It’s time yet again to jump into the Delorian, set the date to Sunday, October 5th 2003 and bring you a reflection on what the world was like the last time the Penrith Panthers won the NRL Grand Final.
The Panthers Went Into the Game as Underdogs
Despite finishing top of the NRL ladder after the regular season, the Panthers still went into the Grand Final as underdogs against the Roosters who were looking to go back-to-back.
Given that the Panthers finished last just two years prior, nor did they make the finals in 2002, not many gave John Lang and his men a chance heading into the season decider.
Penrith became the first team to be top and bottom of the ladder in the same season.
The Panthers lost their first two games of the 2003 NRL season and found themselves on the bottom of the ladder after a 26-point loss to the Melbourne Storm at Olympic Park.
Penrith would win their first game for the season the following week, ironically against the Roosters at the Sydney Football Stadium by 1-point to kick start their season.
During 2003, Penrith would go on to a seven-game winning streak at the midway point of the season as they charged towards the minor premiership.
Ricky Stuart was Roosters Coach and Played Mind Games All Week in the Leadup
To the surprise of nobody at the time, the then Sydney Roosters coach Ricky Stuart played some much-hyped mind games as to if star Rooster Brett Finch would be a start at halfback in the Grand Final.
Finch would spend the Roosters preliminary final win against the Bulldogs on the bench when he included Michael Crocker in his starting pack with Craig Wing moved to the half-back role.
Stuart boasted at the Grand Final breakfast on Thursday morning leading up to the game that Finch would start, he said “Yes, we will.”
It didn’t happen.
Scott Sattler made that Tackle
Ask any Panthers fan as to when they had the 2003 Provan-Summons Trophy and they’ll tell you it was when Scott Sattler made that try-saving tackle on Roosters winger Todd Byrne.
Luke Priddis won the Clive Churchill Medal
Penrith Hooker Luke Priddis played his best game and played a vital role in ensuring the Panthers 18-6 victory over the Roosters that night.
Priddis was best on ground after setting up two tries and even scored one himself to ensure Penrith’s second premiership and one of the biggest upsets in Rugby League Grand Final history.
It was the First All-Sydney NRL Grand Final
The game between Penrith and the Roosters would be the first time an all-Sydney fixture would feature since the ARL and Super League merged to form the NRL in 1998.
It was the first time since 1995 when Canterbury played Manly a first-grade Grand Final was all teams from the Harbour City.
Penrith Hijacked a Bus
Should the Panthers get the job done on Sunday night, they’ll have a lot to live up to compared to how the 2003 premiership team celebrated.
Scott Sattler confirmed to SEN last year that the Panthers who had enjoyed a refreshment or two had decided to hijack a bus to take them to the clubs fan day the following afternoon.
“It was at the Pioneer Hotel in Penrith, and we had to get to a fan day in Penrith where all the fans were turning up.
“We realised we had to get there and no one knew how to get there, no one had mobile phones on them, we didn’t have time to call a cab.
“So, we ran out onto Northern Road and we hailed down a bus and the guy stopped, he was on his route obviously and we said we’ve got to get to Penrith Stadium.”
The Dally M was Cancelled.
A pay dispute between the NRL and the players saw threats from the players association to boycott the event.
The League called their bluff and cancelled it altogether.
Penrith’s Craig Gower led by one vote entering the final round was considered the man of the match in Round 26, with many suspecting he would have been the winner had the function gone ahead.
That’s my Team became the NRL anthem
After a string of failed ad campaigns, think Thomas Kenneally or Tom Jones, the NRL got the Hoodoo Guru’s to adapt “What’s my Scene” into “That’s my Team” and turned it into one of the more iconic Rugby League anthems.
“Where is the Love?” by the Black-Eyed Peas Topped the Charts
Thank goodness this version from Channel 7’s Sunrise at the time didn’t top the charts.
Spot the future prime minister…
Australian Idol, The OC and Rove was must-watch TV.
We were down to the original final-12 in Australian Idol – think Cosima, Millsy (just under a month away from hooking up with Paris Hilton), Paulini, Guy Sebastian and of cause Nollsy.
Tuesday nights on Channel 10 was a must-watch viewing with the OC at 8:30 into Rove Live at 9:30, What the?!?
Actually, most of the good shows seemed to be on Channel 10 back then.
The Monday night SBS lineup of EPL highlights show at 7:30, South Park 8:30 and Fat Pizza at 9pm was also a staple.
Camera phones had just hit the market.
Given the tales of Penrith’s post-game celebrations and the quality of the camera phones back then, they are thankful there were no smartphones or social media.
The Nokia 3310 was still king. In fact, many would argue it still is.
John Howard was Prime Minister.
Howard was in his third term as PM and had teamed up with his old mate George W. Bush sending troops to the Iraq war.
He was also 64 that year, with then Treasurer Peter Costello hoping to be handed to the keys to the lodge.
It didn’t happen.
Bob Carr was NSW Premier
When you think Sports lover and knock-about bloke, only one NSW Premier comes to mind – Bob Carr.
Bob Carr was known for predicting that NSW would triumph over Victoria in State of Origin and reading a book when in attendance at matches.
Australia was about to host the Rugby World Cup
A week later, or so, the 2003 Rugby Union World Cup was about to get underway with Australian hearts broken by Johnny Wilkinson.
For the good part of that month, footy fans of all codes found themselves as experts of Rugby Union.