5 Spectacular Rugby League Moments At Sydney Cricket Ground

Article, Sydney

Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a famous sport venue which is located in Sydney, Australia. When you arrive at Sydney for a vacation, you should definitely check out the venue. The massive 40,000 seat Football Stadium was built in the 1980s and is currently owned by the Sydney Cricket and Sports Ground Trust.

Sydney Cricket Ground is undoubtedly the go-to stadium for diehard cricket fans. But did you know that the venue has other uses too? Though cricket takes up majority of the stadium’s many sports events, rugby union and rugby league football matches take place as well. In fact, Sydney Cricket Ground was the main venue for major rugby leagues in 1988. If you are a rugby enthusiast, you are in for a treat. In this article, we are featuring 5 spectacular rugby league moments that took place in Sydney Cricket Ground.

Graeme ‘Changa’ Langlands’ pair of white boots

This match was remembered as the 1975 Grand final when the Eastern Suburbs Roosters took on St George Dragons. Note that St George was considered as powerful rivals and the Roosters were thought to be inferior. However, the Roosters proved everyone wrong as they beat St George 38-Nil.

Some felt that Graeme ‘Changa’ Langlands’ (St George’s star player) freak accident with his pre-match painkilling injection that rendered him lame was part of the cause. The match and the incident were remembered well because Langlands chose to grace the match with an eye-catching pair of white boots.

Ashes series victory in 1974

There were a handful of notable rugby league fixtures that took place at Sydney Cricket Ground, but the one match that managed to glue itself to the minds of many was Australia and Great Britain’s match in game three of the 1974 Ashes series.

More than 50,000 spectators flocked over to Sydney Cricket Ground to witness the deciding fixture after the series was tied at a one-all. The home side triumphed as the winners with a score of 22-18 with Graeme ‘Changa’ Langlands contributing five goals.

Steve Gearin’s try in 1980 Grand Final

An impressive record of brilliant tries has been scored in SCG. For example, like how Gasnier’s try was assisted by Greg Inglis in Centenary Test. Another great try was fortunately immortalized in video format and has been uploaded to Youtube. You can replay that try at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdvStMZ4yXI

Elbow to the face? Oh, well… It’s nothing

If you want to know someone who was remembered for his act of over-manliness, check out Scott Sattler for a start. Just like his father John, he played majority of the Grand Finals decider in 2003 with a broken jaw! He sustained that injury by a crude elbow (standard stuff back in the days) just minutes into the game. He shrugged that off like it was superficial scratch wound and led his Rabbitohs team to victory.

1981 Rugby league semi-finals slugfest

During a 1981 semi-finals match, Newtown versus Silvertail Sea Eagles, it quickly transformed into an all-out brawl. The heated fight involved popular hard heads such as Tommy Raudonikis, Les Boyd, Steve Bowden and even the commentator, Phil Gould, joined in.

If you want your own special moment in the Sydney Cricket Ground, be sure to pay it a visit the next time you are in Sydney. We are sure you can create your own selfie moment there! You can always rely on good transport services to provide you a stress-free and comfortable travel to SCG. Don’t hesitate to call us at Transport Network Australia where our friendly team will take care of your transportation needs!