flight path for the airport. Jack Gibson took over as Newtown coach in 1973. Gibson picked his team solely on form, irrespective of seniority. The great Brian Moore had been relegated to the reserves bench throughout the preliminary rounds of the Wills Cup tournament, and youngsters like Ian Satori, Dennis Gardiner, Peter Parry and Warren Snodgrass were all given a chance in the top grade. The Newtown side for the final was: Barry Cox, Mark Cohen, Dave Oliveri, John Bonham, John Bradstock, Ken Wilson, Des O'Connor (c), Neil Pringle, Gary Sullivan, Peter Parry, Tom Melville, Mark Robertson and Dennis Gardiner. The St. George lineup was: Graeme Langlands, Geoff Carr, Ted Goodwin, Bob Clapham, John Chapman, Tony Branson, M. Shulman, Lindsay Drake, Peter Fitzgerald, Rod Reddy, Inisai Toga, Colin Rasmussen, and Harry Eden. The Wills Cup Final was played under floodlights at the old Sydney Sports Ground on St Patricks day before a crowd of 13,180. At halftime St. George were up 15-2 and looked certain to win. In the second half the Newtown forward pack gave the Saints a taste of their own medicine which helped gain tries for Melville and Robertson, both converted by Ken Wilson which reduced the St George lead to 15–12. Brian Moore brought on at halftime, scored the final try, converted by Ken Wilson which sealed victory for Newtown in the last minute, making the game one of the most exciting comeback wins in rugby league history. After Gibson departed the Newtown side as head coach, the club went through another period of decline and finished last in the 1976, 1977 and 1978 seasons. In 1979, the club appointed Warren Ryan as head coach who turned the club's fortunes around again once more. The 1981 Newtown team, which played in the club's last NSWRL premiership grand final, included the legends of game Tommy Raudonikis and Phil Gould. It was coached by Warren Ryan. Newtown had led the match 7–6 at halftime against Parramatta but were defeated 20–11 at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Ejection from the Premiership Along with financial pressures and pressure put on by the South Sydney Rabbitohs to expel the club, the club was forced out of the NSWRL Premiership at the end of 1983. The club continued to seek readmission, pursuing various different alternatives. One such alternative, proposed for the 1985 season (after a planned one-year sojourn from the League) involved a