Crowe's walls of fame tap a rich history to help players revive glory years

We're looking to the past to secure our future.''

They're the words of South Sydney chief executive Shane Richardson, who last night witnessed the foundation club make history yet again by becoming the equal-first NRL club to secure more than 10,000 ticketed members. The Rabbitohs' membership drive has drawn on the club's rich history to help secure its financial future but it's in the dressing sheds where history has really come to life in an effort to help secure the club's on-field success.

One stroll underneath the redeveloped Redfern Oval grandstand and it's much easier to understand why fans are flocking to be associated with the club more known in recent times for its failures than triumphs.

The walls are littered with photos and memorabilia of years past. The glory years, the forgotten years. Team photos thought lost to history dating back to 1908 are plastered along the corridor. All 20 premiership-winning teams are emblazoned on the concrete barriers enclosing the dressing rooms. John Sattler is immortalised in the foyer alongside hundreds of other memorable pictures encompassing the rich tapestry of Souths' past.

Throw in a complete biographical timeline that runs the length of the stairwell and pride is the primary word that consumes the mind.

And it's all courtesy of the same man who brought Souths fans the infamous Book of Feuds, and more recently, Sam Burgess.

''History and passion is what Russell Crowe is all about. Russell knows more about the history of this club than anybody does,'' Richardson told The Sun-Herald.

''He could tell you everything in detail. He's amazing. It's a bit of a dream of his to bring all this history to one place and celebrate it.

''We want to celebrate our past for the sake of our future.''

It would be easy to label Crowe self-indulgent. But one glance at star players John Sutton and Nathan Merritt or club legend Bob McCarthy as they strut the corridors speaks volumes for the actor's commitment to the cause. McCarthy is in disbelief. He doesn't know whether to smile or cry as he traces back through memories from the 1960s and '70s that helped define the club. Sutton and Merritt are in awe.

''I'm not proud to say I didn't really know that much before,'' Sutton admits sheepishly. ''But the timeline in particular … you learn something new every day.

''It gives you so much more passion for the jersey. Every day we see pictures of the players who have gone before us and it gives us the drive to do better, to represent the club as well as they did to be worthy of going on the wall alongside them.

''Most of us are too young to remember the glory days but seeing those pictures and learning the history, we're keen to take it back to those good old days and ramp it up and have some good years here while we're still young.''

If Crowe is reading this, Sutton can expect an A-plus for his assessment of his remarkable surroundings. No other Sydney club has seen anything like it.

''Let's face it, in their lifetime the club hasn't been renowned for its success,'' Richardson says.

''But we have a very proud and rich history. And helping them understand that makes them realise who they are representing.

''We had to re-establish in people's minds what a great club we really are and when we had such a lack of success for so long, there's a whole generation of players that never understood what we were.

''It's not just about the great sides of the 1970s and backwards; it's about the great players past who had to leave the club because we were in decay. We won the minor premiership in 1989 and lost all the best players because we weren't in a financial position to retain them - guys like Les Davidson, Mario Fenech, 'Tugger' Coleman, the Rampling brothers [Dean and Tony].

''So they're as much a part of it and they love it. And those guys love being back with us, mixing with the younger players.

''Every time our great players come down here and see it, they just get spellbound by it.''

Souths hired two historians to trawl the archives and search nationwide for the memorabilia, and they tracked down more than two-thirds of the missing team photos that date back to 1908.

''Now it's down to 14 [photos from 14 years], and we'd love any help from the public to find them,'' Richardson said. ''History is just so valuable. It gets the players while they train to understand the history of the club with great photos around of George Piggins and Bob McCarthy.''

And Souths fans have clearly picked up on the players' new-found commitment, with TAB Sportsbet revealing to The Sun-Herald yesterday that the Rabbitohs are holding the most amount of money in the premiership market. They've firmed from $17 to $11 as a result.

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/crowes-walls-of-fame-tap-a-rich-history-to-help-players-revive-glory-years-20100227-pa4c.html