: DRAGONS 26 bt ROOSTERS 24
This game had everything. During a tense finale, Brett Finch and Justin Poore were sent to the sin bin for fighting and then Anthony Tupou missed a chance to secure victory for the Roosters when he dropped the ball over the try line.
Mathew Head seals a last-gasp victory.Credit: NRL.com
The game needed a hero, and it came in the form of Mathew Head. With just three minutes remaining, the Dragons halfback chipped ahead, regathered and then offloaded to Matt Cooper to level the scores. Head then needed to nail a sideline conversion from almost the same spot where he missed earlier.
Head recalls: “I played the year before and Freddie [Brad] Fittler scored a pretty impressive try in front of a lot of people. I was lucky enough to be part of that one and to understand the day, how lucky we are to play on such a historic day for our country and what’s been before us. From memory, we were 1-5 going into that game, so there was a fair bit of pressure on us.
“There were some big moments, a couple of sin bins, that game had everything. I was able to put something on and luckily enough for me and the club, it came off.
Mathew Head’s sideline conversion to win the game is a career highlight.Credit: Tim Clayton
“In my career I never won a grand final or got to one, just a couple of prelims. To do something like that, which gets replayed regularly every year, it gives me the chance to reminisce with my young fella. It’s a day that my family get to remember for a lot of positive reasons.
“To have a chip-and-chase come off, then give it to Coops to do the rest, was a special moment.
“The good thing was that Graham Arnold was my goal-kicking coach at the time. I just remember how calm I was and how much work I’d done going into that game with him, understanding I needed the rhythm in myself to get the ball across the line. I had a kick similar to that in the first half that I missed … but I remember I was confident and calm and had done the work. I just had to get the ball into the air in the right place and the rest would take care of itself.”
2017: ROOSTERS 13 bt DRAGONS 12
Coming into this game, Mitchell Pearce had not kicked an NRL field goal in six years. However, the Roosters halfback stepped up in an epic encounter. With 15 minutes to go, his side was behind on the scoreboard. Pearce steamed onto the football and, just as he appeared to lose the Steeden in the act of scoring, regained control and planted the ball under the uprights. But there was more drama to come: Dragons winger Nene Macdonald scored an incredible solo try and, with Gareth Widdop injured, Josh Dugan was left with a difficult conversion that sent the game into extra time.
Mitchell Pearce boots the Roosters to victory.Credit: NRL.com
With the result in the balance, Pearce stepped up again and broke the deadlock with a field goal in golden point extra time.
Pearce recalls: “That was a massive game, one of the greats, that one. Good memories.
“I remember it was an arm wrestle. The Dragons were top of the ladder and the form team of the comp. I got that try, I hit a hole off one of the middles late in the game, and then it came down to that field goal. I hit it pretty sweet.
Mitchell Pearce broke the deadlock in a classic encounter.Credit: Getty
“The set before they kicked it [dead] and we got seven tackles. I knew we would get into good position. I think I missed a field goal a couple of weeks before, so I was like, I need to get this! It came off nice and sweet – it’s one I will always remember.
“You just feel proud because it’s not just you on that day, there’s the emotion of everything. To be able to do that on that day makes it more special.”
2012: DRAGONS 28 bt ROOSTERS 24
St George Illawarra had no right to win this one. This match celebrated the 10th anniversary of Anzac Day clashes between the sides, and the biggest crowd since the concept’s inception witnessed a thriller at the Sydney Football Stadium. The Dragons, behind by eight points with just five minutes to go, needed to score twice to pull off a miracle. They did just that, Ben Creagh crossing for his second try of the game right at the death to steal the result.
Ben Creagh doubles up for the Dragons.Credit: NRL.com
Creagh recalls: “I’ve been asked plenty of questions over the years because of how quickly that game turned in the last five to 10 minutes. There was a Braith Anasta penalty goal, into a short kick-off and Jason Nightingale ran halfway across the field to set up Matty Prior for a try.
“We knew we had a sniff then, and I was in the right place at the right time, with Mick Weyman, the big horse, charging up the middle and turning around and popping a ball for me to score a try.
“It was the most memorable try of my career given the occasion. To win the game like that was special. I don’t get many doubles, so it was a big day for me.
Ben Creagh was the try-scoring hero for the Dragons in 2012.Credit: SMH
“As a player, it was always my favourite club game to play in just because I felt privileged to play on such a special day, on such a big occasion. There was a bit of extra feeling and to score a double that day was great.”
2015: DRAGONS 14 bt ROOSTERS 12
Another tight tussle, this game was also memorable for the wild weather that stopped play for half an hour. With the Dragons leading 10-0 midway through the first half, officials took the players from the field due to hail and lightning. More than 21 millimetres of rain fell as the sides huddled for shelter in the locker rooms before coming back out to complete the contest. It marked one of the few occasions – and the first since 2009 – that an electrical storm had halted play.
Jack de Belin recalls: “It was crazy. I still remember that game, coming off the bench and then the game was interrupted. You couldn’t see five metres in front of you. They were some of the craziest conditions ever. The game got called off for a bit, we went into the sheds and had to reset and go again.
Players were forced off due to the wild conditions in 2015.Credit: NRL.com
“I always thought it would pass and we’d get back out there. I just didn’t know how long it would last for. I would have to say they were the worst conditions I’ve played in. I remember one last year against Canberra in WIN Stadium, that was outrageous too, but that was by far the worst because the game got stopped, and you don’t really ever see that happen.
“I still remember we won that one, which was nice. Other than finals football, it’s easily the best game of the year, the Anzac Day clash. My pop served in World War II, so there’s a lot of family history there, it’s super special to play for him and my family.”
2009: WARRIORS 14 drew with STORM 14
This was the first Anzac Day clash between Melbourne and New Zealand, and it was one of the best. It was also one of the great Storm sides, featuring Greg Inglis, Cooper Cronk, Billy Slater and Cameron Smith. They asked plenty of defensive questions of the Warriors, most of which were answered by Micheal Luck. The game went into extra time, but even 90 minutes wasn’t enough to split them. Throughout the torrid affair, Luck worked himself to a standstill, finishing with an NRL record 74 tackles. Forty-five of those came from the extended second half, with Luck missing only one and finishing with no ineffective tackles.
Micheal Luck tackled himself to a standstill and set a record in the process.Credit: Getty
Luck recalls: “I loved playing those games when I was at the Warriors because there’s obviously a lot of tradition and history on both sides with Australia and New Zealand. I remember it being a wet and cold night in Melbourne, and they couldn’t separate us in the end.
“I didn’t feel any different to any other game, maybe because it was a cool night. There was a lot of ball in play, there weren’t many stoppages in the game and when that’s the case, there are more play-the-balls and more tackles to get involved in.
“It’s nice to be remembered for [the tackle record] but, in hindsight, I’d prefer the win. 2009 wasn’t a great year for the club: Sonny Fai passed away and I don’t think we handled it that well, and it was a tough year. I would have rathered a result rather than the mention for the tackles.
“I was never one to look at stats sheets, particularly when you lose, you’re more worried about the ones you’ve missed than what I made. It’s still a nice memory to come back to because we had a lot of good players in that team.”
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