IN perfect timing for the start of finals of the George Tooke Shield, a new book has been published on the glory and history of the Maher Cup.
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The book, Uncommon Heroes, features two of Harden's best players from those days, Tom Apps and Eric Kuhn.
In it Maher Cup player Tom Apps reveals one of the secrets to Harden Murrumburrah's historic run in the famous rugby league competition in a new book.
Tom says apart from having one of the best squads around, the team chose to run towards the pub the Carrington Hotel in the second half which gave them an added incentive to finish the games on a high note and retire to their favourite watering hole.
HardenMurrumburah's great run started in 1958 and the team headed off all challengers for the Maher Cup for 29 games.
The team only relied on small pool of players during that momentous period, including their famous kicker Bernie Nevin, one of the toughest players to take to the field, according to Eric Kuhn, who also features in the book.
Tom said they were great days. They would play Maher Cup games on a Saturday, have a night out on Saturday night and then line up to play their Group 9 match on Sunday.
"It would take a while to get going on the Sunday," he said.
Tom and Eric said people would come from all round the region to watch Maher Cup match and the game would be broadcast each week.
The Maher Cup, which started in 1920, ran until 1971. Some of the teams that took part in the cup included West Wyalong, Temora, Grenfell, Young, Cootamundra, Gundagai, Tumut, Barmedman and Junee.
Tom played in the front row and Eric was a half back. They said they took the cup off West Wyalong at the end of 1958, held it all through 1959 and lost it to Tumut in 1960.
They said there were some great players running around in the local competition in those days, including for Test representatives Neville Hand and Fred de Belin, whose grandson Jack now plays for St George.
The Maher Cup story is told in a book by John Ellicott and looks at the hard men and raw talent that built rugby league. It takes readers back to the glory days of the sport when there was great community, great rivalry and not as many dollars thrown at players.
The book also includes interviews and family memories of great players of the past including another Maher Cup hero Eric Weissel, whose fame still abounds in southwest New South Wales.
There are also chapters on the Cleal brothers of Warialda, Balmain barracker Laurie Nichols, Ronnie Coote, Clem Kennedy, Kevin Longbottom and the great goal kicker from Tumut, Tom Kirk.