DEBATE RAGING OVER GREATEST JERSEYS EVER
THESE days NRL sides change jersey designs seemingly every year.
There’s home jerseys, away jerseys, alternate jerseys, one-off commemorative jerseys, charity strips, heritage jerseys and everything in between.
There’s so many designs, so many changes season to season it’s impossible to keep track of them all but every now and then a certain design or two that sticks in the memory and in the heart.
Everyone has one – maybe it’s the strip your team wore when they won their first title, or the first jersey you had as a kid, or the one you had when you first became a member, or the one you were wearing when you saw the coach down the pub and badgered him about team selections – but regardless of how it started, you’ll never, ever forget it.
On Monday, News Corp is launching a campaign to reveal every NRL club’s best jersey.
Our expert panel has short-listed five jumpers from each club, so all you need to do is get online and visit goldcoastbulletin.com.au to cast your vote.
Maybe it’s one of the blue and white numbers Canterbury wore when they were filled with Mortimer and Hughes brothers. Or the timeless Manly strip from the late 1980s that summons visions of Cliffy Lyons seemingly having all the time in the world with ball in hand.
We keep these jerseys even after we’ve outgrown them and hide them away, either to be passed down to your kids or stored away as treasures. They’re heirlooms, touchstones, a ticket to our memories, even as the colours fade and the logos start peeling off.
If you’re lucky, they’ll bring out a replica jersey that has none of the modern flash – they have to be cotton, not synthetic, and long sleeves and a collar are a must – but twice as much charm.
The sponsor is almost as crucial for a classic jersey as the design.
In 1989, Woodger’s went bust shortly after Canberra won the club’s first premiership with their logo emblazoned across their jersey. Not even a win in the greatest grand final ever played could save them.
But they live on in one of Canberra’s most iconic strips, up there with Video Ezy and Canberra Milk – not bad for a real estate firm that closed down over 30 years ago.
In the mid-1990s the Broncos diamonds strip was reviled, but it’s since become a cult classic – it was so out, it came all the way around and was back in, even though it’s one of the rare jerseys Brisbane never wore in a grand final victory.
BOOM Lions recruit Joe Daniher has led Brisbane to a 47point win over Gold Coast in a scratch match at Metricon Stadium.
Daniher took advantage of a Suns team without key defenders Sam Collins and Rory Thompson, slotting four goals, including two in the first term, in his first competitive game since moving from Essendon as Brisbane ran out 15.12 (102) to 8.7 (55) winners.
The absence of Gold Coast’s keys on Saturday left young defender Caleb Graham to do the job, along with Charlie Ballard and Jack Bowes who battled undersized against the 201cm giant.
Collins is expected to be back to full fitness next week after battling a foot complaint while Thompson remains on the long-term injury list.
Fellow Lions tall forward Eric Hipwood also kicked four goals, relishing the chance to play alongside Daniher.
“It was a lot of fun. When he jumps at the ball he is really exciting,” Hipwood said.
“It’s just good to see him out on the park. It’s been a long stint in rehab.
“We don’t have too many expectations of him; it’s just good to see him out there.”
Brisbane torched a lacklustre Suns in the first term, kicking seven goals to one to take a 35-point lead into the second.
Gold Coast was being punished for kicking short too often early, putting itself under pressure and turning the ball over while Brownlow Medallist Lachie Neale pushed forward dangerously from stoppages.
The Suns steadied in the remaining three quarters, equalling Brisbane’s efforts in the contest as the margin barely moved.
Wil Powell, Alex Sexton and Chris Burgess were left out of Gold Coast’s rotations in the first term while Matt Rowell and David Swallow were rested after halftime.
Ben King came off with a lower leg complaint at the end of the first quarter but was moving freely and played on while Jarrod Witts returned from a split eye in the second term.
Suns recruit Oleg Markov was impressive in the backline, showing pace while rebounding and using the ball well going forward.
Swallow, Witts, Jarrod Harbrow, Touk Miller, Ben Ainsworth and Sean Lemmens were among Gold Coast’s best while Will Brodie put in a good audition for a spot in the Suns’ best 22, months after asking for a trade.