A CENTURY ago Dally Messenger, the son of a boat builder, and a highly accomplished sculler, would sometimes row down the Parramatta River in between training, having just switched codes, controversially, to the new and more professional game of rugby league for Easts.
The riverbank was swampy, but to the south were some saleyards around Homebush Bay. Next door an abattoir was being built. In his wildest dreams he would not have envisaged the game 100 years on: the 80,000-seat stadium, sponsors' logos in coloured lights, and professional players paid more than the Prime Minister.
Last night, two of the eight foundation clubs, Sydney Roosters (formerly Easts) and South Sydney Rabbitohs, kicked off the 2008 centenary season amid the kind of politicking and point-scoring with which Messenger was intimately familiar. The game has moved on to six tackles, 10 interchanges and reduced points for field goals, but the mudslinging, club feuds and the disputes about money, commercialism and ego have continued to fester.
This week the actor and Souths co-owner Russell Crowe read stories of feuding between the two seaside teams to his players before they trained. If the prodigal son Craig Wing, who defected back to Souths from his stellar career at Easts, did not know the historic bitter tales - administrative fights over club boundaries, player poaching and the never-ending battle between the top club administrators - he does now.
Messenger was a superstar of rugby union who had played for the Double Bay Warrigals and then Easts, and was with the Wallabies when he was persuaded in late 1907 to play three games for a rebel rugby league franchise for £50 against the All Golds from New Zealand.
In his canny way, Messenger told the rebel leaders - James Giltinan, Victor Trumper and Henry Hoyle - to pay the money to his mother so that he could be straight-faced when claiming he had not been paid a penny.
Behind the scenes Messenger was influential in establishing the rival competition which started in 1908, promising payments for the players and medical assistance for any injuries. He travelled to Newcastle to convince the steelworkers to defect and make up the eighth team in the fledgling competition.
One of the crucial Newcastle defectors was Ted McGuinness, a Messenger ally. McGuinness, who died in his late 40s from complications arising from a football injury, later wrote to The Newcastle Herald explaining the impact of the 13-man game.
"The tendency of the league game to my mind has been to produce a new type of player who is light in build, will bounce about and show plenty of pace, is ever on the alert to attack, is capable of resourcefulness but is woefully deficient in the art of defence."
He concluded on his optimism that the new game would "never lose its popularity".
League has remained in the family. His grandson Darren McGuinness and great-grandson Mitchell, 12, live in the shadow of the Knights' stadium and are ardent supporters. They will watch the centenary season with heightened interest, given their roots.
"I'm really proud of my grandfather because he had the guts to stand up and make a mark," Mr McGuinness said.
Newcastle was needed to make up the numbers after a plan to form a St George club failed. Players from that district had voted to form a league club but only two were brave enough to make the switch. Manly also failed to get a team together.
The first NSW Rugby League competition started with nine clubs, Cumberland joining after the first round. They were Glebe, Newtown, Western Suburbs, South Sydney, North Sydney, Balmain, Eastern Suburbs, Newcastle and Cumberland.
