April 27: Everyone wants Freddy; Origin in 3D
On this day, Brad Fittler is voted rugby league's most coveted player, Origin gets a 3D makeover and rival coaches exchange words.
1990
Wally Lewis breaks down again with a hamstring strain after lasting just eight minutes in his comeback match. Queensland suffers a triple State of Origin blow when Tony Currie snaps his Achilles tendon and Kerrod Walters hobbles off with an ankle injury as the Broncos go down 14-12 to Norths at Lang Park.
1997
A Sunday Telegraph survey reveals Brad Fittler is the player who would be at the top of the shopping list of 75 percent of ARL and Super League coaches were he on the open market.
1999
The NRL grant permission for Newcastle winger Adam MacDougall to continue to use the banned substance Sustanol 250 when he makes his return from suspension on May 23.
2000
St George great Reg Gasnier says Anthony Mundine should be sacked for walking out on the club and his team-mates. Dragons forward Lance Thompson tells Channel 7 that Mundine is "letting the team down".
2003
Penrith fullback Rhys Wesser scores a hat-trick of tries as the Panthers upset the Warriors 28-14 at Ericsson Stadium. Meanwhile, referee Matt Cecchin comes under fire for sending rival captains Steve Menzies and Bryan Fletcher to the sin bin during Manly’s 28-20 defeat of Souths at Brookvale Oval.
2008
Melbourne fullback Billy Slater, North Queensland’s Carl Webb and Cronulla captain Paul Gallen are selected to debut for Australia in the Centenary Test against New Zealand. Darren Lockyer is named five-eighth and captain but is later forced to withdraw because of ongoing problems with the knee he had reconstructed in 2007. Cameron Smith takes over as captain.
2010
Channel Nine unveil plans to televise the 2010 State of Origin match in 3D. Nine claims a world first by becoming the first sporting event to be broadcast live in 3D on free-to-air TV.
2012
Parramatta are fined over $80,366 for technical breaches of the salary cap in 2011. The Gold Coast ($41,200), Penrith ($39,633) and Canberra ($5,358) are also fined. Wests Tigers lose an appeal over a fine of $187,140 relating to a breach in 2010.
2013
Wests Tigers’ injury woes intensify when three key backline players are assisted from Campbelltown Stadium during a 20-10 loss to the Broncos. Worst affected is utility Tim Moltzen, who ruptured his ACL, while Blake Ayshford (leg) and Chris Lawrence (hamstring) are expected to be sidelined for six weeks.
2016
Reports emerge of a tense exchange between rival coaches Paul McGregor and Trent Robinson following the Anzac Day showdown at Allianz Stadium. Robinson accused Dragons players of feigning injury in order to win penalties.
2018
Penrith winger Josh Mansour undergoes surgery to repair serious facial fractures after an accidental collision with the knee of Gold Coast winger Anthony Don at Panthers Stadium on April 15.
2020
Representative stars Latrell Mitchell and Josh Addo-Carr are caught flouting state social distancing laws after photographs of the pair posing with a group of men on the NSW mid-North Coast are posted on social media. Newcastle player Tyronne Roberts-Davis is also identified as having breached public health orders. Mitchell and Addo-Carr make public apologies for their actions, while the trio are each fined $1000 by NSW police.
This article contains information from the official records of NRL historian David Middleton.
