Paul Sironen was one of the best forwards in rugby league throughout the late 1980s and 1990s.
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He played for Australia 21 times and played State of Origin with NSW on 14 occasions. Then, in 1999, he opted to sign off from the game with one of the more memorable bush footy cameos.
IT'S been over 20 years since King George Oval was a fully-blown fortress. The sort of citadel that had opposing Group 10 clubs shaking in their boots, and not just because it was always bitterly cold in Blayney come July.
The late 1990s was the last real period in time we saw the best of the Blayney Bears. Class halves. Electric backs. Hard forwards. The Bears had it all.
It netted the club a premiership wins in 1996 and in 1998, and those victories were followed up by another great campaign on the eve of the new millennium.
But in a bid to go-back-to-back, the Bears and coach John Davis went big - Australian Test star big.
Paul Sironen signed for Blayney mid-way through the 1999 Group 10 campaign and his arrival in Western Division is the last time a former representative calibre player laced up the boots for an extended stint in the region.
His arrival in Group 10 territory is one of the most talked about cameos in bush footy circles, and has sparked some of the more wild stories told. And they've grown plenty of legs over the years.
Helicopters, grand finals, how it all transpired ... Paul Sironen touches on his time in maroon and white.
Tigers legend's arrivée
After becoming the most capped Balmain Tiger in history and enjoying an emotional farewell from Leichhardt Oval, Sironen took off for six months and finished his career with US Villeneuve in France.
After returning to Australian shores mid-way through the 1999 season, Sironen, at 34, was almost coaxed back into a Balmain jumper. Almost.
"Junior (Wayne) Pearce approached me," Sironen recalls after he landed back in Sydney in June, 1999.
"He wanted me to have a run with the Tigers again, but I wasn't interested. I'd had my send off already so I didn't entertain that (return to Balmain)."
Footy though, was just about all Sironen knew. And it wasn't long before the boots were out again.
Bear approach
A couple of Sironen's teammates and opponents in France were in talks to play with Blayney for the 1999 Group 10 season.
The Bears team was stacked in 1999: Darren Higgins (Cronulla, Western Reds), William 'Bubba' Kennedy (Balmain), Bert Gordon (St George), Cecil Heron (St George), Chris McPherson (Balmain) and Jamie Kelso (Balmain, South Sydney) all played NRL footy and in 1999 all six played for Blayney, and that's before 'Siro' arrived.
The Tigers great knew McPherson and a few of the other Balmain boys at the Bears at the time.
"And I was asked if I would think about it as well," Sironen said.
"It worked in well for me. I think I played about eight games.
"I was renovating my house at the time so I had a bit of time, so I did that and thought it might have been a good way to go out there and lift the profile of country footy a bit."
He said some of the boys he played with at Blayney were tremendous footballers.
"Berty Gordon, 'Bubba' Kennedy, guys I had a fair bit to do with in Sydney. It was just a bit of fun," he said.
Flown in on game days
It's been one of the best myths floating around Group 10 circles for decades: Paul Sironen was flown in by helicopter for home games at Blayney.
The former NSW and Test star laughs.
"I drove a beaten up old car every week," Sironen said.
John Davis, a long-timer car dealer in Orange, was the Bears coach in 1999.
"JD didn't even look after me there," he laughed.
"I became good friends with the Chinese Restaurant at Hazelbrook. I had a large fried rice and couple of dishes on the way home each week."
The grand final
Hawks won the 1999 minor premiership, undefeated, and despite losing the major semi-final at Wade Park bounced back with a commanding 30-16 victory over Blayney at King George Oval in the grand final.
Sironen remembers the day.
"I broke my finger in the first five minutes. And I thought 'I can't not keep going. A busted finger's not going to stop me playing'," Sironen said.
"It was two well-drilled sides, but the Hawkies boys toweled us up a bit. I think they had a couple of doormen from the pub at Orange in the frontrow and they got the jump on us.
"We weren't good enough."
Many believe that Hawks side in 1999 was one of the best, if not the best sides to ever win a premiership in Group 10.
"Pauly Upfield led a strong Orange Hawks side, I know that much," the 246-game Tigers legend said.
"Back in those days there was a good influx of grade players in the bush. The grade boys would often go back. I'd love to see that happen a bit more often these days."
Returning to the bush
Sironen was back in Western Division territory last week as part of Royce's Big Walk.
He was part of the group led by Royce Simmons that walked from Baldry to Parkes, and then headed back to Forbes to run some clinics for kids.
"Anything for Royce," Sironen said when asked why he was back out west pounding the pavement.
"Last year I tried to make it work and get out and participate. Unfortunately I couldn't, so I said I'm doing it this year."
Sironen's mother passed away after battling dementia - the disease Royce's walk is designed to help promote awareness about, and provide funds for those embarking on a similar battle. Like Royce himself, who was diagnosed with the illness at the end of 2021.
"It's close to my heart. A lot of blokes who I played footy with are suffering in some way. If I can help raise some money for the cause then I'll do what I can," he added.
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Nick McGrath
Editor, Central Western Daily
Editor, Central Western Daily
