Wynnum-Manly celebrate their win in the 2011 Qld Cup Grand Final
MONDAY, APRIL 11
SEN Radio announcer, Mark Braybrook reveals he was told at a previous job he had no future at the joint. What prompted this insight into his working life was a story about a soccer goal keeper, being told he would not get a minute on the field. Mark was a commentator on FoxSports rugby league coverage for a number of years.
There has been a fatal stabbing at the Royal Easter Show. What is happening to Sydney? The show – fair dinkum. Gang related, no doubt.
TUESDAY, APRIL 12
FoxSports’ Matt Johns interviews former All Black winger, John Kirwan about his time in both rugby codes. Kirwan, whose father was a league man, played the 13 -man game for the New Zealand Warriors in 1995 and ’96. I interviewed him on one occasion – at Townsville Airport, ahead of a Warriors’ match against the Cowboys.
Hermitage Gardens Body Corporate committee is believed to be considering placing a plaque in the estate, to recognise the original inhabitants – not Brothers Rugby League – but the Turrbal people. I think that is over the top. Next thing we will have to have acknowledgement of country outside the gate of every private property.
Former Brothers’ players, Peter Skerman and Pat Maguire catch-up at Stafford Tavern. Pat, who played with South Sydney, is baby-sitting his twin grandsons, while their parents are in Tasmania. Pat’s son, Scott played first grade for Brothers as well. ‘Bloke in a Bar’ beer is on special. The brewery was founded by former NRL winger, Denan Kemp. Regulars at the pub swap stories about nicknames. A former public servant says one of his workmates was nicknamed ‘Showbags’, because he was full of shit, while another bloke was called ‘foreskin’, because he always pulled back when things got hard.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13
Broncos’ legend, Gorden Tallis has made a goodwill visit to flood affected Tweed rugby league clubs, including the Murwillumbah Mustangs, Cudgen Green Hornets and South Tweed Koalas.
THURSDAY, APRIL 14
Queensland Rugby League CEO, Rohan Sawyer impresses in a RadioSEN interview, but I can’t agree with his claim that the Queensland Cup is the second strongest in the world. I still put the English Super League ahead of the QCup, although, I agree, that our top clubs could beat the bottom four sides in SL. They would not be a match for the big four of Super League.
Former Test halfback, Greg ‘Brandy’ Alexander says the Cowboys’ attack is the most boring he has seen. Parramatta Eels hold a 75th anniversary lunch at their stadium, with the likes of legends Ray Price, Brett Kenny and Peter Sterling present.
FRIDAY, APRIL 15
Bulldogs v Souths, Good Friday match, goes forever, because of stoppages. “It will soon be time to open the Easter eggs,” says commentator, Steve ‘Blocker’ Roach. If they introduce a micro-chip into the footballs – to detect forward passes – the games will never end.
Radio 4KQ’s 1,000 hits include classics I haven’t heard for a while, including Honey (Bobby Goldsboro), Hanging 5 (The Delltones), Little Boy Sad (MPD Ltd) and the Girls in Paris (Lee Hazlewood). I saw Melbourne band, MPD Ltd play at the Currumbin Pub (which doesn’t exist any more).
SATURDAY, APRIL 16
Rugby journalist, Christy Doran has an interesting interview with former Broncos’ coach, Anthony Siebold about his time with the England Rugby Union side. Harlequins are playing Montpellier as I retire, and the standard is good.
Members of the Roosters’ 2002 Premiership winning squad meet with current players. I covered the 2002 GF for ‘The Courier-Mail’. The 2002 Chooks are off to the Clovelly Hotel on Sunday, after the match. ‘The Clovelly’ was my usual destination the day before Grand Finals, but in 2002 I had drinks at The Forbes Hotel. I got a lift from the stadium, after the game, with The Telegraph’s Peter ‘Chippy’ Frilingos, who told me about his brothers, who were bachelors at the time, one a ‘surfie’ on the Gold Coast, the other a music teacher at Bathurst. Paul ‘Scobie’ Malone covered the Grand Final with me. Two days later, I took a tour group to Europe, starting in Amsterdam. (See ‘European Odyssey Tour’ this website, for details of the tour).
SUNDAY, APRIL 17
Marie and I attend Easter Sunday Mass at Sacred Heart Church, Samford. The priest – ‘Father Harry’ – has been here six years – from Hong Kong. He is one of eight kids. He once said Mass at Roma, in Queensland’s south west, and at a little place nearby, with a population of 27. At Roma, he met locals in one of the town’s pubs, with one bloke asking him if he was a “short or a long one” – referring to the length of his sermons. The choir at Samford Church is lovely, and their last hymn includes a Latin verse. ‘The Catholic Leader’ (newspaper) includes an amazing photograph of floods going through St Carthage’s Cathedral in Lismore, where Marie and I were married.
I buy ‘My Deadbeat Boyfriend’ Lager, from Moffat Beach (Sunshine Coast) Brewery. The beer is good, not great.
Zac Lomax kicks a crucial field goal in St George Illawarra’s win over Newcastle in Wollongong. Lomax blots his copybook by jumping on the back of Newcastle’s Tyson Frizell after the Dragons scored the match winning try. Frizell, a former teammate of Lomax’s at St George, responds by throwing Lomax to the ground. I wouldn’t have blamed him if he had thrown Lomax into the grandstand. It was an idiotic thing to do. St George prop, Francis Molo is caught on the sixth tackle, when he had all the time in the world to get rid of the ball. Not good enough, at this level. Cronulla prop, Toby Rudolph is a special guest on Matt Johns’ FoxSports Show. Rudolph is an extrovert, but I think he tries too hard to be funny, on Matty’s show.
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