May 9: Farewell to a legend; JT's amazing 24 hours
On this day, Brett Stewart raises a century of tries, Wayne Bennett backs calls for two referees abd the Supercoach Jack Gibson passes away.
1908
Australia play in their first Test match, against the New Zealand side that had returned from its long tour to Great Britain.
New Zealand win a thrilling match 11-10, with Dally Messenger missing a late goal which could have won the game for Australia.
1943
John O'Neill is born in Griffith, NSW. Nicknamed 'Lurch', O'Neill was known for his aggressive style during his playing days with Souths and Manly. He won four premierships with the Rabbitohs and two more with the Sea Eagles, also playing 10 games for Australia. O'Neill died in 1999 after a four-year battle with cancer at the age of 56. More than 4000 mourners attended his funeral.
1990
New South Wales end an eight-match drought to defeat Queensland 8-0 in the lowest scoring State of Origin match to that time. A record crowd of 41,235 watch the match at the Sydney Football Stadium.
Mark McGaw scores a classic Origin try that started in the Blues' half off a Laurie Daley break. One of the game's tallest players, McGaw somehow bent over to catch Ricky Walford's pass at his feet and score in the corner.
McGaw finishes Blues long-range try
1993
The Broncos were one of the most entertaining teams in the early '90s, as they showed with a wonderful try against the Illawarra Steelers.
The ball went through several sets of hands and there was always someone backing up to keep the play alive before Terry Matterson capped it off with a memorable try.
Matterson scores one of the Broncos great team tries
1999
Brisbane coach Wayne Bennett throws his weight behind a call for two referees to be used in the NRL. A crowd of almost 30,000 turns out to farewell Allan Langer at ANZ Stadium.
2003
A 78th minute try to winger Matt Utai gives the Bulldogs a 32-26 win over the Sydney Roosters at Telstra Stadium in a match billed as ‘the grand final that never was’.
2008
Coach of the Century Jack Gibson dies at a southern Sydney nursing home just hours before the Centenary Test match at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Captain Cameron Smith inspires Australia to a comprehensive 28-12 defeat of New Zealand in the Centenary Test, played 100 years to the day after the two nations met in the first league Test match in Australia. Winger Greg Inglis produces a stunning display of athleticism to lunge beyond the dead-ball line to retrieve the ball for centre Mark Gasnier to score the opening try.
2009
Test halfback Johnathan Thurston completes a remarkable 24 hours by scoring 20 points for North Queensland in a 24-20 defeat of St George Illawarra, after contributing 18 points to Australia’s Test win over New Zealand. Dragons winger Brett Morris becomes only the fourth player in premiership history to score four tries on a beaten side.
2010
Newcastle equal the premiership record for the highest score by a losing team when they are pipped 38-36 by the Gold Coast Titans at EnergyAustralia Stadium.
2011
Manly fullback Brett Stewart finally notches the landmark of 100 career tries after two years of injury and off-field anguish when he crosses for a hat-trick in the Sea Eagles’ 20-0 defeat of Canberra at Brookvale Oval.
2015
Golden Boot winner Shaun Johnson produces two stunning pieces of individual brilliance to steer the Warriors to a 20-16 victory over Cronulla.
Johnson steals it for the Warriors
This article contains information from the official records of NRL historian David Middleton.
