WHEN Parramatta last sat atop the NRL ladder, John Howard was Australia’s Prime Minister and the Pussycat Dolls were top of the charts with their hit single ‘Don’t Cha’, featuring Busta Rhymes.
Ben Smith, Eric Grohe Jr and Piggy Riddel.
It was September 2, 2005 and the Eels had just knocked the Broncos off the top of the table in the final round of the regular season to enter the finals as minor premiers.
It may be more than a decade ago, but Nathan Hindmarsh remembers the day, and his side’s clash with the Broncos, vividly, because it prematurely ended his season.
With a premiership in their sights, the star back-rower injured the PCL in his knee and wouldn’t recover in time to take the field in the playoffs.
The Eels would eventually succumb to Johnathan Thurston’s Cowboys in the preliminary final, again falling agonisingly short of the elusive big prize.
With Parramatta back at the summit after two rounds of action in 2017, Hindmarsh has taken a trip down memory lane, remembering the good and bad from the club’s 2005 side and attempting to piece together where all 17 of the players who beat the Broncos on that day in September are now.
PRE-TRAINING SHENANIGANS
They may not have been the biggest names in that side but fullback Wade McKinnon and prop Paul Stringer would take centre stage most mornings before training.
While front-rowers are often the but of jokes for their lower than average IQs, it was McKinnon’s less than razor sharp banter that made him a regular target.
“A couple of great characters, Wade McKinnon and Paul Stringer, would just engage in verbal sprays every morning before training,” Hindmarsh tells foxsports.com.au.
“That was always a highlight. Wade McKinnon was easy to s**t stir and String knew that and all Wade McKinnon had back at Paul Stringer was ‘oh, you fat s**t’, that was it. That’s all he had.”
THE X-FACTORS
A big reason behind the Eels’ success in 2005 was the addition of hooker Mark Riddell, whose dummy half tag team combination with PJ Marsh lit up the competition, and the emergence of teen rookie Tim Smith, who at 19 won Dally M Rookie of the Year, leading the competition with a whopping 40 try assists.
Smith flamed out the following season, never realising the potential that had him pegged as the NRL’s next big thing but even when the young halfback was igniting the Eels’ attack, Hindmarsh had his misgivings.
“Yeah, he burst onto the scene that year and was outstanding but what you didn’t hear back then was that I had to do all his defending for him,” Hindmarsh says with a laugh.
THE SALT IN THE WOUND
Hindmarsh barely goes a day when he isn’t reminded of the fact that he achieved plenty in the game but never won a premiership.
He was robbed of the opportunity to play in the games that mattered when the Eels were in a strong position to lift the trophy in 2005 but it was his post-season selection in the Test team that added salt to the wound.
“I went on a Four Nations or a Tri Nations tour of the UK and I didn’t play and there was all this stuff about me being on a $20,000 all expenses paid holiday,” Hindmarsh chuckles.
“There was a picture of me in The Daily Telegraph with the Eiffel Tower and all that behind me, that was quite good.
“I always thought, if we made the grand final I’d definitely play in the grand final, but looking back I wouldn’t have made the grand final, I was stuffed.
“Good bunch of blokes and happy to be part of that side. Minor premiers again, without the big one.”
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WHERE ARE THEY NOW? HINDY REVEALS ALL
1.Wade McKinnon: I’m not sure what he’s doing. He was into pornos at one stage, he reckons he was going to make a porno and everyone would log on and pay $1 to see it and he reckons he was going to make millions.
2. Luke Burt: He’s coaching Parramatta’s NYC side.
3. Ben Smith: I think he’s male modelling, you can see his Instagram profile @TheOfficialBenSmith
4. Timana Tahu: Was last sighted playing rugby in the US.
5. Eric Grothe: He’s moved to the Gold Coast now. He’s flogging off some nutritional powder.
6. John Morris: He’s still ripped as, just a picture of health.
7. Tim Smith: I think he’s a driver trainer now — an instructor.
16. Michael Vella: He’s selling poker machines.
9. Mark Riddell: Working at 2GB.
10. Paul Stringer: Works for a building company.
11. Nathan Hindmarsh: Yours truly. Working for Fox Sports, carrying Bryan Fletcher.
12. Glenn Morrison: I’m pretty sure he’s still in the UK. I think his wife runs a cheerleading/dance studio.
13. Chad Robinson: The late, great Robbo. Obviously his story’s a tragedy and he’s sadly missed.
INTERCHANGE
8. Nathan Cayless (c): Coach of Wentworthville in the Intrust Super Premiership NSW.
14. PJ Marsh: I think he’s in the mines up at Blackwater.
15. Dean Widders: He’s at the NRL working on the indigenous programs.
17. Fuifui Moimoi: He’s in Canada, still playing
Replies
that was a great side. loved the Marsh/Piggy rotation. very sad way to end that year.
40,000 parra fans packed into ANZ and we never turned up.
Its not really any better side than we have now when you look at it with the exception of hooker which has better depth and quality here and a utility in widders.
Widders was great in 05. The super sub.
While Hindmarsh was a superb player, I don't think he was the reason we lost that final. His attacking plays were not great but defence was v good. Thurston is half and led their plays well that day. That was their gf in my view. They got us on edges and we never had anything.
How we never converted one of those seasons into a premiership still keeps me awake at night.
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