In 1982, the world was introduced to E.T., Steven Spielberg's 114-minute feature film about a small extra-terrestrial stranded on Earth.
The following year, the rugby league world met a second ET – a 17-year-old Sharks debutant named Andrew with a surname so long it had to be shortened.
As Ettingshausen recalled: "The movie had come out around that time, and he (former coach John Maguire) was just sick and tired of calling me Ettingshausen, it's just the longest name in the world, and one day at training, he said, 'From now on, you're ET'."
This week marks the anniversary of two extraordinary performances by ET that even Spielberg couldn't have scripted. On the exact same date, five years apart, ET stunned the league community by scoring five tries in two separate games, showcasing his legendary talent in a way that was truly out of this world.
The first game, played on August 27 1989, saw the Sharks line up against the Illawarra Steelers in their Round 22 match played at Caltex Field. The Steelers had comprehensively beaten Cronulla earlier that year in the Panasonic Cup quarter final, so it was revenge the Sharks sought.
After a successful 1988 campaign that saw Cronulla claim the club's first minor premiership, hopes were high that 1989 would be the year of the Shark. A host of injuries to key players and inconsistent form left the Sharks needing to win their final game against the Steelers to claim equal fifth spot.
In front of a meagre 9,688 fans, the Sharks were near faultless. On the stroke of halftime, ET scored probably the best of his five tries when he backed up five-eighth Michael Speechley, who spilled through a yawning gap created by Gavin Miller's deft ball-playing. Speechley raced downfield before ET loomed large on his left shoulder, gathering Speechley's pace and racing to score under the posts. At the break the Sharks led 16-4.
Cronulla continued the demolition job in the second half with 1989 Dally M and Rothman's medal winner Gavin Miller front and centre of the Sharks' attack. The Steelers were reduced to 12 men when halfback Trevor Kissell was sent from the field for a high tackle, further adding to their woes.
The extra room was capitalised upon by ET who crossed for a further three tries, capping off a game he would long remember. Cronulla ran out winners 46-14, the result setting up a fifth-place mid-week play-off with the Brisbane Broncos.
Post game, Sharks coach Allan Fitzgibbon showed his elation by saying: "You can't ask for much more from an individual." A modest ET commented: "I just went out there to back up the breaks the forwards made and it worked."
Half a decade later and the club legend was at it again, this time at the expense of the poor South Sydney Rabbitohs.
John Lang's side, led by halves Paul Green and Mitch Healey, were ruthless against the men in cardinal and myrtle. The last match of the season, played at Caltex Field, saw Sharks glamour boy ET cross twice in the first half, giving his side a commanding halftime lead. His first came when fullback Richard Barnett sliced through and found ET backing up inside.
The second came when halfback Green slipped through a gap and offloaded to Healey, who found Ettingshausen. Again the champion centre scored under the posts. Healey converted to give Cronulla their 16-0 advantage at the break.
ET added a further three tries to his tally after play resumed, the pick of the lot coming when a long cut-out pass from the Bunnies hit the turf just inside the Sharks' defensive third. Ettingshausen toed the ball through, kicked it again and then got the bounce. Souths half Craig Field chased vainly but the 1994 Dally M Centre of the Year had enough pace to dive over in the corner. The final score of 42-0 remains the Sharks' biggest win over South Sydney.
Since the competition kicked off in 1908, 36 players have scored five or more tries in a single National Rugby League match, but only one of those players has performed the amazing feat on what's now known as PointsBet Stadium and only one of those players has done it wearing the black, white and blue of the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.
