Time to settle it once and for all. Which Eel will come out on top in 1 Eyed Eel's Parramatta Greatest of All Time competition.
The bracket is below. We will start with two votes each day for the first round. Dropping to one vote per day for the following rounds.
Replies
Zip-Zip got my vote old son.
Think you are right Kram; i voted for the Zip. He was also a handy goal kicker and unfortunately dogged by injury. Superb player.
I remember watching Steve Elle. He just was never in the conversation for great centres as were his contemporaries like Gene Miles, Steve Rogers, Mick Cronin and Mal Meninga.
He was often injured. And he was way smaller than the aforementioned four or, for that matter, any modern day centre.
But, I remember that he was very, very good!
But, EGS for me in this vote!
One of my all time favourite Parra tries by Ella.
Out of curiosity, have you ever landed and taken off from Lukla? We did it in 1987 before it had bitumin and was just dirt and rocks. Not much joy attached to that.
Outstanding PT - what about the slight of hand from Crow . . . .
Yeah I've done it once - ten years ago - so on the tarmac. What about the approach - it's indescribable. I flew out too but my memories of the flight back aren't nearly as strong as the flight in, it was pouring. I've only been to Nepal once but have always been fascinated with the place and still am and would love to go back again one day. I love everything about it. The locals are amazing and The Himalayas are THE most incredible thing I have ever seen. It's impossible to describe to someone the immenseness and grandeur. You have to see it to understand.
Did you trek mate? I did base camp. Could talk about it for days - it was life changing for me. It's funny - you tell someone you walked to Everest base camp and they think you have trekked to the bottom of a big mountain! Sometimes I work with a Napalese guy (not Sherpa) who comes from a small village near Annapurna 1 - he's got some amazing stories.
It's a fantasy/dream of mine to attempt Everest but I simply don't have the skill, or time. Maybe we could have a crack together mate - imagine it - two blokes driving a Parra flag into the snow on the roof of the world :))
Can't wait to catch up for a beer when all this shit's over mate :)
We spent a month trekking and you are right...it is such an indescribable spiritual feeling looking up and seeing Everest. I literally just stood there staring at it for minutes. We had 2 weeks in the Annapurnas and 2 weeks up to Everest via Lukla in a twin engine Otter. The approach was like yours. Wind, rain, cloud and for some reason plenty of shit on the floor of the Otter. The bloody thing kicked up rocks on landing and take off. It actually dipped into the valley on take up then semed to rev the engines a bit more to gain altitude...lol...I can laugh now. On the way up after landing, there was the wreckage of 3 Otters in the surrounding village.....not a lot of reporting out of Nepal in those days. Walking up to Namchee Bazaar was memorable not only for the ridiculous climb but for the old Nepalese bloke who had lugged about 48 bottles of Coca Cola to the top waiting to sell them for tourists, then he would run back to Kathmandu to restock. One bloke in our group got to Thangboche and produced a bottle of Dimple that he had carried all the way and decided that was the time to open it before base camp. This bloke was 70. What a legend! Then did a 3 day white water rafting trip and 3 days in Chitwan National Park on elephant back safari. From there we went overland by bus ( 3 months) from Kathmandu to London. Nepal, India, Pakistan, Iran (still Ayatollah Kohmeini), Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Israel, Egypt back through old Yugoslavia and through Europe to London. Then did the Baltic states and into Russia (still communist) and then a bit more Europe. Had the best part of 12 months away but lived cheaply and exchanged money on the streets. To have a crack at Everest has always been a bucket list item for me but the cost is up to almost 6 figures by the time you get permits etc and I'm running out of knees (skill and time also a factor). To put an Eels flag on the top....well...after that I wouldn't care if I didn't make it back down. The Hillary Step worries me a bit though. Would love to see your photos (not your etchings :) ) I came close to ticking off one of my bucket list list items of swimming with a whale shark a few years ago but the bastards didn't turn up during my window after a lot of careful planning. A good excuse to get to the Maldives when this is all over.
You get around don't you mate! Great videos of Lukla - I did it in a Dornier - I've been told the Otters are the ones to be in as far as maximum adrenaline goes!. The aircraft don't really have enough lift to rotate at the end of the runway - ever. The updraft up the side of the mountain and the increased speed as they leave the runway gives them the lift they need and away they go. Technically the aircraft's in a stall as it leaves the end of the runway - but only for a second or two! The landings alot more dangerous than the take off - there's no room for error whatsoever but on takeoff at least you've got 10,000 feet or so to play with!
So PT, you actually went behind the iron curtain , , very jealous mate - that must have been amazing. The cold war and that whole era fascinates me. I've been to Berlin and done the whole Checkpoint Charlie and Wall museums things and loved it but it would have been awesome to actually experience the communist bloc back in the day. I've been to Moscow but only to see a client and haven't seen much else.
Yeah - the Hillary Step - then again, if I got that close I reckon I would be that exhausted and pumped at the same time that I'd fly up it!! The ridge before it with a 5k drop on one side and 3k on the other would be pretty brutal as well :)
Cheers mate.
This will bring back memories for you. No rain, cloud and wind in this one though.
Even better! Here it is as I remember it pre any tarmac. It was literally a shit storm of dust and rocks every landing and take off
Ella v Grothe Snr is a hard one, I went with Grothe because I think he had more big moments than Ella. Unfortunately for Ella he was overshadowed in the limelight by Kenny and Cronin.
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