SHARKSFOREVERFORUM BEST EVER 17 - Halves

[stormshark]

Bishop & Russell

Yep, same here. Saw the Panda was it his nickname, put one over from in his own half at Brookie one day. Those circled black and white or brown and white balls I think it was.

 

[stormshark]

Where's Perry Haddock?

Yes he was a goodun also.

 

[HaroldBishop]

Ahhh I still remember the cheer squad on the scaffolding seats singing Perry Haddock chants back in the day.

 

[deano the p]

Some good options here. Despite having never seen Bishop play I put him in there as one of my choices, my whole life my old man has talked about how good Bishop was. The other one I could have given to any one of Kimmorley, Carney, Healy and Green but decided to go with Kimmorley. I hated him so much for taking over Preston's job but he forced me to respect him with his footy and I ended up quite liking him.

 

[The Wild Man]

I think half and five-eighth should be seperate and will list them here seperately. The bulk of the text is so
younger people than me can get a feel for the players they never saw in person.

Five-Eighths

1) Todd Carney - controversial though he was, in my opinion the best five-eighth the Sharks have had in
terms of sheer talent (with the sole exception of England's Roger Millward - see below). Pacey and clever
he set up tries and scored his share and was a top class goal kicker as well as general play kicker. Great
vision but probably shouldn't have been let out to play with the adults at night.

2) Barry Andrews - "Panda" was a blockbusting style of player who was likened to Saints superstar Brian
"Poppa" Clay (a huge compliment back then) during his years with us. Tended to run through and over
opponents rather than around them. He also was memorable for his goalkicking - I've never seen any kicker
launch the ball so high in the air as Panda would. His kicks at the Tigers old Lidcombe Oval HQ (which had
the tallest goalposts in the game) would clear the flags by 10 to 15 feet. It was like he saw them as a
challenge.When Barry lined up a penalty shot at goal from 5 to 10 metres INSIDE HIS OWN HALF, it was only
ever a question of direction, not distance that was in any doubt.

3) Adam Dykes - classy link man who did his father John (Sharks 2nd rower in the 1970s) proud following in
his dad's footsteps so well. Great team player with solid defense and a touch of brilliance.

4) Matthew Johns - not quite the player as a Shark that he was at Newcastle and always suffered inevitable
comparisons with his superstar brother, but still a top quality player in his own right.

5) Kevin Hogan - played alongside maestro Tommy Bishop and was a part of the rise and rise of the Sharks
as a new force in 1971-73. By the 1973 Grand Final his place had been taken by Chris Wellman. I can't recall
if that was through injury or form.


NB

English superstar pivot Roger "the Dodger" Millward is one of just 11 English inductees to the International
Rugby League Hall of Fame (Australia has 31) and was spectacularly good. I would rate him a more brilliant
player than Todd but he probably didn't play enough games for us (14) to be included in the rankings.Same
with Cliffy Lyons who only played lower grades.

Also, though he played some five-eighth at Cronulla Steve Rogers I have considered only as a centre and lock
where he played most of his games for us.


Half Backs

1) Tommy Bishop - Before coming to Cronulla from St Helens he had been halfback and captain of the then
very dominant England team and came to the Sharks at a time when we were always "also rans" of the
competition. He turned us into an attacking force and got us into our first ever Grand Final in 1973. He threw
25m cut-out passes that Wally Lewis would be proud of and was a similarly elusive cheeky player as Alfie
Langer. In my opinion, for his way of directing play, his tutoring of a young Sharks team as player and coach
and proved by his legend status as an official Sharks Immortal, Tommy Bishop was the best buy theclub EVER
made.

2) Barry Russell - this guy was seriously QUICK over 30-40 metres.He had that sudden explosion of speed
that left hands grasping behind him and brought the crowd to its feet.Scored a heap of tries for a half (36
in 76 games) and was one our true excitement machines.

3) Brett Kimmorley - A real terrier on the field whose kick chase spoke to his commitment to the team. He
would kick the ball 45-50 meters downfield, give almost his entire team a head start of 5-10 metres and
almost always be the first man into the tackle. You have to admire that effort. Rep player and all round good
guy who guided the Sharks around the park well.

4) Mitch Healey - one of the greatest team men we ever had and also a quality player, he was also the most
modest guy you could ever imagine. The week he was named to play his first game in First Grade at the
Sharks his fellow staff at work didn't even know. He hadn't even mentioned it to his work mates. Personal
friend back in the day.


Forced to pick two from that list as "halves" I wouldn't hesitate selecting Tommy Bishop as a clear first choice
and then Todd Carney just ahead of Barry Russell.

 

[stormshark]

Yep, same here. Saw the Panda was it his nickname, put one over from in his own half at Brookie one day. Those circled black and white or brown and white balls I think it was.

