WAS it the greatest game of rugby league ever played? Novocastrians have no doubt, but then again, we're unashamedly one-eyed.
So consider the thoughts of an impartial judge, veteran Sydney-based scribe Greg Prichard, who wrote in The Australian: "Rewind the video of that game and let me watch it again. And again. And again. Andrew Johns reckoned it was better than sex and he might be right." It's not an accolade that Prichard delivered lightly. "I rate sex highly," he said.
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The lead-up to the 1997 ARL grand final was dominated by two topics of discussion: how could the Knights upset Manly, who for so long had "owned" them, and would Andrew Johns be fit to take his place?
The Sea Eagles had not merely been the standout team throughout the preliminary rounds and their two play-offs, they had been the dominant force in 1995 and 1996, finishing runners-up and premiers respectively. They exuded not just confidence, but ingrained arrogance.
Their squad included 10 Australian internationals and a former All Black in centre Craig Innes. The vast majority had played in the grand final win against St George 12 months earlier. And at the helm was "Bozo" Fulton, the ultimate win-at-all-costs coach. Newcastle's line-up, in comparison, featured five Australian Test players and a Great Britain international, hooker Lee Jackson.
Yet there was no denying that potentially the most influential player on either team was Johns, who in 75 first-grade games, seven Origins and eight Tests, had proven, time and again, that he could beat any opponents almost single-handedly, through a combination of individual genius and willpower.
Whether he would make it to the big dance was the question. A painkilling needle from the Knights' long-serving and highly respected doctor, Peter McGeoch, had inadvertently punctured Joey's lung at half-time against North Sydney. He was hospitalised for two days and unable to train until the final ball-work session, barely 24 hours before the grand final, although in a show of defiance, he posed for Daily Telegraph photographs riding a skateboard outside his house. Joey duly took his place on the team bus for a trip that none of Newcastle's players would ever forget.
"It was lined with people for 20 kilometres and three or four blokes who had been there for 10 years, since the club started - the Chief, myself and Glanville - we were in tears," the veteran Butterfield recalled later. "There were kids, women, men, young and old. They weren't just cheering us on, there was a passion you could see on their faces. We knew we had to do it."
As well as the thousands who lined the streets to Sydney, almost 80 busloads, two eight-carriage trains and hundreds of private cars ferried Novocastrians south. Those who weren't at the game gathered in pubs, clubs and living rooms to watch Channel Nine's broadcast. In the history of Newcastle, it is hard to imagine there had been more collective community excitement about any single event.
Adding to the emotional energy that would fuel Newcastle's players in the grand final, a team meeting in skipper Harragon's hotel room on the eve of the game ensured they were collectively primed for the game of their lives. Harragon set the tone with a "refuse to lose" vow. "Whatever it takes," he promised his teammates.
Everyone had a say but after Glanville, preparing for his 188th game for the club - and last before joining Leeds Rhinos - broke down tears in articulating how much the game meant to him, there was not a dry eye in the room. Joey Johns declared with bulletproof conviction: "We'll f---ing win this."
Not that Manly could give a rat's arse what it meant to their opponents. They were just as committed and withstood a furious opening barrage to rack up three tries - by winger John Hopoate, Craig Innes and fullback Shannon Nevin - and lead 16-8 at the half-time break.
Truth be told, Newcastle were lucky the deficit was not even larger.
Far from being intimidated by their long-time nemeses, the Knights came out full of aggressive intent and Harragon, inspired by Reilly's pre-match advice that "nobody gets sent off in a grand final", set the tone. He was penalised several times in the early exchanges for overzealous tackles, including a clumsy high shot on Manly skipper Geoff Toovey that prompted angry retribution from the Chief's bitter adversary, Mark "Spud" Carroll.
Toovey, the smallest but arguably the toughest player on the field, endured a torrid time, suffering a concussion and later needing treatment for facial wounds when MacDougall trod on his face in trying to regain his feet for a quick play-the-ball, an incident that went unpenalised but would later warrant a two-game suspension.
Despite Newcastle's fire and brimstone, the scoreline read 10-0 to the Sea Eagles midway through the first half. The Knights had come out all guns blazing, but Manly seemed to have all the answers. In a bid to regain some composure, Andrew Johns kicked a penalty goal, then fullback Robbie O'Davis magically conjured up a lifeline for the underdogs.
After a scrum win in the 34th minute, O'Davis skirted across field from right to left, showed the ball, and somehow got outside Test centre Terry Hill to score, celebrating with an Elvis-style "windmill" dance move. Johns' conversion reduced the deficit to 10-8, but disaster struck two minutes before the break when Harragon fumbled, veteran five-eighth Cliff Lyons pounced on the loose ball and sent fullback Nevin in to score.
When the half-time siren sounded, the general consensus was that the Knights were on the ropes, awaiting a knockout blow. It almost arrived 11 minutes into the second half, but prolific try-scoring back-rower Steve Menzies was pulled down by interchange forward Troy Fletcher just inches from the line. Six minutes later, Johns added a second penalty goal and the Knights were back within a converted try. Instantly, it seemed, the mood changed.
