Former NRL coach Brian Smith and Lliam Ricketts
MONDAY, AUGUST 25
A visitor to Samford Grove, on discovering I was a rugby league writer for The Courier-Mail, remarks that I would have to cover league, working for Murdoch in Queensland. This bloke – ‘Rowan’ – is an AFL smart arse, and a yachtie of some renown, I am told later. There are so many things I have could say back to him, but, for once, I take the wise option and merely walk away. There are two pieces of paper blowing in the wind, so I do the right thing and pick them up. One has – ‘speeding – going 50 in a 30 zone’ written on it, while the other piece has ‘Igonoring police, driving away’ written on it. Surely not one of the residents of our Samford Grove onver-65 village!
Gold Coast Titans sack coach, Des Hasler after two seasons at the helm. Club chairman, Dennis Watt says Hasler has always conducted himself with the dignity and class which has defined his career. Our youngest son, Lliam sends a photo him with much travelled rugby league coach, Brian Smith, whose grandson plays in the same (Norths) junior rugby league side as our grandson. I caught up with Brian a couple of times at Norths’ games and we have enjoyed a chat, mainly about our days growing up in the Northern Rivers area of New South Wales.
TUESDAY, AUGUST 26
Listen to Corey Oates on radio for first time. He sounds like a bushie, which is he is, but he is easy on the ears. Radio and television icon, John McCoy OAM, is my guest at Samford Grove for an interview in the ‘Homestead’. About 60 residents attend, which is a decent roll-up. The feedback is good, although some of the ladies say it was too much about sport. I tried to address other topics, including the fact John travelled with the Monkeys Band when they were in Australia, but let’s face it – he’s a sports guy, although he started out as a DJ. Ann Duncan says the chat was ‘blokey but enjoyable’. John and super coach, Wayne Bennett are close friends, which became evident during my interview. Gordon Mayocchi, one of our neighbours, tells John one of his pupils wrote to Wayne telling how him much he admired him for looking after his handicapped children. Wayne then came to the school where Gordon was principal, to talk to the staff and pupils. One of the pupils at that time was Jharal Yow Yeh, a future Bronco. Another resident recalls Wayne doing a BBQ for disabled kids at a park in Brisbane’s west. John says he can only recall one time when he was threatened with legal action over something he said on air, and the aggrieved person was current Qld Sports Minister, Tim Mander, who was then a first class referee. Paul Hayes, a fellow member of the QRL History Committee with John and I, provides some wonderful memorabilia to adorn the room where the event is held.
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 27
Neighbour, Mike Gallwey tells me he was a surfie not a clubbie in his younger days. I was the opposite. Marie and I enjoy dinner at Mike and his wife, Julie’s place. Julie is into lawn bowls these days. “It’s a new thing for me, but I believe in giving everything a go because otherwise you’ll never know,” she says.
THURSDAY, AUGUST 28
Dave Elliott, a former Queensland Universities rugby league teammate of our eldest son, Damien, is to coach Redcliffe in the 2026 Queensland Cup. I watch the running of the Murwillumbah Cup at the Tweed River Jockey Club. I covered races at Murwillumbah when I was a cadet journalist at the Tweed Daily News. The racing fraternity knew I had no idea about what was going on and helped as best they could. Today’s Murwillumbah Cup, which carries $85,000 in prizemoney, is won by Cranky Harry, a bay gelding trained by Matt Dunn who is based at Murwillumbah.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 29
Fellow Samford Grove resident, Lionel Outen was a National Serviceman in Vietnam and has photographs of him with visiting Australian entertainer, Little Pattie (Patricia Amphlett).Another of our neighbours, Marilyn Slawson, lived at Julia Creek and then Winton in Western Queensland before attending university in Brisbane.
Ron James from Maroochydore has a top letter in The Courier-Mail essentially asking how the ‘average Joe’ might be able to get his point across about important issues just like cricketers, Usman Kawaja and Pat Cummins, who get a free rein in the media about topics like Gaza and climate change, even though they might know sweet FA about the topics.
Learn of the passing of Fr John Chalmers, who was Parish priest at St Flannan’s Zillmere when we lived in the suburb. I remember him as an absolute gentleman.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 30
My mate from Lismore Doug Kaden recalls ‘the swing’ at ‘The Weir’ on the Tweed River at Murwillumbah whenever he sees a TV ad with kids jumping into a river from a rope . The swing in the TV ad is small bikkies compared with the one at ‘The Weir’ which was an engineering masterpiece, with a steel cable hanging from high up on a giant native tree, and with a metal triangle at the end of the cable. Doug recalls that one day at ‘The Weir’ our push bikes were stolen, but we found them later abandoned on the river bank. Doug has a 15-year-old grandson who plays soccer for Dunoon, a village not far from Lismore. Today Dunoon are beaten by Alstonville.
My sister, Gay Lynch and her husband, David have a few beers at the D’Aguilar pub on the highway, west from Caboolture. There they catch up with Artie Watkins, a good friend of former Redcliffe rugby league prop, and noted boxer, Bevan Bleakley, who is doing it tough these days.
Canberra Raiders claim the JJ Giltinan Shield as NRL minor premiers and their former skipper, Mal Meninga becomes emotional in the studios of FoxSports. There is a capacity crowd of nearly 24,000 in Canberra for the match against the Tigers, with Jed Stuart, the son of coach, Ricky Stuart, among the try scorers in the 24-10 win.
Courier-Mail columnist, Des Houghton says $25 for bangers and mash at the Royal Exchange Hotel, Toowong is a bargain. I know where Des is coming from, but it’s not that many years ago (it seems) that you could get a counter meal of sausages and mashed potato for $1.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 31
There is an Irishman sitting behind Marie and I at the Dolphins v Titans NRL match at Suncorp Stadium, and he rates the two rugby codes as more physical than Gaelic football, which would come to no surprise to those who have witnessed all three sports first hand (as I have). He also reckons Gaelic football is faster than Australian rules. I have no comment on that one. Two small Indigenous backs – Trai Fuller (Dolphins) and Jayden Campbell (Titans) – steal the show today, as the Dolphins hang on for a 36-30 win, in the process keeping alive their finals hopes.
It is Old Boys Day at Catalans’ home game against Wigan in Perpignan and some of those in the Guard of honour played with Paris St Germaine in the inaugural Northern Hemisphere Super League season in 1996.
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