Rugby League: the coaches

This newsreel footage features the voices of South Sydney and Manly team coaches (Clive Churchill and Ron Willey, respectively) re-creating what they said to their respective teams before the 1970 Grand Final. 

Coaches create the conditions for players to perform at their best, for the team to be better than the sum of their parts. Before each game, and particularly before a big game, the coach needs to choose the right words to motivate the players.

The 1970s provided some of the greatest grand finals in rugby league history, and 1970 was no exception. The South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles played in front of over 52,000 spectators. Souths had lost the previous grand final to the Balmain Tigers and were desperate to win. Several minutes into the game Manly forward John Bucknall punched Souths captain John Sattler in an off-the-ball incident and broke his jaw in three places. Sattler refused to leave the field, and even came back on for the second half!

In retaliation, Bucknall was targeted by the Souths team's pack and eventually left the field with a shoulder injury. Souths led 12-6 at half-time and went on to win, 23-12 with Manly failing to score a single try. The game is also notable for Eric Simms' record of four field goals which stands as the most ever kicked in a grand final.