The burst ball of Birchgrove
Rose St Birchgrove Inner West Council
A strange on-field moment in round three of the game's first season in 1908 raised many eyebrows, mostly from Balmain players and fans at Birchgrove Oval.
From Ian Heads' 'True Blue - the Story of the NSW Rugby League': "Newtown and Balmain fought out a 13-all draw in a match which featured a bizarre try. In the course of a field goal shot by Newtown's Frank Cheadle, the ball burst. Bert Andrews, following on, grabbed the flattened ball and scored. Bob Graves, the Balmain skipper, demanded the conversion shot be taken with the same ball. His complaint was ignored and a new ball produced. The goal attempt missed."
