Steve Haddan (left) with Wally Lewis
MONDAY, OCTOBER 13
Former New Zealand rugby league coach, Sir Graham Lowe says the All Blacks rugby union side should splash $5 million to get Broncos’ superstar, Reece Walsh to switch codes. Good one Graham. ‘Lowey’ always has been good for a headline and anything to do with Reece Walsh guarantees prominent media coverage on both sides of the Tasman. When I covered the rugby league world Cup in Europe in 2000 Australian coach, Chris Anderson spruiked a unification of the codes. I think at the time Chris was concerned that because rugby had gone professional and was a worldwide juggernaut compared with league, our game would be decimated. That hasn’t proved to be the case with the NRL still without doubt the toughest club rugby competition(either code) in the world, although league has still failed to make a whole lot of progress when it comes to its international footprint. Some people might argue that the emergence of Tonga and Samoa as league power houses in recent years is evidence to the contrary, but all their players are from the NRL, not from competitions on the Pacific Island nations.
News Ltd league writer, Dean ‘Bulldog’ Ritchie has an interview with Anderson about the 2003 Kangaroo tour, the last to England. (‘Bulldog’ is to cover the coming ‘Roo tour under the coaching of Kevin Walters). Anderson says one of the secrets to a happy tour is mixing with the locals, like his players did in 2003, when they had beers and played dominoes with people in England’s north. Sadly the 2025 Kangaroos will spend most of their time outside league strongholds. First of all they will be based in London, then Liverpool, before finally moving into friendly territory in Leeds.
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 14
My fellow QRL History Committee member, Steve Haddan – a former Channel 9 sports reporter – reminds me he started in television with Blackall born, Fiona McDonald, who was best known for her work as a host of Wombat and It’s A Knockout. (Fiona died last year aged 67). Steve, a noted author, is about to embark on putting together the history of the BMD (construction) Group for owner Mick Power AM. Marie and I attend Trivia Night at Samford Grove and team-up with George Johnson who hates football of any code. Reminds me of noted writer, Keith Dunstan who founded the anti-football League in Aussie rules mad Victoria. George is a former stats department employee and has a quick mind. But we are still not good enough to win the night.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 15
Charleville’s Laurie Parker, a former Gold Coaster, alerts me to the passing of Joe Ticehurst, a prominent rugby league referee who I had the privilege of playing under in the Group 18-Gold Coast League in the early 1970s. Joe moved to the Gold Coast from Sydney and taught at Aquinas College. One of the tributes to Joe is by my former Murwillumbah Brothers’ teammate, Mick Twohill. Former Great Britain halfback Tommy Bishop turns 85 today.
There is a movie being shot down town at ‘The Owlery’ Cafe in Samford, in Station Street. Evidently it is a comedy and the stars are Wayne Blair and Debra Mailman. Blair is an Easts Tigers rugby league fan.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 16
My former Murwillumbah Brothers’ teammate, Adrian ‘Champs’ Chapman phones out of the blue from his home at Eubalong near from Lake Cargelligo. ‘Champs’ reminds me he played for the Strata Hotel rugby league side in the North Sydney competition in 1979 and they were beaten by McMahon’s Point in the Grand Final. Champs also was secretary of the North Sydney Junior Rugby League. He says our former captain-coach at Murwillumbah Brothers, Ron Saddler, came from Eubalong and there is a photo of him in the local pub. Champs will have yellow belly for dinner tonight – straight out of the Lachlan River which runs past his place.
Marie and I watch thought provoking movie ‘It Ends with Us’, about domestic violence.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 17
Our daughter, Melanie breathes a sigh of relief when the World Conservation Conference in Abu Dahbi wraps up and his hailed a success. Melanie was one of the chief event managers, Rachel Kelly from ‘The National’ reports that the event closed with a ‘unified call for transformative action.”
At Samford Grove Happy Hour I chat to fellow resident Tony Baldock who is originally from Tauranga in New Zealand where he was a keen surfer.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 18
My former captain-coach at Murwillumbah Brothers, Brian Atherton phones with the shock news former highly rated rugby league centre, Mark Hogan has died. I played against Mark in 1975 when I was contracted to Wingham TIgers and he was a star for Taree United. I first saw him play the previous year – for North Coast against Great Britain at Grafton. Brian lives in Taree and has had a lot to do with the Hogan family. Mark’s mother, Kathleen is 100. (see Vale Mark Hogan this website).
The French Rugby League side are guests at Kangaroos’ training in London. Back in the 1950s, when France was on top in rugby league, our Australian players would have been grateful to attend one of their training runs.
In Grafton, Northern New South Wales the West Lawn Cricket Club celebrates its 75th anniversary ay the Crown Pub on the banks of the Clarence River. I have been there a couple of times, and my parents spent the first night of their honeymoon there – in 1951 – on their way to Katoomba in the Blue Mountains. I attend our grandson Ethan’s cricket match at Stafford State School where there is a Welsh flag flying from a nearby house and a CFMEU flag at a nearby building project. I thought our new State Government was getting rid of those union flags.
Marie and I watch ‘Dawn’, a 1979 movie made about the life and times of our greatest swimming champion Dawn Fraser.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 19
Toulouse and York have joined Bradford as new teams in the English Super League for 2026. The combined populations of the three cities is around 1,700,000, so it makes sense from the point of view of potential sponsors and a supporter base. But I have grave misgivings about the ability of the three clubs to be competitive on the field, because there is not really the talent to go round. The BBC reports that England rugby union halfback, George Ford, the son of former Great Britain rugby league halfback, Mike Ford – has rejected an offer from R360. Mike is heavily involved with the Oldham Rugby League Club, which he is trying to get back into Super League. George played league as a junior.
The New Zealand v Samoa rugby league Tests in Auckland are high quality – men and women – with the Kiwis coming away with narrow wins in both games. It is a great day for watching sport on ‘The Box’, with an ODI match from Perth (Australia beat India); the world triathlon titles in Wollongong (Australian Matthew Hauser wins the men’s). There also is women’s AFL, but when one side – the Suns – cannot kick a goal in 68 minutes of football – forget it.
There is a fire-bombing at a tobacco shop – just another one – but this time a few people catch fire, and their agony is caught on camera. Ch 9 decide to show it five times! There will be kids having nightmares.
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