March 9: Birth of a cult hero; SCG surface a sore point

On this day, a cult hero is born, surface tensions arise ahead of a round one blockbuster and the Hayne Plane soars as the Ricky Stuart era begins in style.

1977

Rampaging prop and cult hero Mark Tookey was born. Pushing the scales at 115kg, Tookey made his first-grade debut in 1996 and played two seasons at the South Queensland Crushers before joining the Parramatta Eels and making his name as a super sub impact player.

He then signed a bumper deal with the Warriors, where he played for five seasons before finishing his career in England with the Castleford Tigers and the London Broncos/Harlequins.

2013

Ricky Stuart's reign as Parramatta coach began with a bang thanks to a 40-10 demolition of the Warriors. Star fullback Jarryd Hayne scored a hat-trick, Ken Sio scored twice and Chris Sandow opened the scoring with a try and kicked six goals. It would prove a false dawn however, with the Eels finishing in last place with just five wins in 2013, with Stuart announcing in September he was leaving the club to join the Raiders.

2014

New year, new coach, same result as the Eels again thump the Warriors in round one, 36-16.

Hayne scored one try this time around while wingers Semi Radradra – starting what would be his first full NRL season – and Vai Toutai both crossed for hat-tricks. Radradra would go on to be named the Dally M Winger of the Year while Hayne was named Dally M Player of the Year, Fullback of the Year and Best Representative Player, and Brad Arthur remains the club's coach six years on.

Both the Eels and Warriors would finish the season level with the eighth-placed Broncos on 28 points that season, but both missed out on the finals on points differential.

2019

Large sections of the SCG turf are torn up during a Super Rugby clash between the Waratahs and Reds, raising concerns ahead of the NRL's round one blockbuster between the Roosters and Rabbitohs on March 15. SCG ground staff work overtime to repair around 3000 square metres of turf.

This article contains information from the official records of NRL historian David Middleton