At 92, one of Parramatta’s oldest surviving players doesn’t want to wait around too much longer for his beloved Eels to win a premiership.
Max Ferguson is first-grade player No.88 for the blue and golds with his one and only game coming against Canterbury in 1953.
To put Ferguson’s debut into perspective, Mitchell Moses is officially listed as Parramatta player No. 788.
While he is fighting fit and determined to reach 100 years of age, Ferguson said Sunday’s clash against Penrith might be the best chance he has to witness the Eels lift the trophy and end their 36-year title drought.
“I waited from 1947 to 1981 for their first competition [premiership], they won four in six years, but haven’t won one since,” Ferguson said from his home in country Victoria.
“I’ve been waiting a while. I’m hoping this will finally be it. I think they can win. They’re the only team to have beaten all the top-four sides this year. I plan on living to 100, so I’ve still got a few years for them to get there.”
Max Ferguson is Parramatta Eels first-grade player No.88, making his debut in 1953.
The last Eels game Ferguson watched live was in 2018 when they lost to Melbourne at AAMI Park. He lives by himself in country Victoria, and said there would be no issue staying awake for the 8pm kick-off.
Parramatta were trying to triple check the archives on Friday but said Ferguson would go close to being their oldest surviving player. A picture of a match-day program with Ferguson’s name replacing lock forward Ken Slattery can be found in the National Library of Australia.
The match-day program from 1953Credit:National Library of Australia
“I remember my debut vividly,” Ferguson told the Herald. “Our lock forward [Slattery] was injured the week before against St George at the Sydney Cricket Ground, and I turned up expecting to play reserve grade, only to be told I’d be playing first grade.
“Vic Hey was our coach, but I didn’t know many of the first-grade players. Johnny Slade played, he was the only fullback to replace Clive Churchill at fullback in a rep jersey. And there was long-serving prop Roy Fisher.
“We played against Canterbury at Cumberland Oval. We led 8-0 at half-time, were given a good report from Vic at half-time, but then we didn’t score another point and lost 17-8.
“There would have been 6000 to 7000 people there. I remember my dad, Jeff, being on the other side of the fence and shaking my hand when I ran out.”
Ferguson had to catch a train from Cabramatta to Granville, hopped on another train to Parramatta before walking to the ground. After playing reserve grade and third grade that year, Ferguson earned 72 pounds from playing football.
The doting father, grandfather and great-grandfather wanted to become a policeman, but one of the requirements was an officer needed to weigh at least “12 stone”, or 76kg, which Ferguson struggled to reach. His lighter frame made it difficult for him to play regular first grade.
Ferguson grew up in Eels heartland and revealed how he had coached the legendary Arthur Summons in the lower grades at Mounties in 1950.
“I had that honour of coaching Arthur, we got beaten in the last game and missed the semis, then Arthur cried,” Ferguson said.
In the modern game, Ferguson says he’s most frustrated by the lack of leg tackles and halfbacks feeding the ball into scrums via the second row. But nothing frustrates him more than how long he has waited for some Parramatta premiership glory.
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