March 8, 2022: Book extract: When the Raiders partied with Shane Warne at the 1997 World Club Challenge
The late cricket great was fondly remembered by Two Tribes interviewees.
From Chapter 14: Here For A Holiday
The Jason Death incident was the same day the Raiders went to the Ashes Test at Headingley, which we touched on briefly earlier in this chapter.
Laurie Daley doesn’t recall the baggy green cap being stolen but does remember many drunken misadventures with the cricketers.
Luke Davico says: “I went and got outfits for everyone. We got ladies singlet tops and wigs. You’ll see photos. We stormed the pitch as they won, then we got back into the sheds and celebrated with the Aussies. It was unbelievable.
“There was a whole heap of signed bats. One of the players said ‘you can take it, no worries at all’. I was geeing up saying it was Glenn McGrath’s bad and I walked out with it. The manager chased me out and grabbed it and said ‘Glenn McGrath did not give you that bat!’
“I think Michael Kasprowicz’s cap might have gone missing but it wasn’t from any of us.
“We had Jason Croker sitting next to Shane Warne in the sheds, just going ‘well done guys’ and then I picked up someone’s bat and Toots (Croker) is blind and said ‘hit me across the head’ so I hit Toots across the forehead with this bat.
“And the cricketers are looking up going ‘what’s going on here’. Toots is going ‘c’mon, hit me harder!’ so I just started hitting him across the forehead. He took his false tooth out and took Warney’s hand and put his false tooth in Warney’s hand and then stood up and said ‘c’mon hit me!’ so I’m smashing him across the head while Warney’s holding Tootsy’s false tooth!
“Out of control - and there’s so many of those!
“Then we went back to the hotel and we welcomed the Aussie cricketers back to the hotel.”
Daley: “I remember singing the song (John Williamson’s ‘Hey True Blue’) and they were using bat handles and poking holes in the roof, pushing the roof up. What some of the boys did was they gee-ed the security up to go and grab Mal (Meninga) like they were kicking him out, to the roar of the crowd. It was all good fun but Mal had no idea what was going on.
“What I do recall of that night was Mal … we were getting pissed with the cricketers and a few of the boys thought they could tackle Mal. We were geeing Mal up, going ‘these blokes reckon they can give it to you’ and we were saying to the cricketers ‘you’ll bash him, he’s soft, he’s quite easy’
“So we had this comp where Mal had to run with a can of beer in his hand and he had to score a try at the other end of the room. There was a couple of the cricketers, it might have been the Waugh brothers and Michael Bevan, Slats (Michael Slater) or someone. I just remember a couple of them going into tackle Mal and Mal’s just dropped the hip and shoulder and ‘bang’ they’ve all gone flying off him and hit their heads and fell over and Mal’s just slammed the can down and goes ‘try!’ Hahaha.
“I remember waking up the next day and finding out Deathy was chucked on a plane.”
Simon Woolford: “They reckon Steve Waugh had a crook shoulder for months after that. I think Jason Croker, he picked up Michael Bevan and threw him through the roof I think.
“I was wearing Steve Waugh’s baggy green back at the hotel for about an hour. I actually got a photo of Steve Waugh wearing my wig and him wearing my baggy green.
“I think it was (Michael) Kasprowicz. I’m not even sure he got that (baggy green) back.
“In the dressing room afterwards was unbelievable. Luke Davico had a big fat lip, he had a big scab on his lip. He got knocked around the day before against Halifax. He lost a tooth. It went through his lip.
“He’s there in the motel and Shane Warne’s there with a smoke hanging out his mouth and Luke Davico just grabbed the smoke and had a drag of his smoke and gave it back.
“I remember Warney just looking at him, having a look at the lip … he didn’t know what was wrong with the lip and he said ‘nah, nah mate. You can keep that’.”
