Berries' most persistent weakness during this long drought lay in attack: Canterbury did not score so many as fifty tries in any season between 1951 and 1969, and between 1954 and 1961 the highest season's try tally by any individual Canterbury player was just seven by five-eighth Ray Gartner in 1960. The Berries' one potential prolific tryscorer, winger and local junior Barry Stenhouse, suffered a career-ruining leg muscle injury in 1954, a season after scoring fourteen tries and sharing a Sydney Morning Herald "Player of the Year" award with Keith Holman. 1967: the "intercept" Grand Final In 1967 Canterbury were captain-coached by tough forward Kevin Ryan, who had joined them from St George and helped them break his former club's extraordinary run of eleven straight premierships by beating them 12–11 in the preliminary final after being down 9-0 early on. Prior to this, Canterbury had finished third in the regular season, three points behind South Sydney and four behind minor premiers St George. Their semi-final campaign started well, beating Easts 13–2, before victory over the Dragons. They lost to Souths in the premiership decider, in a match best remembered for Bob McCarthy's intercept try. The match had been a close one, with Souths leading 10–8 at half time, before Canterbury drew level for much of the second half. Souths gained the lead four minutes from full-time with an Eric Simms goal following a penalty for an incorrect scrum feed by Canterbury half Ross Kidd. For the losers, fullback Les Johns, second-rower Kevin Goldspink and centre Bob Hagan all stood out. Reformation and rebuilding years The following few years saw mixed fortunes for the club on the field, with a sudden decline in 1968 and 1969 followed by a semi-final berth in 1970 (though they immediately bowed out by losing 12–7 to St George) and a return to mid-table in 1971 and 1972. However, off the field the club was developing administrative strength that would restore it to the status of a "power" for the following thirty seasons. Canterbury made the semis again in 1973, coming fifth in the first year the competition had a final five rather than four. Though they lost to Newtown, this heralded better times as the club made the semis every year for the rest of the decade, apart from 1977 when the team was heavily hit by injuries. 1974 proved more promising, as the club