VALE DAVE HADFIELD
You may remember him as George Dunkerley, but I remember him as Dave Hadfield from Bolton, a magnificent sports journalist and a friend, who was always entertaining company. Dave’s great […]
Tag Archives: harry bath
FLASHBACK: SEPTEMBER 1966
SEPTEMBER 1966 St George’s Test rugby league lock, Johnny Raper escaped serious injury in a car accident, because he was wearing a seatbelt, at a time when it was not […]
SPECIAL K REVISITED
By Steve Ricketts, former Courier-Mail chief rugby league writer. ‘Touched’, a Broncos’ fan yelled sarcastically, as Karmichael Hunt barely got a hand to rampaging South Sydney centre, Campbell Graham, in […]
SOUTHS MAGPIES HALL OF FAME
Super coach, Wayne Bennett describes the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Brisbane’s Souths Magpies as kindred spirits, in that they are working class clubs, with a never-say-die ethos. And the embodiment […]
FLASHBACK: March, 1961
FLASHBACK MARCH 1961 Former Tweed Heads schoolboy teammates, Lionel Morgan and Billy McDermott starred for Brisbane in an upset 21-7 win over Ipswich in an inter-city, Bulimba Cup match, under […]
FLASHBACK: March, 1951
FLASHBACK MARCH 1951 Clubs and district Leagues in New South Wales and Queensland were primed to offer goal kicking forward, Harry Bath big money deals on his expected return to […]
FLASHBACK: October, 1955
OCTOBER 1955 French Rugby League officials left Hilton Park, Leigh in England full of confidence about the future, despite France’s 32-19 loss to a star-studded Other Nationalities side, in a […]
FLASHBACK: September, 1980
FLASHBACK SEPTEMBER 1980 Souths’ hooker, Billy Johnstone was sent off by referee, Eddie Ward for a high, late shot on Valleys’ captain-coach, Ross Strudwick three minutes from the end of […]
ARTHUR SUMMONS – GENTLEMAN GLADIATOR
By STEVE RICKETTS ARTHUR Summons had the dubious honour of coaching the last Australian team to lose an Ashes Rugby League series against Great Britain. He won’t be remembered for […]
VALE BIG LEAGUE?
Have we seen the last of ‘Big League’? I fear for the future of the official program of the NRL, after it closed shop for the rest of the 2020 […]
FLASHBACK: April, 1960
APRIL 1960 Kangaroo tour co-manager, Jack Argent was fined 50 pounds by the Australian Rugby League Board of Control, for allegedly inducing one of the players, Ron Boden, to sign […]
VALE TONY BRANSON
VALE TONY BRANSON From all accounts, Tony Branson was a quiet country lad, who felt uncomfortable with all the media and public attention that came with being a rugby league […]
MEMORIES OF ‘CHANG’ IN LYON
TRAVEL The first time I knew of the French city of Lyon was November 11, 1972 when Australia and Great Britain met in the final of the rugby league World […]
DIARY UPDATE: Week 48, 2018
DIARY OF A RETIRED RUGBY LEAGUE WRITER WEEK 48 2018 WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28 Prominent Gold Coast real estate agent and staunch Broncos’ supporter, Bruce Wilson tells me he believes the […]
2019 ROSS LIVERMORE MEMORIAL LECTURE: AUSTRALIANS IN ENGLAND
AUSTRALIANS IN ENGLAND Former Queensland State of Origin coach and player, Michael Hagan will deliver the 2019 Ross Livermore Memorial Lecture, at Queensland Rugby League Central, Castlemaine Street, Milton, on Saturday, […]
DIARY UPDATE: Week 37, 2017
DIARY OF A RETIRED RUGBY LEAGUE WRITER WEEK 37 2017 MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 11 Former Test rugby league centre, Dale Shearer is keen for his biography to be written, and I […]
FLASHBACK: March 1978
CONTROVERSIAL rugby league winger, Mitch Brennan admitted he was the mysterious ‘Micky Lane’ who played for Sydney premiers, St George in a trial at Grafton in Northern New South Wales. […]
FLASHBACK: September 1946
Electrifying winger, Len Kenny scored five tries for Combined Brisbane in their 36-7 thrashing of Sydney premiers, Balmain Tigers at the Brisbane Exhibition Grounds Each of Kenny’s tries was a […]
FLASHBACK: May 1946
With a crowd of 51,634 on hand, Great Britain gave notice they would be formidable opponents in the first post-war Ashes series, as they accounted for New South Wales 14-10 at the Sydney […]
FLASHBACK: December 1950
France played a (British) Empire side in Bordeaux, with the crowd of nearly 40,000 giving the day a carnival like atmosphere. Brisbane Sunday-Mail journalist, Alan Cleaver reported on the match […]
Steve Ricketts 