BUMPER CROWD STIRS A GIANT FROM HIBERNATION
Sydney Morning Herald, Saturday, March 8 1997
PARRAMATTA 10
NORTH SYDNEY 8
By STEVE MASCORD
Parramatta Stadium
REBORN Parramatta last night rewarded their biggest home crowd in 11 years with a tense 10-8 victory to kick off the Australian Rugby League season.
ARL officials were beaming after their gala launch of the 1997 premiership drew a crowd of 25,000, a large portion of which hoped to witness the resurrection of a club in hibernation for the past decade.
They got their wish, but only after enduring 80 excruciatingly tense minutes.
It was a try to winger Shane Whereat, after a mistake by Bears winger Nigel Roy, that secured victory after Norths led 8-6 at the break.
But the game was in the balance until the end, with a downfield kick by Bears centre Michael Buettner being fumbled near the tryline before being cleaned up by Parramatta defenders with seconds remaining.
At kick-off the outer ground was full to overflowing, with the ground announcer asking spectators on the southern hill to move so more could be accommodated.
The Eels responded to the fans' support by scoring after just three minutes, prop Chris King collecting a pass from lock Jim Dymock at dummy half and charging over from five metres.
The Eels, in their competitive debut under new coach Brian Smith, gave their fans plenty of reason for optimism.
With the likes of King and fellow front-rower Peter Johnston laying a sound platform and halfback John Simon directing play, they produced a balanced and entertaining attacking style.
But the Bears managed to get outside their defence in the 12th minute when Penrith import, winger Scott Pethybridge, was sent down the left touchline and tackled about 20m out.
An ensuing grubber kick in-goal for centre Chris Caruana went dead before he could get to it.The Eels went within an ace of another touchdown at the 20-minute mark when winger Nathan Barnes crossed in the corner off a Jarrod McCracken pass.
But referee David Manson called play back, ruling McCracken offside as he gathered a crossfield kick. Norths coach Peter Louis, who preferred prop Josh Stuart to international back-rower Billy Moore out of his starting side, soon had Moore on the park.
And with 17 minutes remaining in the half, Moore scored the simplest of tries after Mark Reber swooped .on an ill-conceived one-handed pass from Eels five-eighth Stuart Kelly in his own 20 and put Moore over.
Perhaps put off by the fireworks ignited every time a try was scored, normally reliable Bears skipper and goalkicker Jason Taylor missed the conversion.
With less than two minutes remaining in the half, Caruana took advantage of a blindside overlap and galloped over to give the Bears the lead. Once again, Taylor's conversion went awry.
Parramatta had the chance to regain the ascendancy when centre, McCracken, made a long break four minutes after the recess.
But as would occur a number of times over the next 20 minutes, a pass went astray with a try beckoning.
More knock-ons including two by prop Peter Johnston were to follow as the Eels lifted the big crowd's hopes, only to shatter them.
Eventually North Sydney's opportunities came, with Taylor attempting to pin Parramatta in their own territory.
But the Eels had a let-off when Riolo was tackled 20m out only for the Bears defence to be caught offside.
Parramatta was fortunate once more when Norths prop Josh Stuart lost the ball with the Bears on the offensive.
But another tackle, with 23 minutes remaining, seemed to swing the game's fortune further towards the Eels.
Bears prop Gary Larson was carted off on the medicab with a leg injury after going down in an otherwise normal tackle.
Two minutes after he crossed the touch-line, the Eels Shane Whereat scored the winner off a near perfect pass from second-rower Dean Pay.
PARRAMATTA 10 (C King S Whereat tries J Simon goal) beat NORTH SYDNEY 8 (B Moore C Caruana tries) at Parramatta Stadium. Referee: D Manson. Crowd: 25,114.
GAMES
ARL round one:
Manly 14 Balmain 10 at Leichhardt Oval
Gold Coast 24 Western Suburbs 16 at Campbelltown Stadium
Super League Australasia round two:
Auckland 18 Hunter 14 at Ericsson Stadium
Challenge Cup quarter-final:
Daley spoke about the WCC tour and Warne on 2KY radio on Monday