15 years since the Broncos first grand final

[Queenslander]

Quiet Cann a roaring success

Article from: The Courier-Mail
Robert Craddock
September 26, 2007 12:00am

BRONCOS back-rower Alan Cann was known as much for his face of stone as his considerable football ability.

A shy, undemonstrative man who loathed team meetings and was not confident in his communication skills, his stern demeanour was his way of keeping the world at bay.

Yet his greatest football memory was the day he threw away the mask and let himself be blissfully swept away by the defining moment of his career during Brisbane's first premiership win.

This year marks the 15th anniversary of the first of the Broncos' back-to-back grand final wins against St George, a 28-8 scoreline which featured two classic Cann tries.

For the first he surged on to a fine Trevor Gillmeister pass and beat four defenders, and for the second he sidestepped forward Neil Tierney and ran 20m to score.

After the first try Cann rose to his feet to be embraced by Kevin Walters and let out a primeval roar.

When he returned to the Broncos Leagues Club a few hours later and saw the moment captured in first editions of The Courier-Mail he knew he had to have it on his wall. It has been there ever since.

"My memories of that first try are fading but I can still feel the massive adrenalin rush I felt when I could see the tryline and knew I was going to cross it," Cann said. "The scream was just relief. We just could not afford to lose that game. We were expected to win. We could not afford to turn up with our B game."

The tries made Cann a mini-cult hero but he remained well grounded. At the time he was still working a 40-hour week tossing kegs at the Newnham Hotel and honouring traditions of the game such as a post-match dressingroom beer which are frowned upon today.

"After working all week, those beers were your little treat," he said. "We got back to the Brisbane airport after that win and we couldn't move. There must have been about 5000 to 7000 people and when we got on the bus they were all lined up along the street."

These days Cann, who operates a carpet franchise business, is a much more expansive soul than he was.

"I don't like a lot of fuss and I am not the greatest speaker so I deliberately dodged the media a bit," he said.

"I just wanted to mind my own business and get on with it. We had some funny moments where team-mates like Kev Walters would bait me.

"I used to ignore them because I didn't have the wit to get back - they would just chop you down. The backs would would call us the 'Pop Gun Pack' and we would call them 'The Magnets' because they were always hanging around Wayne Bennett."

Rated by prop Glenn Lazarus as the most under-rated Bronco he played with, Cann retired from football in 1999 with few regrets other than the fact he played just one Origin match.

BRONCOS 28 (Allan Langer 2, Alan Cann 2, Steve Renouf tries; Terry Matterson 4 goals) d ST GEORGE 8 (Ricky Walford, Scott Gourley tries), at Sydney Football Stadium. Crowd: 41,560. Churchill Medallist: Langer.

The Courier Mail

[DIEHARD]

One of my favourite rugby league memories.

The celebrations in Brisbane were massive after that victory!

[Dragons]

One of my favourite rugby league memories.

The celebrations in Brisbane were massive after that victory!

I didn't celebrate

[PROMETHEUS]

Six winning grand finals in fifteen years...not a bad return.

[DIEHARD]

And who could forget the song "St George can't play! St George can't play! St George can't play! St George can't play! St George can't play! St George can't play! St George can't play! St George can't play! St George can't play! St George can't play! St George can't play! St George can't play! St George can't play! St George can't play!"

[Dragons]

And who could forget the song "St George can't play! St George can't play! St George can't play! St George can't play! St George can't play! St George can't play! St George can't play! St George can't play! St George can't play! St George can't play! St George can't play! St George can't play! St George can't play! St George can't play!"

I hate Alfie Langer! I hate Alfie Langer! I hate Alfie Langer! I hate Alfie Langer! etc...etc...etc

[HodgoBerro]

the one that started it all...6 premierships from 6 grand final berths. which other team has done that?