The late 1970s gave rise to two TV adverts that still linger in the memory.
With the football divide between the states in mind, commercials were adapted to suit the audience.
Hutton's "Footy Franks" used a VFL theme in Melbourne, while different rugby league tv commercials ran in Sydney and Brisbane with local footage.
The legendary Holden tv commercial included both Australian rules and rugby league footage in its now famous "Football, Meat Pies, Kangaroos and Holden Cars" advert.
Interestingly, the jingle was based upon an American tv commercial from 1974 for Chevrolet, which went with the jingle: "Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie and Chevrolet."
Oh boy - how's this for a game? Wests Magpies v South Sydney Rabbitohs at Lidcombe Oval on a Sunday afternoon in 1976.
Rex Mossop in full cry as commentator...
Sunny late Autumn day...
A referee making snap decisions (for better or worse)...
So many fans that kids are sitting on the cycle track around the field...
Great players, great days...
And that George Piggins try...
As Rex put the day's end: "Absolute insanity".
The music for Channel 7's "Big League" was the "Theme from Shaft" by Issac Hayes.
"Can you dig it?"
One of the 20th century's most memorable matches - the Manly Sea Eagles met Wigan in the World Club Challenge at Central Park.
Held just 10 days after Manly had defeated the Canberra Raiders at the Sydney Cricket Ground in the 1987 Grand Final, the Sea Eagles had to play without their "Pommy" front rower Kevin Ward.
It was also the final game in maroon-and-white colours for Ron Gibbs before he headed off to the new Gold Coast club for 1988.
A tryless game that was far from dour, with a crowd of 38,000 somehow cramming into this famous old ground.
Brought together by the National Museum of Australia, under the careful eye of its Senior Curator (and league fan) Guy Hansen, this is a terrific celebration of 100 years of rugby league in Australia.
Showcasing the game's greatest memorabilia, photographs, jerseys, trophies, footballs, caps and other long-forgotten artefacts, League of Legends toured Australia's eastern states throughout 2008's Centenary Season.
It is now in Melbourne at the National Sports Museum until August 23 2009.
Nothing in the game's past has ever come close to the quality and sheer scope of this exhibition of rugby league's treasures.
Items have come from far and wide - from museums, rugby league clubs and collectors, Leagues Clubs and numerous state and national bodies.
Brought together in the League of Legends exhibition, the likelihood of any of us getting the opportunity to see all of these items together again is extremely remote.
The singing the national anthem before a game is about to kick-off, whether a Test match, State of Origin or a NRL or Super League club game, is a special moment.
Look no further than to these stirring examples from world-class singers:
Anthony Warlow
"Advance Australia Fair"
@ NRL Grand Final, Sydney, 2008
Geoff Sewell
"Aotearoa" / "God Defend New Zealand"
@ Rugby League World Cup Final, Brisbane, 2008
Passed down from generation to generation, by word of mouth and in written form, the old rugby adage always told us that rugby league's founders invented the play-the-ball and "held" rules to do away with rugby union's traditional (and often said "messy") rucks and mauls.
After delving into the rules and history of 19th century rugby, and the formative years of rugby league, while undertaking research for my books and websites, I began to find snippets of evidence that the play-the-ball story was not as it has always been told.
In rugby union in the 1890s after every tackle or "held" call a scrum took place, with every man required to get back on his feet if he wanted to take part. The ball-carrier, in particular, was required to stand up and keep possession of the ball.
Depending on timing and opportunity, the size of the scrum that ensued could be as many as all 16 forwards in the two packs, or as few as two opposing players (i.e. the tackled player and the tackler, which is the fore-runner of the play-the-ball).
Most referees simply opted to blow their whistle every time a player was tackled to ground or "held". In rugby league (Northern Union), which had split from rugby union in 1895, ordering of a scrum became mandatory.
Read more: THE REAL RUGBY GAME
Game after game the headlines kept shouting Messenger's name.
Commentators back then, as today, are apt to lean towards their favourite players.
The fans though, those that pay their hard-earned coin at the turnstile, they are the true judges.
As one fan put it succinctly, "It was a case of Messenger first, middle and last."
Mention Giltinan, Trumper, Hoyle, and dozens of others; they certainly supplied the brains of the organisation in those days, but it was "Dally M" who supplied the crowds with their afternoon thrills and weekly football chatter.
Without Messenger, there would have not been enough gate-money for the code to grow and to take hold of NSW and Queensland as rapidly and successfully as it did.
Read more: "THEY MADE ME A BIT OF A HERO"
Impossible to not hear Tina Turner singing "The Best" (aka ("Simply The Best") and not think of rugby league.
One of Australia's and world sport's most successful marketing campaigns, Turner and her songs propelled rugby league from a suburban game into a national league.
Rugby league football (founded in England in 1895) was first played in Australia in 1908, after working-class rugby union players, dissatisfied with the restrictive old English game, struck out and forged the young nation's first professional football code.
Within barely three seasons, the 13-man form of rugby became the favourite winter sport of NSW and Queensland – a position rugby league continues to hold today.
A key part of the preparation for the 2008 Centenary Season was the researching and designing for the "Centenary Badge", which was worn by every rugby league player in 2008 - from the Kangaroos, the NRL clubs, to the youngest junior at the smallest bush footy club.
Read more: RL1908.com - Rugby League history
Recent Comments
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manchesterunited said:
Excellent post! this case study gives me a lot of things to think about. I think this would be nice... read more
on Centenary Of Rugby League TV Commercial -
OnTheBall :: RL1908.com said:
Cheers mate - thanks for "dropping" in! read more
on Oldham v Swinton (1901) -
Frederic (www.rugby-pioneers.com) said:
Awesome video... great memorabilia and some hints about the technique and tactics of early rugby...Fredericwww.rugby-pioneers.com read more
on Oldham v Swinton (1901)
on "FOOTBALL, MEAT PIES, KANGAROOS & HOLDEN CARS"