Round 1, 1989: Parramatta 22 Manly 20

Round 1, 1989: Parramatta 22 d Manly 20

Rugby League Week

Accusations of a squirrel grip dominated the headlines after Parramatta and Manly played out a seven-try thriller at Parramatta Stadium.

Manly five-eighth Cliff Lyons was fuming post-match, alleging that an opposition player intentionally grabbed his testicles during the Sea Eagles’ 22-20 defeat to Parramatta.

“I was in an incident with Eric Grothe and someone came from behind, got a handful and tried to yank them off,” Lyons told the Sydney Morning Herald.

“I’ve got a fair idea who it is, but I’m not prepared to say anything at this stage.”

It was a torrid afternoon for the Sea Eagles who not only scored more tries than their opponents (4-3) but also had four additional touchdowns disallowed by a series of controversial forward pass calls.

Despite this, though, the consensus was that Parramatta deserved the win due to their more controlled approach to the game. Peter Sterling was busy as always, playing a hand in at least two Eels tries, although he played far from the perfect game, throwing two intercept passes during vital stages of the match. Likewise, fullback Andrew Fitzhenry played a vital role, kicking five goals from five attempts and filling in at the unfamiliar dummy-half role.

Manly was best served by halfback Des Hasler who scored an absolute pearler of a try in the opening stages of the second half after fielding a Sterling grubber on his line.