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Greats get NRL grand final recognition
By James Dampney
AAP

Rugby league greats Clive Churchill, Norm Provan and Johnny Raper will be recognised with man of the match awards at this weekend's NRL grand final, over 30 years after any of them played a game.
The trio are among 32 former players to get retrospective awards for grand final deeds past prior to Sunday's decider between Melbourne and Manly at ANZ Stadium.
While mandatory grand finals were introduced to the game in 1954, it wasn't until 1986 that the Clive Churchill Medal was presented to the best player in a competition decider.
So the centenary of rugby league historians committee got together and reviewed archived footage, newspaper clippings and record books to belatedly name the best players from grand finals between 1954-1985.
"It was no easy task but it was a great pleasure to revisit great matches featuring great players," said Ian Heads, who was on the committee handed the task of deciding the 32 recipients.
"Rugby league over the years has been very comprehensively covered by the media and to dig through those 32 grand finals probably wasn't as hard as you might think.
"We worked our way through reading every possible thing written about each of those 32 grand finals and then where necessary going to players and coaches to seek second opinions.
"It was an exhaustive process but at the end of it we had 32 names, some of them among the best players ever to play the game."
Fittingly, the man the medal is named after, Churchill, was chosen as the 1954 man of the match.
Fellow South Sydney great Norm Provan gets three of them, 1957, 1958 and 1963, while Graham Eadie (1976, 1978) and Brett Kenny (1982, 1983) get two.

Joining the legends centre field at ANZ Stadium will be popular Australian band “The Living End”, iconic rocker Jon Stevens and the retiring players who bid farewell to the Telstra Premiership in 2008. Traditional crowd favourites in the Holiday Inn Junior League Relay and Navy Sea Hawk chopper will be part of an hour-long entertainment package designed to celebrate the Game’s Centenary year plus the return to a day-time Grand Final.
Since bursting on to the scene with their cult hit “Prisoner of Society” in 1997, The Living End have cemented their status as one of Australia’s most popular rock acts.
Their 2008 release “White Noise” has been nominated for four ARIA Awards including Best Album, with their debut single of the same name reaching No.1 on the Australian singles chart.
“The Living End” will be accompanied by Jon Stevens, who will perform his classic hit “Take Me Back” as a celebration of the Grand Final returning to day-time.
In a further boost for an already impressive entertainment line-up, critically acclaimed Australian musician Anthony Warlow will step off stage and into the ANZ Stadium cauldron to perform the National Anthem in front of 83,000 screaming fans.
Since making his musical debut as a 19-year-old in the 1981 production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, Warlow has amazed audiences with his wide spectrum of music, including “The Phantom of the Opera” and more contemporary performances with the likes of Olivia Newton John and John Farnham.
“The announcement of the Grand Final Man of the Match winners prior to the introduction of the Churchill Medal is a fitting tribute for Grand Final Day in the game’s Centenary year, while the successful mix of Australian rock and traditional activity will ensure there is something for every Rugby League fan,” NRL Chief Executive, Mr David Gallop, said.
“The list of former Grand Final champions we are honouring on Sunday is truly remarkable and I’m sure their presence on the ground will spark memories of some of the great Grand Final players and moments.
“I encourage fans to get out to the ground early and enjoy the variety of free activities on offer in the precinct before settling into your seat and enjoying all the action of the VB NSW Cup and Toyota Cup Grand Finals.”
The VB NSW Cup Grand Final between Newtown Jets and Wentworthville Magpies will kick-off at 12.15pm and the Toyota Cup Grand Final between the Canberra Raiders and Brisbane Broncos will kick-off at 2.15pm.
The Broncos came away with a thrilling last-minute victory against the Warriors last Saturday night and will be looking for Toyota Cup Player of the Year Ben Hunt to lead them to victory.
The Raiders, meanwhile, held off a fast-finishing St George Illawarra last Friday night to move within one win of capping off a memorable year in the Under 20’s competition in which they won the Minor Premiership.

bunnies wrote: Give yourself an upper cut Super Cronk, The Living End is the best Aussie live band  to see nad hear and Jon Stevens is an added bonus!

We saw The Living End last Saturday night at the Enmore again, ( have been to many shows before) and it was one of the best live performances I have been to in a very long time!

Cheers
Bunnies

nacho wrote: was the living end the entertainment at the afl GF ? that was god awful