The Sattler legacy: Courage, humility and grand final heroics

‘They talk about heroics, that is the equal of anything I ever did’.

With that emotional tribute to son Scott amid euphoric scenes in the Penrith dressing room after the 2003 grand final, John Sattler displayed the family pride and humility that made him such a beloved figure in our game.

Some 43 years earlier, the Rabbitohs legend had written his name in grand final folkore by playing almost the entire 1970 decider against Manly with a broken jaw. Now he had witnessed Scott pull off a cover tackle for the ages on Roosters winger Todd Byrne during the second half of an epic decider which the Panthers went on to win 18-6.

“That tackle swung the momentum of the game Penrith’s way. I don’t know how Scott did it – it was a tackle in a million and people will be talking about it for many years to come,” John told Rugby League Week as he savoured his son’s success.

One family, two humble heroes, two magic moments to live long in the memory of those who witnessed them and those who have had the stories passed down to them.

John Sattler, who passed away on Monday at the age of 80 after a battle with dementia, captained South Sydney in five grand finals, winning four premierships in 1967, ’68, ’70 and ’71.

He played 195 games for the Rabbitohs between 1963 and ’72, as well as four Test matches for Australia, three of those as skipper.

In an era of hard men who spent their weekdays earning a quid and their weekends earning respect on the footy field, the Rabbitohs were blessed with an abundance of champions in Ron Coote, Bob McCarthy, Eric Simms, Mike Cleary, John O’Neill, Bobby Grant and Sattler.

And they did it all under the watchful eye of the Little Master, the greatest Rabbitoh of them all, Clive Churchill, who coached the Pride of the League to all four of those titles.

With a fearless leader in Sattler and a fabled mentor in Churchill, the Pride of the League walked tall in the late 60s and early 70s, ascending to the throne vacated by the Dragons in 1967 after their 11-year reign.

No quarter was asked or given, and that’s just the way Sattler liked it.

Even after a stray elbow from a Manly forward had shattered his jaw on September 19, 1970, ‘Satts’ refused to leave the field and refused to back away from the heavy exchanges.

Come half-time and Sattler quietly made his way to the bathroom and locked the door so he could put his jaw back into place in private.

Such little fuss had Sattler made of the injury that Churchill was unaware of what had happened until McCarthy filled him in at half-time.

After the break Sattler’s teammates sought their own brand of justice and made every tackle hurt as they went on to win 23-12, collecting the club’s 19th premiership.

As grand finals came and went through the years, and Sattler’s legend grew and grew, the man himself remained humble and gracious.

In his mind, he had done no more than his loyal teammates would have done for him in the same situation. They fought for the jersey and bled for the cause together and their bond was unbreakable.

As Rabbitohs chairman Nick Pappas so eloquently put it on Monday, ‘If anyone is to epitomise the true spirit of the South Sydney Rabbitohs it is John Sattler’.

“He was tough and brave but fair, uncompromising on the field and empathetic off it, and he truly epitomised everything that we want the Rabbitohs to be.

“He bled red and green. He would do anything for his team mates. He never took a backwards step. He always led from the front.”

They were traits he passed down to Scott, who toiled tirelessly and selflessly for four clubs across 12 seasons before his moment of grand final glory arrived on October 5, 2003.

With scores deadlocked at 6-6 in the 54th minute and the decider on a knife’s edge, Roosters skipper Brad Fittler picked up a loose ball and put Byrne away down the left touchline.

As he put the halfway line behind him, it seemed Byrne was destined to give the Tricolours the lead and put them a giant step closer to back-to-back titles.

And that’s when Sattler appeared, every muscle straining as he pulled Byrne down in a copybook cover tackle 20 metres out from the tryline.

With their spirits lifted, the Panthers scored late through Luke Priddis and Luke Rooney to go on and claim a second premiership trophy to go with the one collected by ‘Brandy’, ‘MG’ and ‘Roycey’ in 1991.

As the post-match celebrations went into overdrive, and father and son let the emotion wash over them, Scott reprised the role of the humble hero played so perfectly by John 33 years earlier.

“I’ve always been the kind of bloke who just did his job, so it was great to do something that stands out in a win like this,” Scott told Rugby League Week.

Like father, like son. Going to extraordinary lengths to help their mates achieve the ultimate goal but playing it down and leaving the limelight for others.

All hail the humble hero.