Fifty Years Ago - Round Four, 1971

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George Peterson's weekly column looking back at this week fifty years ago continues - this week it's Round 4, 1971.

The sensational wash-up from last Thursday's Lidcombe match, that saw Wests' Peter Flanders replaced after 50 minutes so he could get the train home for Easter, demonstrated (if there was any doubt) who held all the cards in the relationship between players and clubs.

The club committee suspended 21 year old Flanders for the rest of the season and cancelled his contract declaring "he will never play for Wests again".  Flanders, from Coffs Harbour, was in his fourth year with Wests, but none of that seemed to count for much in front of the Magpies bosses.  The despondent young full back will appeal to the NSWRFL, but it seems his chances are slim indeed.

Meanwhile, the chase for the J.J. Giltinan Shield continues! 

Almost 20,000 spectators turned out for the "Match of the Round" at the SCG on Saturday April 17th, 1971.  Manly remain undefeated after coming from behind to defeat St George 13-9.  The Sea Eagles were without English international Mal Reilly who was suspended for three matches after last week's send off, but their forwards worked hard and, in the end, gave room to their backs (led by Bob Fulton and Ken Irvine) to outscore the Dragons three tries to one. 

Saturday's only other match was between winless Canterbury and the North Sydney Bears.  Norths won 17-10, but as Rod Humphries from the Herald wrote Canterbury are now considered to be (in Boxing parlance) the team with the glass jaw.  In front of just 4,200 spectators at North Sydney Oval, the Bulldogs slipped to their fourth loss in a row, having conceded 30 tries in 320 minutes. I'll let you do the maths!!   

Sundays matches were headlined by the match between Eastern Suburbs and Balmain at the Sports Ground.  A scrappy disjointed match was won by the Tigers 10-7.  The match was overshadowed by continued wrangling between Easts and Souths over the services of Test Lock Ron Coote, who has signed with the Roosters, but cannot get a clearance from the Rabbitohs.

Cronulla's spiteful match against Newtown at Henson Park was a disaster for the visitors. First, they lost 10-9 to the previously winless Bluebags. Second captain-coach, Tommy Bishop was carried off after being kicked in the head and third, lock Rod Urquart was sent off for head-butting.  Newtown scored 2 tries to 1 and reading between the lines, got the better of the brawl, that saw one Shark player taken off needing six stitches to close a wound, returning after 6 minutes with the club doctor.

Out at Penrith Park, the Panthers rebalanced their season with a (24 - 12) over Parramatta. On the back of a mountain of possession (scrums 22 - 11) the home team was cruising at 24 - 2, before tries to gun forward Dick Thornett, and winger Terry Scurfield, put some respectability back in the visitors score. Both teams are on 2 wins and 2 losses after 4 matches.  

The most lopsided match of the round saw South Sydney defeat Western Suburbs 40-16.  Dennis Pittard and Bob McCarthy both grabbed a double (for the Rabbitohs) in the 8-tries-to-2 thrashing. The final whistle brought a close to a week the Lidcombe club would rather forget.