The story goes that when Bob Fulton used to call his Manly team in for a final pep talk before the weekend's game, he'd send his wingers back out to clean up the divots on the training paddock.
Fast forward to 2014 and it's a far cry from those not-so-heady days for the modern winger, with the only divots Dragons flyer Jason Nightingale has to deal with being created by his own noggin.
Press box and broadcasting wags delighted in declaring Nightingale would come under scrutiny from the match review committee for his 33rd-minute try against the Warriors that saw the Kiwi flank man place himself in a 'dangerous position', dropping himself squarely on his head as he took off parallel to the ground and ending up perpendicular despite the close attention of Dane Nielsen to score yet another spectacular winger's try.
It seems to be a case of anything teammate Brett Morris can do, Nightingale is going to give a red hot crack at bettering, but Nightingale said his effort couldn't be compared to Morris's aerial acrobatics against the Sharks in Round 3.
"It was a bit unco I think, definitely want to make sure the ball's the first thing that hits the ground – and preferably the next time the second thing won't be my head," Nightingale said of the breathtaking effort that took his try-scoring tally to eight from his last nine matches against the Warriors.
"I don't think that was better than Brett's... that was pretty spectacular. I probably need a few more efforts before I can get as spectacular as his."
There are few better finishers in the NRL than the Dragons pair, but Nightingale revealed the Red V's representative flyers don't get competitive when it comes to freakish touchdowns.
"We get competitive in other things, not so much [spectacular tries]," Nightingale said. "But we definitely compete with each other; it helps us improve our own games.
"We're very close and we do a lot of similar things in our own preparation.
"We don't really compete with those flashy sorts of things, but it's nice when they come off."
The showdown of the speedsters should prove to be one of the highlights of this Friday's upcoming Anzac Day blockbuster between the Roosters and the Dragons at Allianz Stadiums, with Nightingale and Morris lining up on two of the NRL's brightest up-and-comers in potential NSW wildcard Daniel Tupou and the slippery Roger Tuivasa-Sheck.
Despite a recall to the New Zealand Test team on the cards off the back of an impressive start to the season, Nightingale preferred to focus on his upcoming battle with Tupou rather than the looming representative fixture, with the young Roosters winger likely to return for the premiers after sitting out the 24-18 win over Cronulla with muscle tightness.
"The first thing on my radar is Anzac Day," the Dragons veteran said. "I love that occasion, it's a great occasion and I go out there to enjoy myself there and whatever happens happens after that.
"I hope to be part of that [New Zealand team] but first and foremost there's no bigger round match on the calendar than Anzac Day and I'm sure the Roosters feel exactly the same."
