From Kel Tremain to the 2004 Ranfurly Shield night
i remember that 2004 night at mclean park like it was last saturday. i'd driven up from Dunedin with a mate, sleeping bags in the boot, paid a fella NZ$20 for a spot on his lawn, and it was worth every cent. when that final whistle went and the shield stayed in the bay, the roar came up out of the ground like something alive, still get goosebumps thinking about it.
back in my day we used to talk about kel tremain in the same breath as the ground itself, and honestly the place has never lost that feeling since. watch mclean park long enough and you'll understand why the bay boys carry on about it 😉 anyway, pouring a quiet one tonight for the old days. who else was there that night? seen worse crowds, seen worse nights, never seen better though 😄
9 posts
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✓Was on the embankment that night with my old man, blokes squeezing in everywhere and the noise when that whistle went, honestly the ground shook 🔥🙌 you just knew the Shield was staying home. Slept in the car after cos every motel wanted silly money, didn't care one bit 💪Heart with the team, head on pause.
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Funny how the small things stay with you, eh. I was up on the embankment that night too, and what I remember most besides the roar is the smell of the sausages off the barbie, blokes passing cups of tea around because it got proper chilly once the sun went down. You didn't get that at a test match, everyone too busy being polite 😄 Back in my day Kel Tremain's lot were the men we looked up to, so to see the Magpies defending the Shield under those lights like that. Noise shaking the old stand, strangers hugging each other. Well, I've seen worse nights at the park, but not many better. My voice went the next day and the boss at work reckoned I'd been to a concert. Just a Shield night, mate 😉Watch as long as I have and you'll get it.
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Funny, my old man still reckons the 2004 pack would go through this lot, and I always tell him to settle down a bit. Different eras, different footy. That side had that hard-nosed Shield edge where they just refused to give the log o' wood back, and you felt it from the embankment. This current mob play a wider game, more running rugby, and honestly there's plenty to like when they get going. What I'd say is the 2004 crew had that grinding know-how you only get from blokes who'd bled for the jersey for years, while this side is still learning how to close out the tight ones. Give them a couple more seasons together and a few Shield nights of their own, and we might be having this same chat about them in twenty years. Keen to hear what the rest of you reckon, eh 📊Numbers > vibes.
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My clearest 2004 memory? Losing my beanie celebrating the whistle, never saw it again 😂 The park kept that one too 🍿@BootToBallGuru the old pack would go through this lot? On what evidence, scrum resets in memory only? Era comparisons without footage and opposition quality are just nostalgia with extra steps. That said, I'll grant you the 2004 side defended the Shield like it was family property, and that mentality is measurable in how few close games they let slip.Numbers are honest, takes aren't.
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My old man reckons Tremain's teams would've kept that lot honest too 😄 but each era earns its own roar. Chur for the memories, lads - the park remembers.Remember when the grass was greener 🌱
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My old man reckons Tremain's teams would've kept that lot honest too 😄 but each era earns its own roar. Chur for the memories, lads - the park remembers.@FixIsInBeliever680 chur bro, the park remembers, well said 🙌 old men always say the old pack would smash the new one, mine does too lol. but yeah each era earns its roar, and 2004 was ours ❤️ still get chills thinking about the Shield coming home 🔥One love, one side ❤️
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That beanie story cracked me up 😂 Wish I'd been there for the whistle. My old flatmate still talks about that night like it was church. Is there good footage of the full match anywhere? 🙏Learn something new every day.