FLASHBACK: December 1993

Former Valleys’ captain-coach, Ross Strudwick had this to say about Redcliffe’s Ian ‘Bunny’ Pearce: “He was the slowest fullback ever, but he was good enough to put everyone else out of a job.”

Strudwick, Pearce’s former Queensland teammate, was one of many people to pay tribute, after the tragic death of Pearce on December 1, 1993, in a freak road accident north of Gympie.

Pearce, a Gayndah publican since 1988, was driving south on the Bruce Highway at Chatswood, when the accident occurred. Gympie police said they believe a two-metre length of angle iron fell from a northbound truck as it passed Pearce. They said the length of iron passed through the windscreen, hitting Pearce in the chest, killing him. Pearce’s wife, Joan a passenger in the front seat, escaped injury.

Police said the truck did not stop, and might not have been aware of the incident.

South Queensland Crushers’ Chairman, Dick ‘Tosser’ Turner, the man who signed Pearce for Redcliffe from Jimna in 1975, said ‘Bunny’ was special to everyone who knew him’.

“He was a one off,” Turner said. “What do you say? I’m shattered.”

After leading Blackbutt to a South Burnett Premiership in 1974, the year he made his Queensland debut, Pearce joined Redcliffe to prove himself in the state’s best competition. But he kept his job as a logging supervisor, along with his home at Jimna. He drove the 232km round trip to Redcliffe for each training session and match with the Dolphins.

In his first season in Brisbane, Pearce was described by The Courier-Mail’s Lawrie Kavanagh as ‘the worst looking, good footballer, in Queensland’, because of his awkward running and kicking style.

Pearce said he looked that way because he had never been taught how to kick or run. “If I wanted to improve my speed, I’d have to use a motorbike,” he once said.

Pearce was a regular in State sides from 1974 to ’76 and won Courier-Mail Best and Fairest and Rothmans Gold Medal awards as Brisbane’s best player. In 1978 he set a scoring record for a Brisbane club season – 281 points from 15 tries and 118 goals. He retired as a player in 1982 and three years later took on the coaching job at Redcliffe after a stint as manager of the leagues club.

Premiership glory eluded him at Redcliffe, despite featuring in three First Grade Grand Finals, one as captain-coach.

At Gayndah he maintained his direct involvement with league, with a stint as coach of the local side in the Central Burnett competition.

Former Redcliffe teammate, Vic Tighe, who had visited Pearce at Gayndah during Easter, 1993, said he had never heard anyone say a bad word about ‘Bunny’.

“He was too nice a guy to be playing rugby league,” Tighe said. “He was a thorough gentleman, who led by example, on and off the field.”

Another Redcliffe teammate, Peter Leis, a dairy farmer from Dayboro, said Pearce was “a typical country bumpkin, who made the most of what he had.”

In 1977, ‘Rugby League News’ editor, Neil Groom, wrote this about Pearce: “He doesn’t say much. He is placid. He has a sharp sense of humour – a handy asset in defusing any team disappointment. And he is certainly no buck passer. He is his own greatest critic.”

In North Queensland, the Cowboys named their development squads, ahead of their debut in the Australian Rugby League competition in 1995. The squads were based in in different regions of the north.

In Cairns, former Queensland State of Origin forwards, Mike McLean and Gary Smith were given charge of a local squad. Other coaching talent recruited by the Cowboys included former Test winger, Lionel Williamson; former New South Wales prop, John Barber; former Queensland forwards, Eddie Muller and Marshall Colwell and former Bronco, Ashley Tupaea.

Former Cronulla and Sydney Roosters halfback, Laurie Spina, the oldest of the players named, also was given a coaching role. Players named, who went on to make the original Cowboys’ graded list, included Spina, Peter Jones, Brad Tassell, Stephen Tillett, David Maiden, Andrew Bulmer, John Buttigieg and Shane Christensen.

Grant Bell had been appointed inaugural First Grade coach. Former Test winger, Kerry Boustead was the club’s CEO.

Footnote: I visited ‘Bunny’ Pearce at his Gayndah pub, late in 1992. I had a lot to do with him, as a Rugby League writer. He was always such a gentleman. I remember ringing him once, at 7 a.m. (I was working for the afternoon ‘Telegraph’ newspaper) to get a comment about his demotion to reserve grade. A lot of blokes would tell you piss off, but ‘Bunny’ was happy to talk, and he didn’t have any excuses.

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