July 22: Manly cop a hiding; Morley cops a whack

On this day, a crowd joins an on-field fight, Adam MacDougall bags four tries in a game and Trent Barrett laments a woeful effort by his Sea Eagles against the Roosters.

1911     

A match between North Sydney and Glebe turns violent when three players are sent from the field for fighting. On the way to the pavilion, two of the players resumed hostilities, and then, according to The Referee newspaper: “The crowd broke loose, jumped the pickets and swarmed the field of play.”

1950     

St George winger Ron Roberts scores the try that clinches the Ashes for Australia for the first time in 30 years on a Sydney Cricket Ground mudheap. The scores are locked at 2-all when Roberts makes his historic dash, 15 minutes from the final whistle. “Grown men stood in the dressing room with tears running down their faces,” recalled Australian second-rower Bernie Purcell. In the 1980s, Rugby League Week declares the Roberts try the “Greatest Moment in Australian Rugby League history”.

1997     

Canberra are knocked out of the World Club Challenge after a shock 38‑18 loss to the London Broncos

1998     

Former Brisbane Broncos player Paul Iles dies in Rockhampton of a blood clot on the brain, aged 28.

2001     

Newcastle centre Adam MacDougall equals Darren Albert’s club record of four tries in a match during his team’s 37-30 defeat of the New Zealand Warriors at Ericsson Stadium.

2006     

The NRL career of Sydney Roosters forward Adrian Morley comes to an end after he is sent off for kneeing Bulldogs interchange Corey Hughes in a 25-0 loss at Telstra Stadium. Morley receives a seven-match ban from the judiciary.

2009     

Dual international Timana Tahu seeks a release from the final two years of his contract with the ARU in order to return to the NRL with Parramatta.

2015     

The NRL announces significant changes for the game in 2016 with the number of interchanges permitted by a team to be reduced from 10 to eight per game and a shot clock to be introduced for scrums and goal-line drop-outs.

2018

The Sydney Roosters crush Manly 56-24 at Lottoland after storming to a 34-6 lead by half-time. "It looked like boys playing men," lamented Sea Eagles coach Trent Barrett.

2020

Canterbury announce the signing of Trent Barrett as coach until the end of the 2023 season. Barrett decides to remain in his assistant coaching role at Penrith for the rest of the season.

This article contains information from the official records of NRL historian David Middleton.