Rewind the video of that game and let me watch it again. And again. And again.
GREG PRICHARD
Manly, who had been so imposing, were now apparently protecting their lead, clock-watching, and produced a series of nervous handling errors. Newcastle, meanwhile, continued to throw everything at them - including a flurry of punches when replacement Steve Crowe tangled with Lyons.
Crowe was an inspired selection by Reilly. The former coal miner from Toronto was no superstar, yet there was no more popular clubman, nor anyone who wore his home-town jersey with greater pride. In many ways, he was the team's heart and soul. Reilly knew his presence would provide everyone with a lift, and that he wouldn't take a backward step, as Lyons discovered to his chagrin.
Things went from bad to worse for Lyons soon after when, with Manly leading 16-10, the usually laidback playmaker missed a field goal from point-blank range. Eventually, in the 74th minute, Manly's defence cracked when O'Davis - having the game of his career - spun 360 degrees in a tackle and reached out like an octopus to plant the ball one-handed next to the posts. Andrew Johns' conversion locked scores at 16-all, and, after a drop-goal attempt from his brother Matthew crashed into the right-hand upright, the premiership decider appeared headed into extra time.
But then came one of those grand final moments that would go down in rugby league folklore. With less than 10 seconds left of regular time, Darren Albert was grounded on the fifth tackle, 21 metres out, nine metres in from touch.
As he played the ball, Joey Johns, at dummy-half, told the Scone-bred flyer to "stay alive". Johns dummied outside him, to an unmarked Mark Hughes on the right flank, and front-rower Carroll, stuck on the blind side, swallowed it. Innes then desperately hit Johns around the thighs, but the extraordinary Newcastle No.7 had enough momentum and strength to stand in the weary tackle and off-load to Albert, on his inside.
In a split second, Manly's defence opened up, just enough for the fastest man on the field to scoot through and race 14 metres to plant the ball nonchalantly with one hand. "NEWCASTLE,'' screamed iconic Channel Nine commentator Ray Warren. "Have won the grand final!" Albert spontaneously punched the air with both fists and spun around, seconds before he was engulfed by jubilant teammates. Pandemonium ensued.
Somehow, the Knights had done it. Their wildest dream was now a reality. Un-bloody-believable.
As Newcastle's players rejoiced and their Manly counterparts sat devastated, heads bowed, Johns managed to focus and convert Albert's try for the final scoreline of 22-16.
By now a rumbling, primal New-cas-tle, New-cas-tle, New-cas-tle chant was reverberating around the stadium as fans saluted their city's proudest sporting achievement. Euphoric post-match scenes, both on the field and in the stands, were interrupted only by the official presentation.
Before accepting the Optus Cup trophy, captain Harragon delivered an emotional speech in which he acknowledged Newcastle's supporters, declaring: "It made the difference. We weren't coming home without the cup." Harragon then paid tribute to his teammates: "To the boys behind me, you'll never see a finer group of men ... it's one of the proudest things in my life to be able to captain these guys."
O'Davis, a 17-1 chance with the bookies, was rightly presented the man-of-the-match medal named after another champion Newcastle fullback, Clive Churchill. Cuddling four-month-old daughter Keeley, O'Davis said: "This has been the greatest year of my life. If I was killed tomorrow, I'd die a happy man."
And so to the party to end all parties. In the Newcastle dressing room, the boom box was blasting out Australian band Hunters and Collectors' hit song Holy Grail, which had become an unofficial anthem for the team. The bus trip home was punctuated by the honking of countless car horns. At Wallsend, the traffic became so heavy a police escort was necessary to help the Sid Fogg's coach reach its ultimate destination, Newcastle Workers Club, where thousands were waiting to pay homage.
Most of Newcastle's players kept drinking until the sun rose, then continued for what Harragon later described as "the maddest of Mad Mondays" at Marathon Stadium. On Tuesday, players sobered up briefly for a parade that culminated at Newcastle City Hall, in front of an estimated crowd of 100,000 occupying every available vantage point in Civic Park and King Street.
In a croaky voice, Harragon addressed the throng: "Guess what ... we won the grand final." With local rock'n'roll icons Screaming Jets providing a free concert, an irrepressible Andrew Johns launched himself from the stage into the moshpit.
The festivities continued for the best part of a week. Harragon admitted drinking so much that he was unable to wear shoes, so swollen were his ankles. Johns claimed he consumed a "reservoir of alcohol over the next month".
Many Novocastrians did likewise. Rarely had they been so united by civic pride. As Newcastle Herald sports editor Kevin Cranson wrote at the time: "Do not believe that this was only a football game. Believe instead that this was a defining moment in our city's history. And give thanks to our boys, for not only did they bear our town's name, they wore its heart on their sleeves."
Hard Yards: The Story of the Newcastle Knights. Available to purchase from theherald.mybigcommerce.com/books/ $19.95
