final after joining the competition in 1967. The Sharks were Captain-coached by Great Britain halfback Tommy Bishop and had a forward pack led by his tough St. Helens and GB teammate Cliff Watson and 1973 Rothmans Medallist Ken Maddison, along with goal kicking 18-year-old whiz-kid centre Steve Rogers. Manly were coached by Ron Willey and captained by tough hooker Freddy Jones, and could boast internationals Ken Irvine, Ray Branighan, Bob Fulton, John O'Neill, British lock Malcolm Reilly, as well as tough tackling second-row forward Terry Randall and 19-year-old fullback Graham Eadie. From the opening kick off the game descended into a series of high or late tackles and several all-in brawls, though surprisingly referee Keith Page didn't send any player off, despite threatening to do so and repeatedly handing out cautions, including twice to all 26 players on the field. In the opening minutes of the game, Mal Reilly was felled in back play by Cronulla hooker Ron "Rocky" Turner well after he kicked the ball and, after writhing on the ground in agony with a badly bruised hip, left the field for a pain killing injection. When he returned he created mayhem with strong-arm tactics, although he was clearly out of sorts football wise and was replaced after just 25 minutes by John Bucknell. In the end, the difference between the two teams was Manly's international centre Bob Fulton who scored two tries in leading Manly to a 10–7 win. The game was described by Sunday Telegraph writer Ian Heads as "A grand final as tough and dirty as any bar-room brawl". In 1975, in one of the most memorable grand finals ever, the Arthur Beetson captained, Jack Gibson coached Eastern Suburbs Roosters, defeated St. George 38–0 to win the premiership. That Roosters team is considered one of the best sides ever assembled and the eight tries to nil scoreline remained a record winning margin in a grand final until the 2008 NRL Grand Final played between Manly Warringah and the Melbourne Storm, Manly winning by the tune of 40–0. However, the game was famous for reasons other than the scoreline. St George's Captain-coach Graeme Langlands played with a misdirected pain killing injection that made his right leg go numb and prevented him from playing anywhere near his best. Easts were without two of their stars, rookie fullback Russell Fairfax and centre Mark Harris, and coach Jack Gibson gambled