Of course Barry Andrews was who I meant- Amnesia and old age dimming the memory.

 

[HaroldBishop]

Another good write-up, WM. Great reading.

I have great memories of watching Barry Russell run off Gavin Miller back in the 80's.

 

[deano the p]

Keep up the good work Wild Man. It's good to get an insight into some of these older players.

 

[The Wild Man]

Keep up the good work Wild Man. It's good to get an insight into some of these older players.

Thanks for the support.

I enjoy sharing memories like these with people who never got to see them play. It's like hearing about Bradman ( to me) or Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thompson ( THE fastest bowler to ever live bar no one) to 30 yos today.

Its not "living in the past".... it's just sharing with people who "missed it".

 

[Great_White_Shark]

Carney and Kimmorley

Now that would have been a good halves pairing in their prime

 

[puma1355]

carney doesn't come close to being our best half....there are at least 1/2 dozen ahead of him...easily...Russell and Tommy Bishop were by far out greatest

 

[Sir Chadley]

I saw Barry Andrews kick many goals from halfway - two against the Tigers come to mind at Endeavour Field. He needed to kick them because the Tigers outscored us in tries that day but I think we still won 14-12 or something like that. Larry Corowa bagged two of them. He had a nickname you just couldn't give anyone today.

Love the stories Wild Man, you're jogging my memory too. As a 50 year old I got to see all these old players from about 1974 onwards. Great memories. Wonder if we could ever go back to calling our ground Endeavour Field. Officially I mean, many people will not call it anything else!

 

[The Wild Man]

I saw Barry Andrews kick many goals from halfway - two against the Tigers come to mind at Endeavour Field. He needed to kick them because the Tigers outscored us in tries that day but I think we still won 14-12 or something like that. Larry Corowa bagged two of them. He had a nickname you just couldn't give anyone today.

Love the stories Wild Man, you're jogging my memory too. As a 50 year old I got to see all these old players from about 1974 onwards. Great memories. Wonder if we could ever go back to calling our ground Endeavour Field. Officially I mean, many people will not call it anything else!

It IS Endeavour Field.... personally I've never heard of Remondis...or Caltex... or the rest.

As far as I'm concerned the Sharks have only ever played at Endeavour Field and Sutherland Oval (1967-69). "Shark Park" though is a fun nickname for Endeavour.

 

[Capital_Shark]

Top stuff Wild Man.

I'm struggling with this. It'd be much easier if we had a premiership winning halfback.

I never saw Bishop play unfortunately, but the rest on the list I got enough of idea about. I want to only pick guys I seen, but seeing as I picked Steve Rogers for centre on reputation I think I'll go with Bishop and Noddy.

 

[BlackWhiteBlue]

It IS Endeavour Field.... personally I've never heard of Remondis...or Caltex... or the rest.

As far as I'm concerned the Sharks have only ever played at Endeavour Field and Sutherland Oval (1967-69). "Shark Park" though is a fun nickname for Endeavour.

I think thats a lie. I understand the nostalgia, and the public (especially older supporters) want for so many aspects of Rugby League heritage to be continually honoured, but in a money driven sporting world, you really cant afford to do it. if its another 500k or more a year revenue just to throw a sign up its a no-brainer.
Even with all the development projections and all the rest of it, i cant see them shying away from sponsorship for the stadium. We already have a self titled jersey haha.

If we ended up with an A-League squad too, then our ground sponsorship could possibly double in value.

First game i ever went to it was called Caltex, Shark Park was certainly a fun nickname and you do hear from time to time on the telecasts the commentators (particularly past players) refer to it as Shark Park

 

[The Wild Man]

I think thats a lie. I understand the nostalgia, and the public (especially older supporters) want for so many aspects of Rugby League heritage to be continually honoured, but in a money driven sporting world, you really cant afford to do it. if its another 500k or more a year revenue just to throw a sign up its a no-brainer.
Even with all the development projections and all the rest of it, i cant see them shying away from sponsorship for the stadium. We already have a self titled jersey haha.

If we ended up with an A-League squad too, then our ground sponsorship could possibly double in value.

First game i ever went to it was called Caltex, Shark Park was certainly a fun nickname and you do hear from time to time on the telecasts the commentators (particularly past players) refer to it as Shark Park

I have no problem with sponsorship money at all and they can call it anything they like. Hell, in the early days it was referred to as "Woolooware Tip" because it was built on an old rubbish dump and some reclaimed land. When I call a mate and arrange for a day at the footy I tell him "Meet me at Endeavour Field" and we never have trouble working out where to go. LOL.

However, when the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Junior Rugby League Club bought the land and designated the playing area as being "Endeavour Field" that was always going to thereafter be what I would call it. Why ?

