Grand Final
Canterbury 6 d. Eels 4

1984 J J GILTINAN SHIELD AND WINFIELD CUP Index [Table] [Draw]

Location: Australia > New South Wales > First Grade Competition: J J Giltinan Shield and Winfield Cup

Eels v Bulldogs Classic - Bugden Will Score
Mon September 10, 2007
Mark Bugden wasn't the best hooker of his era, but managed to pop up at the right time in the big September matches and the highlight of his career was the match-winner for Canterbury in the 1984 Grand Final against Parramatta.

In the first of our five Finals classics from 1979-98, Bugden who played five years at Canterbury and appeared in 64 first grade matches scored just four tries including one that got the Dogs of War era at Belmore into full swing.

The 1984 Grand Final was a low scoring classic and the 6-4 scoreline in Canterbury's favour didn't reflect the thrilling nature of the clash where only poor last pass handling, desperation in defence and a bad referees call didn't see more tries scored. Rugby League isn't about tries, it's about the whole package including defence and desperation. Parramatta wanted to continue their run of three successive Premierships and Canterbury as Minor Premiers on the back of a very smart recruitment policy didn't want the work they put into 1984 go to waste.

Canterbury made a change to their line-up just prior to kick off with no-frills forward Brian Battese coming into the second-row for the skillful Darryl Brohman.

Parramatta suffuered a massive blow six minutes into the Grand Final with centre Steve Ella forced off the field with a knee injury and he was replaced by David Liddiard who did well for Parramatta the year before. Canterbury got on top in the early exchanges and had what appeared to be a fair try to Peter Mortimer disallowed. The Bulldogs cut the Eels open up the middle with none other than Terry Lamb in support and referee Kevin Roberts ruled that the pass from Lamb to Peter Mortimer was ruled forward.

The Eels weathered the opening exchanges and should have scored when a well worked move from the scrum base would have given Eric Grothe a saloon passage to the try line except that he dropped the ball Neville Glover style. Grothe scored a controversial match-winner against St George the week before and Dragons coach Roy Masters was in the commentary box for the Grand Final and his comments were straight to the mark, "Wish he done that last week."

Canterbury hadn't played much football being Minor Premiers and advancing straight away into the Grand Final and they were ready to be opened up by Parramatta making uncustomary errors and really feeling the heat and pace of the Grand Final. Bulldogs coach Warren Ryan introduced Brohman into the match just before half-time, but his arrival didn't immediately stop the tide as the Eels crossed over when Michael Cronin was too strong for Dally M Player of the Year Michael Potter to score when he charged onto a nice Peter Sterling pass. Cronin missed the goal as Parramatta went into the break leading 4-0.

Half-time was the best thing to happen for Canterbury as they regrouped and asserted their forward authority in the opening minutes after the break. Ray Price went down with a wrist injury as Brohman slipped a nice offload away to Steve Mortimer. A good play the ball saw Parramatta asleep at marker when Bugden from 25m out sliced through the Eels defence with Price's position left vacant. Commentator Ray Warrem screams out "Bugden will score. Bugden has gone from dummy half easily to score," and Masters said, "That's the area where Price would have been of course." The player who went to sleep at marker John Muggleton would later become defensive coach of the ARU.

During the 1984 season Ryan sensationally dropped goal kicking specialist Ross Conlon to Reserve Grade despite playing for New South Wales and Australia that season and with Lamb carrying an ankle injury that prevented him from goal kicking, the responsibility to convert the Bugden try went to Chris Mortimer. He converted the try from a wide angle and as commentator Ray Warren said, "Canterbury are in front."

The introduction of Brohman sparked genuine life into the Bulldogs outfit and moments later they were on the attack when Brohman put Paul Langmack away with Lamb again in support and Steve O'Brien putting the Bulldogs deep on the attack. Canterbury should have extended their lead when deft Brohman kick was fumbled back by the Eels and Lamb 'dropped' the ball with the line in his sight as he swooped on the loose ball. Replays showed that the ball came off Lamb's leg, but he did make a play at the ball, which in the old rules is a knock-on.

Parramatta did well to keep Canterbury to a 6-4 lead and started to claw their way back into the match and came within a whisker of scoring when a Sterling bomb into the ingoal area was forced by Potter after a mad scramble from both sides.

