Chapel House Motor Company Limited Advertising Banner
Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 25 of 32

Thread: On this day

  1. #1
    Learning All The Songs
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Bury
    Posts
    1,847
    Rep Power
    0

    Default On this day

    in 1984 the mighty Mal Meninga made his debut for Saints. Glad I am old enough to have watched him play for us . Never forget the Lancashire Cup final when he took Wigan apart .What a shame he was never to return after that 1984/85 season

  2. #2
    In The North Stand With All The Old Folk STIDDY's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2016
    Location
    Kingdom of Wigoon
    Posts
    8,878
    Rep Power
    22

    Default

    I was working abroad that season and only saw a handful of Meninga games.

  3. #3
    Learning All The Songs
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Bury
    Posts
    1,847
    Rep Power
    0

    Default

    I should also have mentioned that it was the debut for Phil Veivers

  4. #4
    Starting A Programme Collection
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Widnes UNFORTUNATELY
    Posts
    901
    Rep Power
    19

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Saint from Bury View Post
    I should also have mentioned that it was the debut for Phil Veivers
    Big Mal was incredible I can vividly remember him running down the left channel with players hanging off him not slowing him hardly at all.

    Veivers was great servant and in that respect a better signing.

  5. #5
    In The South Stand Jackbit's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Lancashire
    Posts
    2,544
    Rep Power
    22

    Default

    Best I've ever seen was Big Mal, and with Veivers it was a bargain. We had some great days out then, I feel old now

    https://www.sthelensstar.co.uk/news/...-saints-debut/

  6. #6
    Moderator Div's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Sintellins
    Posts
    11,911
    Rep Power
    32

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by STIDDY View Post
    I was working abroad that season and only saw a handful of Meninga games.
    By contrast I saw every one home and away.
    Legend.

  7. #7
    In The North Stand With All The Old Folk
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Macclesfield
    Age
    46
    Posts
    8,428
    Rep Power
    33

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Div View Post
    By contrast I saw every one home and away.
    Legend.
    Ah, if only I were a few years older Paul. Nevermind though, I was there for Michael O’Connor and Fatty Vautin! They both sweat blood for the cause those lads!

  8. #8
    Moderator Div's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Sintellins
    Posts
    11,911
    Rep Power
    32

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Gray77 View Post
    Ah, if only I were a few years older Paul. Nevermind though, I was there for Michael O’Connor and Fatty Vautin! They both sweat blood for the cause those lads!
    I actually think Vautin was decent.
    O'Connor just tossed it off. He was a great player but never really showed it in the red vee.

  9. #9
    In The North Stand With All The Old Folk
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Macclesfield
    Age
    46
    Posts
    8,428
    Rep Power
    33

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Div View Post
    I actually think Vautin was decent.
    O'Connor just tossed it off. He was a great player but never really showed it in the red vee.
    Maybe I’m clouded by Wembley when he swanned back over and was made skipper. I remember O’Connor having a blinder at home to Halifax the week before Xmas. We hammered them and he had a ball that day. The week after Wigan beat us at KR and the previous week felt like a mirage.

  10. #10
    In The South Stand Jackbit's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Lancashire
    Posts
    2,544
    Rep Power
    22

    Default

    Yes, they were flown in for Wembley as a double act, advertising chocolate fireguards and playing, and were quiet surprised, that the fans thought the fireguards were better than the players on the day!

  11. #11
    Learning All The Songs
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Posts
    1,388
    Rep Power
    17

    Default

    Mentioned on another thread that in my opinion there is a good case to say he was the best ever in his position. Feel very privileged to have seen him wear our colours.
    People who only know a small amount about sport when asked about RL know his name and what a player he was.
    Brett French was a good fast centre for us the following year, the higher profile Ross Conlon was a disappointment.

  12. #12
    In The North Stand With All The Old Folk Belgian Saint's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Europe
    Posts
    11,189
    Rep Power
    32

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by STIDDY View Post
    I was working abroad that season and only saw a handful of Meninga games.
    Like you I was away. I was in the M East and got home for 6 games that season. I remember a friend of mine frothing at the mouth about how great Mal was, and what a treat I was in for watching him. The first game I saw him was at KR and I couldn't believe the way tacklers were bouncing off him when he was in full flight

  13. #13
    In The West Stand saintgeorge's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    eccleston
    Posts
    5,258
    Rep Power
    25

    Default

    I was at his first game against Cas at home. I always remember we got poor crowds in those days but got this game there were a few more on to watch Mal. Possibly over four and a half thousand. In this game he scored a remarkable try and you kind of knew he was going to be something special. He had everything - size, strength, speed and great ball handling skills. Every time he got the ball you expected something different to happen - a bit like Barba for us in his prime. Three games from that season stand out for me: the Cas home debut game, the Lancs Cup Final against Wigan and the Premiership Final against Hull KR. Mal scored unforgettable tries in them all. I had the pleasure to bump into him in a hotel lobby in London before one of our Wembley finals and he was a gentleman.

