Rugby League: Todd Byrne's grand return

A certain Jeff Wilson might sympathise with Todd Byrne given he was on the wrong end of rugby league's equivalent of 'that tackle'. Wilson wasn't given the chance to forget it for some time and Byrne is in a similar boat given the fact it has been immortalised in sporting folklore.

It's regarded as a top-five Telstra Stadium moment behind Cathy Freeman's gold in the 400m at the Sydney Olympics, the lighting of the Olympic flame, Jonny Wilkinson's drop goal to win the 2003 Rugby World Cup and the Wallabies' 29-26 win over the All Blacks in John Eales' last game as captain. Illustrious company.

To make matters worse for Byrne, for a princely A$500 you could relive the moment with a lithograph entitled, appropriately enough, No Escape.

The 26-year-old Warriors recruit, though, doesn't seem to mind - at least on the face of it. It was the pivotal moment of the 2003 NRL Grand Final as Byrne was cut down by Penrith's Scott Sattler when a try seemed assured and swung the game in favour of the Panthers - they won 18-6.

"I can't help it," Byrne says philosophically. "If I'm remembered for that, at least I played in a grand final and not many people can say that."

Wilson managed to put the disappointment behind him and be remembered for different things (a lot of different things) and Byrne will hope it's the same for him. Joining the Warriors is the first phase of that after finding himself on the outer towards the end of last season at the Sydney Roosters.

After joining the 2002 premiers five years ago, the rangy wing who can also play centre scored 30 tries in 62 games but realised his playing time could be limited with the arrival of Amos Roberts and Joel Monaghan.

"I didn't think about getting out and looking around, because I'd played the first 18 games and thought I was playing all right," Byrne explains. "Then one week coach Ricky Stuart said he wanted a change and I had to cop it on the chin. I wasn't too happy but two weeks later the Warriors came along and it sounded really good."

Byrne joins Ruben Wiki, Steven Price and Nathan Fien as new recruits but he's also crossed the Tasman with assistant coach Ivan Cleary, who was previously on the coaching staff at the Roosters.

"The first few weeks it was hard settling in and it helped that he was here," Byrne says. "I like his coaching style and he's someone I can have a chat to about football."

Playing football was not something Byrne gave much thought to until his late teens. He actually gave the game up during high school as he concentrated on education as well as his surfing - "I couldn't be bothered giving up my weekends to play footy," he says.

It wasn't until mates convinced him to return to play for the Coogee Wombats that he realised he still loved the game.

He soon got a trial with South Sydney only to have his chances extinguished when the Rabbitohs were kicked out of the competition in 2000.

A surprise call from the Roosters followed, along with a one-year contract, although he wasn't paid meaning he had to continue working at the Sydney wharf where he drove a crane.

"There were about six of us who weren't paid, including Dean Widders from Parramatta," Byrne says. "We had a bit of a laugh about it, but we were all young guys struggling to get a start."

Byrne is expected to get a number of starts for the Warriors, although it's not clear whether that will be in the centres or on the wing. He will make his debut in the trial against the Eels in New Plymouth today.

Coach Tony Kemp likes his players to be versatile - with the exception of props - and he could form a useful partnership with a Clinton Toopi looking to recapture form sadly missing last season.

Despite not being able to evade the clutches of Scott Sattler, Byrne is well known for his quickness across the ground and represented NSW at the Pan Pacific Games, albeit as a 10-year-old when he made the final.

Although he says he's lost some of that speed because of an Achilles injury, he's still got toe to out-sprint most people on the park.

If that is the case, it is unlikely he'll be involved in another 'that tackle' incident. At least he hopes so.

- Herald on Sunday