The Eels were coming home the much stronger side and Ryan who has been criticised for his use of replacements in Grand Finals got this one 100% correct when he introduced the whole hearted Geoff Robinson into the match with 20 minutes remaining for Tunks. The crowd roared as Robinson came onto the field and he teared into the Parramatta forwards with the crowd cheering every charge he made and gave Canterbury just that bit of energy as they held on to repel a desperate Parramatta outfit.

O'Brien who was playing in just his 6th First Grade match pulled off one of the best try-saving moments in Grand Final history when he plucked an intercept out of no where to save the day for Canterbury. Cronin made a great break and as he tried to position Grothe in support O'Brien came from absolutely no where to intercept the pass and immediately turn defence into attack. O'Brien who was graded from the Moorebank Rams JRLC was oddly enough one of just four local juniors in the Canterbury team for the Grand Final with the other three being Lamb, Robinson and Steve Folkes.

The intercept by O'Brien stopped the Parramatta momentum for a brief period and than in the final stages got an extra set of six tackles to attack the Canterbury line. Ryan gambled with another interchange and this nearly massively backfired for Canterbury. Ryan replaced Lamb who received a cut under the eye after a collision with great rival Brett Kenny in the second half with noted tackler Greg Mullane. It was Mullane who gave a penalty within kicking distance for Cronin with under three minutes remaining. Cronin who was one of the all-time great players, kickers and people to play the game lined up for what normally would be a goal for his standards. Cronin unfortunately on this occasion sprayed the ball wide and Langmack got the ball back into the field of play. A great dummy half run by Potter next tackled, followed by a determined Robinson charge and a long kick by Steve Mortimer cleared the ball out of the danger zone.

Canterbury trapped the Eels inside their own 22m zone for the last minute and a forward pass saw the Bulldogs with the scrum feed with no time remaining. Victory came for Canterbury in their 50th season and it was the first success as coach for Ryan who was in charge of Newtown in their gallant 1981 Grand Final loss.

The Bulldogs victory was built upon their forward pack with Peter Kelly winning the Man of the Match award in a powerhouse display. Kelly was the standout performer and the work he did up the middle laid the platform for Canterbury's success on the day. Other outstanding performers included try-scoring hero Bugden, Brohman who added plenty of skill to the Bulldogs pack, youngster O'Brien who despite being the youngest player on the field showed no signs of nerves and centre Andrew Farrar was another strong performer.

Parramatta as defending Premiers defended their title with immense pride and determination and they threw everything at Canterbury to get the victory. Cronin and Price were outstanding in defeat for the Eels and both champions kept Parramatta in the match through their sheer will to win while Peter Sterling schemed around looking for opportunities.

The scoreline was a true reflection of how close, desperate and tense the match was, but not a genuine reflection on how exciting the game was.

This Saturday night's game some 23 years later promises to be another entralling chapter added to the famous Canterbury-Parramatta rivalry and we hope you have enjoyed the first installment of our look back to the famous rivalry between two great enemies. Will it be Corey Hughes, Adam Perry, Mark Riddell or PJ Marsh that turn the game on its head with an individual try from dummy half that Bugden did in 1984? Stay tuned tomorrow for a magic moment that went the Eels way.

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 6
Tries: Bugden
Goals: C.Mortimer 1 from 2
Team: Michael Potter, Peter Mortimer, Andrew Farrar, Chris Mortimer, Steve O'Brien, Terry Lamb, Steve Mortimer [c], Paul Langmack, Steve Folkes, Brian Battese, Peter Kelly, Mark Bugden, Peter Tunks. Subs: Darryl Brohman for Battese, Geoff Robinson for Tunks, Greg Mullane for Lamb. Coach: Warren Ryan.

Defeated Parramatta Eels 4
Tries: Cronin
Goals: (Cronin 0/2)
Team: Paul Taylor, Neil Hunt, Michael Cronin, Steve Ella, Eric Grothe, Brett Kenny, Peter Sterling, Ray Price, John Muggleton, Chris Phelan, Paul Mares, Steve Edge [c], Stan Jurd. Subs: David Liddiard for Ella, Steve Sharp for Jurd, Ron Quinn for Taylor, Glenn Mansfield for Mares. Coach: John Monie.

Eels v Bulldogs Classic Finals:
1984 - Bugden Will Score (Monday)
1983 - Grothe Beats Five (Tuesday)
1998 - Polly's Finest Hour (Wednesday)
1986 - Grand exit for Pricey and the Crow (Thursday)
1979 - Triple Mortimer Magic (Friday)

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