  14. #14
    Got A Season Ticket The Meister's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2008
    Posts
    128
    Rep Power
    0

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Tallaght Tiger View Post
    Mentioned on another thread that in my opinion there is a good case to say he was the best ever in his position. Feel very privileged to have seen him wear our colours.
    People who only know a small amount about sport when asked about RL know his name and what a player he was.
    Brett French was a good fast centre for us the following year, the higher profile Ross Conlon was a disappointment.
    I think Saints signed Ross Conlon as a kicker - and if I remember correctly he used to have quite a unique run up to the ball before making his kick.
    “With great power comes great responsibility”

  15. #15
    Moderator Div's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Sintellins
    Posts
    11,911
    Rep Power
    32

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by saintgeorge View Post
    I was at his first game against Cas at home. I always remember we got poor crowds in those days but got this game there were a few more on to watch Mal. Possibly over four and a half thousand. In this game he scored a remarkable try and you kind of knew he was going to be something special. He had everything - size, strength, speed and great ball handling skills. Every time he got the ball you expected something different to happen - a bit like Barba for us in his prime. Three games from that season stand out for me: the Cas home debut game, the Lancs Cup Final against Wigan and the Premiership Final against Hull KR. Mal scored unforgettable tries in them all. I had the pleasure to bump into him in a hotel lobby in London before one of our Wembley finals and he was a gentleman.
    Crowd was about 7300 I think which was a fair bit more than the average then.

  16. #16
    Moderator Div's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Sintellins
    Posts
    11,911
    Rep Power
    32

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by The Meister View Post
    I think Saints signed Ross Conlon as a kicker - and if I remember correctly he used to have quite a unique run up to the ball before making his kick.
    He absolutely did. That's the most memorable thing about him.
    I don't think he was a bad professional but once we had seen Big Mal nobody ever lived up to his standard.

    We had some good centres after Mal, Newy and Lyon probably the pick of the crop but Mal remains my personal favourite, perhaps because of the long awaited silverware he brought us.

  17. #17
    In The South Stand Jackbit's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Lancashire
    Posts
    2,544
    Rep Power
    22

    Default

    I think Mike Critchley sums it up and nailed it when he said Mal was the catalyst for not just the team but the town to talk about rugby league.

    The greatest to come to Saints when I was on strike, to be able to see him destroy at Central Park a Wigoon side who had been invisible for years.

    It was one of the greatest days in my life. It's hard now, to put in perspective to the younger fans, how good it was? But it gave us all hope.

  18. #18
    In The South Stand Tabasco's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
    Location
    Rivington Road, St Helens
    Posts
    2,903
    Rep Power
    22

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by WidnesExile View Post
    Big Mal was incredible I can vividly remember him running down the left channel with players hanging off him not slowing him hardly at all.
    It’s odd because my abiding memory was of him rampaging down the right channel with Sean Day outside him but at the same time his interception tries in the Premiership are also vivid. So now I’ve no idea which centre he played!

  19. #19
    Banned
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Location
    Refugee from the fascist state of RLFans
    Posts
    5,853
    Rep Power
    0

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Saint from Bury View Post
    in 1984 the mighty Mal Meninga made his debut for Saints. Glad I am old enough to have watched him play for us . Never forget the Lancashire Cup final when he took Wigan apart .What a shame he was never to return after that 1984/85 season

    I hear there's a chance we could sign him for the 2021 season.



    My whole first several years were shadowed by the promise of Meninga returning, only for the hopes to be cruelly dashed.