There are many reasons I am a proud Sharks fan and proud resident of "The Shire". One of them is to do with this being one of Australia's most historically important areas. When James Cook landed at Kurnell in 1770 ( and thereby made certain we wouldn't be forever after speaking French - Jean Francois la Perouse was also in the area 3 weeks later looking for land for France) he started the history of (white) colonialism in this awesome country of ours. He came all the way across the globe and was the start of so much we now take for granted. He came on a ship called the Endeavour.

So if (in the early post-creation of) the club I have come to love after 48 seasons following them wants to name our ground after a significant piece of local AND national history, I'm prepared to say "That's good enough for me!" and no sponsorship dollars (unless put directly into MY pocket **wink) will change my desire to call it Endeavour Field.

Others can call it what they like. You are welcome to, and I wont be critical of you. All I said in my original post was "TO ME" it will always be Endeavour Field.

And that is no lie!

 

[BlackWhiteBlue]

I have no problem with sponsorship money at all and they can call it anything they like. Hell, in the early days it was referred to as "Woolooware Tip" because it was built on an old rubbish dump and some reclaimed land. When I call a mate and arrange for a day at the footy I tell him "Meet me at Endeavour Field" and we never have trouble working out where to go. LOL.

However, when the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Junior Rugby League Club bought the land and designated the playing area as being "Endeavour Field" that was always going to thereafter be what I would call it. Why ?

There are many reasons I am a proud Sharks fan and proud resident of "The Shire". One of them is to do with this being one of Australia's most historically important areas. When James Cook landed at Kurnell in 1770 ( and thereby made certain we wouldn't be forever after speaking French - Jean Francois la Perouse was also in the area 3 weeks later looking for land for France) he started the history of (white) colonialism in this awesome country of ours. He came all the way across the globe and was the start of so much we now take for granted. He came on a ship called the Endeavour.

So if (in the early post-creation of) the club I have come to love after 48 seasons following them wants to name our ground after a significant piece of local AND national history, I'm prepared to say "That's good enough for me!" and no sponsorship dollars (unless put directly into MY pocket **wink) will change my desire to call it Endeavour Field.

Others can call it what they like. You are welcome to, and I wont be critical of you. All I said in my original post was "TO ME" it will always be Endeavour Field.

And that is no lie!

I wasnt having a go at you, and when i said thats a lie i meant that you hadnt 'heard' of Remondis, Caltex, Toyota etc.

For me if im off to the footy i say im going to Shark Park, thats what it was called through those years as a kid where i started getting right into it. Super League etc.

I think we all have our names for it from whatever time period is relevant, but i also think its important to acknowledge the companies that do spend some bucks supporting the club. I recently saw the NBA are trying to bring in sponsored jerseys. It will look like the NBL/European teams then. Its a sad world we live in when professional organisations like NBA teams feel the need to bring in the corporate sponsorships on jerseys just to make that extra buck.

If we could survive without a ground sponsor, or be able to jointly name the ground with Endeavour, i dont think anyone would ever have a problem with that.

I guess its like Parramatta Stadium isnt it, forever known as such, but i think its Pirtek Stadium isnt it? To the heritage faithful, no sponsorships will change their name for it.

 

[Littleshark]

I wasnt having a go at you, and when i said thats a lie i meant that you hadnt 'heard' of Remondis, Caltex, Toyota etc.

For me if im off to the footy i say im going to Shark Park, thats what it was called through those years as a kid where i started getting right into it. Super League etc.

I think we all have our names for it from whatever time period is relevant, but i also think its important to acknowledge the companies that do spend some bucks supporting the club. I recently saw the NBA are trying to bring in sponsored jerseys. It will look like the NBL/European teams then. Its a sad world we live in when professional organisations like NBA teams feel the need to bring in the corporate sponsorships on jerseys just to make that extra buck.

If we could survive without a ground sponsor, or be able to jointly name the ground with Endeavour, i dont think anyone would ever have a problem with that.

I guess its like Parramatta Stadium isnt it, forever known as such, but i think its Pirtek Stadium isnt it? To the heritage faithful, no sponsorships will change their name for it.

Sure as hell ain't gunna refer to it as "Wanderland"

 

[slide rule]

Never saw Bishop play, but I'll pick him on rep and discussions with older followers. He did too much for the club upon his arrival for him not to be picked.

I have a soft spots for Healey and Green. But Dykes Noddy, Todd and Preston are all worth a look.

Todd rules himself out for letting down the club so badly. And his defence. Jesus christ that defence.

I think I'll go Healey, for his kicking game and being Mr reliable. Probably wouldn't be picked by an external expert, but **** it. It's my club and I'll pick who I want. :cheers

 

[slide rule]

Sure as hell ain't gunna refer to it as "Wanderland"

Lunar Park must be a front runner for us.