Rugby League (Team of the Century

RUGBY LEAGUE (TEAM OF THE CENTURY)

by Marco Gliori

So the Gods of Rugby League have summoned up an Aussie dream,
From one hundred years of players they have picked their perfect team.
Living Legends, priceless players who have stood the test of time,
Now for one eternal Sunday we will see them in their prime.

In the dressing sheds they gather for the game we long to see,
And the air is thick with humour and a shy humility,
As Jack Gibson, coach and mentor, looks around and sneaks a smile
While big Artie wipes the pie crust from his cheeky grinning dial.

Chook Raper pulls his boots on as he sheds his bowler hat,
Brian Bevan, like a pommy jokes, “that’s enooff o’ that!”
Ken Irvine shakes the cobwebs off by sprinting on the spot
And the little master, Churchill, can’t believe the team he’s got.

King Wally and Meninga share a moment on the side,
Could it be to milk a canetoad of its ‘never say die’ pride,
While a cockroach scuttles past, Andrew Johns, the vital link,
He is stirring up Noel Kelly just incase there is a stink.

But if there is, with Hall and Cootes and Proven in the pack,
The opposition team would be half-mad to have a crack,
They’ll be playing for their very lives and more concerned I’m sure,
With stopping blokes like Gasnier from racking up the score.

To the rattle of the boot tags, through the teary smell of oil,
Down the tunnel they come marching as the crowd goes on the boil,
Wild, euphoric fans erupt as now their dream team is revealed,
So they stand and cheer once more, these humble heroes to the field.

As they pass the bench it’s obvious selectors had a splurge
With the likes of Bozo, Messenger, Langlands and Frank Burge,
Name a hundred other fine Australian players from the fold,
And they’d do our country proud when saddled up in Green and Gold.

But tonight this team has hit the paddock like a hurtling train
They chose our world to rattle through, and here they come again,
Each character immortal, each choice with its intrigue,
And they played the greatest game of all, the sport of Rugby League