    I saw my first game at KR (well, apart from one I barely remember when I was about 3 and taken there by my dad) that season. Went with a mate and I think it was against Hull. Meninga put up a high bomb to the old scoreboard corner at one point and timed his charge perfectly to hit their winger like a freight train just as he caught the ball. Was hooked from then on. I remember the Premiership SF at KR against the scum, stood in the paddock as we took a big league... then piescum supporters launched a pitch invasion to try to get the match called off (the police were swift in their response, and brutal; one piescum lad was trying to get back over the wall and this copper ran up behind him and booted him up the arse, the lad disappearing head first over the other side )

  20. #20
    Starting A Programme Collection
    Join Date
    Apr 2015
    Location
    Newton le willows
    Posts
    700
    Rep Power
    9

    Default

    Lol I bet he could still do some Damage! Fantastic player the best I’ve ever seen play for Saints and I’ve seen a lot. I remember after getting home after the premiership final that night we went to Harry Pinners pub and Big Mal came in with Veivers Billy Benyon Chirs Arkwright Paul Round with the Cup what a night thar was.
    Great memories.
    Last edited by Ferester123; 8th October 2020 at 12:00.

  21. #21
    Starting A Programme Collection
    Join Date
    Oct 2014
    Posts
    514
    Rep Power
    0

    Default

    Big Mal one of the all time greats of the sport, pace power but still a very good footballer rang great support lines and had decent hands

    Sadly I never got to see him live in a saints jersey but just from watching him on tv as a kid and on you tube now, you can tell what a super star he was

  22. #22
    In The North Stand With All The Old Folk
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Macclesfield
    Age
    46
    Posts
    8,428
    Rep Power
    33

    Default

    I’ve always hoped he’d come back to coach us for a few years after he (probably) won the World Cup, but doubt he’d leave his business interests and media gigs to move here.

    Amazing to think of the superstars that we had come over here and play in the 80s. Meninga at Saints, Kenny at Wigan, Sterling at Hull. In an era before blanket television coverage it must have been exciting to know that these players were rolling up at your local ground at the weekend, and that if you didn’t get down to the ground you’d never see them again unless the Kangaroos were in town. I’m just a bit too young to have witnessed the best of it.

  23. #23
    Banned
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Location
    Refugee from the fascist state of RLFans
    Posts
    5,853
    Rep Power
    0

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Gray77 View Post
    I’ve always hoped he’d come back to coach us for a few years after he (probably) won the World Cup, but doubt he’d leave his business interests and media gigs to move here.

    Amazing to think of the superstars that we had come over here and play in the 80s. Meninga at Saints, Kenny at Wigan, Sterling at Hull. In an era before blanket television coverage it must have been exciting to know that these players were rolling up at your local ground at the weekend, and that if you didn’t get down to the ground you’d never see them again unless the Kangaroos were in town. I’m just a bit too young to have witnessed the best of it.

    Wally Lewis at Wakefield!

    Think I've told this tale before (and it's third-hand, after being related to me by someone who was told it by the player involved, and it was a log time ago, so allow for artistic licence! ):

    Lewis signed a short-term deal with Wakey in 1983, and it was widely reported he was to be paid £1,000 a match - in the days of part-time, much lower salaries generally, and in the midst of a deep recession and soaring unemployment, this was considered a king's ransom 'oop north', and quite a few players across the sport resented it.

    In one game, he got royally banjoed. As the opposition player clambered off him, he said to Lewis "Where does that leave you, thousand-quid-a-week man?" to which Lewis replied "About nine-fifty a week better off than you, sh*thead!"


  24. #24
    Moderator Div's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Sintellins
    Posts
    11,911
    Rep Power
    32

    Default

    Wakefield never lost a game when Wally Lewis was here if I recall correctly.
    He was a giant of a man for a stand off.
    I recall distinctly that he pretty much beat Saints single handedly at Belle Vue that season.

  25. #25
    Banned
    Join Date
    Sep 2014
    Location
    Refugee from the fascist state of RLFans
    Posts
    5,853
    Rep Power
    0

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Div View Post
    Wakefield never lost a game when Wally Lewis was here if I recall correctly.
    He was a giant of a man for a stand off.
    I recall distinctly that he pretty much beat Saints single handedly at Belle Vue that season.

    According to Wiki, they won 5, lost 5 (but you're right about beating us) :

    "Lewis played for English First Division side Wakefield Trinity (Heritage No. 928) for a short spell during the 1983–84 Rugby Football League season and he remains a favourite of Trinity fans, who named their fanzine Wally Lewis is Coming. Trinity won 5 of 10 games during Lewis's stay, including a win over St. Helens in which Lewis scored a hat-trick. After his last match on 12 February, Trinity did not win another game and were relegated to the second division. "

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •