Fearnley, who passed away at the age of 81 in the early hours of Wednesday morning after a brave battle with cancer, would not listen to it.

As the man who'd lured Cronin from the sleepy south coast hamlet Gerringong to old Cumberland Oval despite the rugged centre having a handshake deal with Peter Moore to join Canterbury if he ever decided to play in Sydney,  Fearnley instead thanked Cronin for the pleasure – and pride - he'd gained from watching him fulfil his talent.

"My point was it was only for a missed goal a few good mates never won a comp and he was one of them," said Cronin, who went on to win four grand  finals at Parramatta.  "It was one of those things, I wish I kicked it because it cost a few good blokes a premiership title and Terry was one of them.

"We were friends and if not for him I would never have gone to Sydney, I can honestly say that. He was the most persistent bloke I ever met, all the other blokes [who wanted to sign me] could take no for an answer ... he kept at me for 18 months.

"We became friends. I owe him plenty ... Terry owes me nothing but I owe him so much."

And that was Terry Fearnley - a man's man and gentleman until the end.

Those who knew the statesman-like Fearnley - or "Coach" – will remember someone who never defined himself through his achievements as a prop for Eastern Suburbs and NSW in the 1950s and '60s before he coached Parramatta, Wests, Cronulla, Illawarra, NSW and Australia.

He would, however, talk about the day he represented NSW against France and was chased all around the SCG by a big, ugly and hairy French prop who took an instant dislike to him and that he found out, painfully so, that the people who told him a Wests prop had a glass jaw had lied to him.

Fearnley could speak for hours about the traits that made his charges great players or how his brother Ron coached the Eels to an under 23s grand final victory.  

Vale Terry Fearnley - a legend of the game. http://t.co/1iEVXD7EOG pic.twitter.com/3feKWsyz56 — NSWRL (@NSWRL) March 4, 2015

His place in rugby league folklore is assured, although he was reluctant to talk about his achievements, which included being the first to coach NSW to a State of Origin series win in 1985.

After coaching  Newtown's reserve grade team under his friend Jack Gibson, he joined Parramatta and after winning the 1975 reserve grade premiership he took the club to its first top grade grand final in 1976 - his debut season as a first grade coach.

Before that game he asked his players: 'who wants to score a try in the grand final?' and Ron Hilditch found himself holding the ball in the infamous flying wedge – where the Eels formed a pack behind him and tried to push him over the tryline. Hilditch would later rue the fact he finished a few painful inches short of scoring.

While Neville Glover dropped the ball with the tryline wide open and a grand final victory in sight, Fearnley would, however, more readily regret that the club had organised a parade to celebrate their achievement in making the grand final days before kick-off. He wondered whether the champagne had been popped open by the officials too soon.

Fearnley, who started his working life as a 15-year-old at the Department of Motor Transport became a successful car salesman before joining Rugby League Week in the 1980s as the magazine's national advertising director. Alongside the then managing editor Ian Heads, he mentored a generation of young reporters.

As a coach and 'citizen' he backed youth.

MOL are saddened to hear of the passing of former first grade, NSW and Australian coach, Terry Fearnley. Our thoughts are with his family — Men of League (@menofleague) March 4, 2015

One of his masterstrokes was to unleash the then teenaged Peter Sterling as Parramatta's fullback in the 1978 finals series. He also selected the schoolboy star Andrew Ettingshausen to play in Cronulla's first grade team in 1983.

Fearnley was also a leader who shared his men's pain. When Cronulla suffered a financial crisis and players took pay cuts during his stint there in 1983-84 he was outraged when a Sharks official assured him "we'll be right, we'll get our money" and he insisted that just like his players he'd take less cash.

Sad to hear the passing of Terry Fearnley.Great contributor to rugby league & a true gentlemen-Condolences to his family from all of us @NRL — Todd Greenberg (@Todd_Greenberg) March 4, 2015

During his four years at Parramatta he took the club to four finals series. He coached Australia twice, in the 1977 World Series and then against New Zealand in 1985, but that ended in controversy when he dropped four Queenslanders in the final Test and it resulted in a bitter interstate feud which, while Fearnley never said it, most certainly left its scars.

In life after league he kept fit;  he took a great interest in the lives of the people he was close to; he enjoyed new experiences with his second wife Pat, such as 1950's dancing, reading the great works and he'd marvelled at the universe of knowledge available to everyone at Sydney's Mitchell Library.

He also studied his family tree and painstakingly recorded the details of his beloved uncle Syd, his grandfathers 'Gunner' James Youngson, who served with the AIF's Eighth Battalion and Charles Fearnley, who, despite being a conscientious objector to the war, was killed when he joined the frontline rather than go to a Yorkshire prison for not fighting, while another ancestor was the colourful 1800s prize-fighter, Billy "Shadow" Maber.

Vale Terry Fearnley - Our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues http://t.co/IPVZjStNKA pic.twitter.com/YwgEADkr0N — Parramatta Eels (@TheParraEels) March 4, 2015

He was a devoted father and grandfather.

In one of the last visits it was obvious "Coach" was pleased that even in his final days his grandkids had sought his counsel about some big life decisions.

He was a great, and much loved coach to many.