NRL star Luke Davico has confessed how he took to the field before the 1994 grand final after drinking six beers in an effort to ease a hangover from a big session the night before the big game.
The 1994 Canberra Raiders will forever be known as one of the greatest teams ever assembled and they managed to win premiership that season in Mal Meninga’s final year at the club.
They featured the likes of Ricky Stuart and Laurie Daley in the halves, Meninga and Ruben Wiki in the centers and Steve Walters at hooker.
Brett Mullins was lethal as a defender, Ken Nagas and Noa Nadruku were unstoppable on the wings and the Green Machine had an engine room that included Brad Clyde and David Furner.
And through a bizarre last-minute decision that would never happen in the modern era, the 1994 grand final also featured a drunken Luke Davico somehow finding his way into Sydney’s football stadium wearing the number 47 shirt.
Davico comes out of the sheds last and runs out with the 1994 Canberra Raiders on the big final day after being a last minute pick for the extended bench.
Looking animated and tossing a soccer ball between his hands, Davico didn’t look like he’d been tearing up the Tooheys New schooners all afternoon, but he had been
Just hours earlier, Davico and his Raiders teammate Mark Corvo were sitting in the crowd getting pumped for the grand final.
“I remember thinking, ‘How the hell am I here?’ “I couldn’t believe what was happening; you couldn’t make it up. If it hadn’t actually happened, people would say I’m full of nonsense,” Davico said. news corporation.
‘Double jean to six schooners to warm up for a great final, arm in arm singing the national anthem for a lap of honor and a great final medal. It was the best day of my life.’
Davico had just turned 21 and had headed to Sydney for the grand final with his good friend and teammate Mark Corvo.
They arrived the day before and started the festivities early, waking up on the day of the grand final with a stinging hangover after a long drinking session.
So they hit the ground in their jeans and jean jackets and immediately started drinking beers again to get some “dog hair,” Davico explained.
However, the wheels of his impressive appearance on the field were already in motion.
John Lomax had been sent off in the preliminary final against North Sydney and was unavailable, and coach Tim Sheens was reluctant to choose his final team until the last minute.
Davico had been warned to go to training during the final because his opportunity could come, and it came when he least expected it.
The 1994 grand final was one of the most memorable and marked Mal Meninga’s last game for the club after an illustrious career.
Once again Davico appears, earning his grand final medal from then New South Wales Premier John Fahey.
It was chaos after the final siren with Davico celebrating alongside Raiders greats Meninga and Laurie Daley.
So when Davico and Corvo decided to hang out in the reserve dugout, they had no idea that Davico was going to get the call-up of a lifetime.
“We sat behind Tim and he turned around while looking at the reserve standings and said, ‘Statue, you’re on the official program, put your gear on.’
‘I went and changed, smelling like a brewery. They gave him bridge m3 number 47.
‘The first grade team ran out, started pumping and suddenly I was part of it. I left last. Everyone was getting excited for the game. I went to the dugout but ‘Sheensy’ said: ‘Get out there, get in, hold on.’ Corvs was laughing.
Footage from the grand final shows Davico in the number 47 shirt, following the team out of the sheds as the last man on the extended bench. However, he did not get to play.
After Meninga lifted the famous premiership trophy, the players were invited on stage to collect their grand final medal.
Although Davico was unable to play in the 1994 grand final, he quickly got his chance and enjoyed a long career with the Raiders.
Once again, there is Davico, shaking the hand of a confused New South Wales Premier John Fahey and accepting the medal.
He even attempted to claim the Provan-Summons trophy when he left the Queanbeyan Leagues Club after celebrating with the team late into the night.
“As soon as the siren sounded, I was on the field hugging everyone, thinking it was the best thing since sliced bread,” Davico said.
‘I joke with Laurie Daley that I pushed everyone out of the way and I think I was the third one on stage to get my medal. I did the lap of honor.
“I flew home and I remember getting arrested as I was leaving the Queanbeyan Leagues Club trying to steal the Winfield Cup trophy, but they caught me on the way out.
All this while six schooners were sunken and hungover from the night before. I still have the medal and the mug on the mantelpiece at home. I tell people this probably sums up my career: close to the highest honours, but one step away.’