1. Hartley thwarts Eels in dramatic replay
Flamboyant referee Greg Hartley’s catalogue of wildly controversial calls in the infamous 1978 minor semi replay between Manly and Parramatta could have filled this entire list. ‘Hollywood’ sent the Eels’ star lock Ray Price off after a scrap late in the first half (he was later cleared by the judiciary), while Sea Eagles half Steve Martin scored a critical try on an erroneous seventh tackle. Manly also received the benefit of two more seven-tackle sets and Parramatta was further disadvantaged by three five-tackle sets in possession. The Eels’ appeal to have the 17-11 result annulled was turned down by the NSWRL, while the Sea Eagles surged to an incredible premiership triumph – with Hartley’s refereeing constantly in the spotlight.
I was at this game, played on a Tuesday (or Wednesday) the old man gave me a rare day off school. It was also Sterlo's first game in the top grade, played fullback. I remember the crowd laughing when he let a bomb bounce, not realising then that he would be the man to steer the Eels to not only their first grand final win, but also their only other three grand final wins. But I digress, I was too young to realise we'd been gypped in three tackle counts, and that moanly had been the beneficiaries of additional tackles, but I remember the general feeling of the crowd was that the ref was a c@&#. We were howling when Pricey got sent off for kicking Graham Eadie in the head. I've watched the replay on youtube, he was on the ground after a moanly player took a swing at him (he had just missed Eadie with a wild swing himself after Eadie blocked him chasing a bomb thru) and he lashed out with his feet collecting Eadie a beauty. Send off was harsh, but if it wasn't for all the other anomalies, Parra fans would've copped it sweet as a small price (see what I did there) to pay to draw blood. In any case, the game was long long ago, and whilst I will always hate hollywood (and moanly), I've moved on, sort of.
My first point, apart from boring you all with an eels history lesson, is that atrocious refereeing is nothing new, and that no matter how much technology we bring into the game, the people using the tech are still fallible. We can, and should, bitch and moan about the ref's and the bunker, when they get it wrong (or even if the call is fair but goes against us), but we should never, ever, give up on the greatest game of all. Can I hear an Amen?
My second, and perhaps more important point, is that while this game was one of mixed emotions (I was happy to be off school and at the footy, but terribly disappointed in the unfair loss), it was only a few years later that we claimed three in a row!! I feel very strongly that we are on the verge again. We will prevail against officialdom and the odds!!
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You obviously have never hear of the Eels hater Bill Harrigan. He alone was watching the way Parramatta were slow in getting off tackles in videos. In a match against Newcastle at Newcastle he got stuck into us and sent three players to the sin bin for their indiscretions. We subsequently lost 24-18. No other referee that weekend followed Bills example. Do you believe he was rested the following weekend. Bill never forgave us for that and refereed accordingly whenever controlling an Eels match.