FLASHBACK: June, 1967
JUNE 1967 Brothers’ rugby league five eighth, Johnny Gleeson starred for Australia in the First Test against New Zealand, and then backed up four days later with another impressive display […]
Tag Archives: Johnny Gleeson
DIARY UPDATE: Week 29, 2021
DIARY OF A RETIRED RUGBY LEAGUE WRITER WEEK 29 2021 MONDAY, JULY 19 St George premiership winning forward, Robin Gourley has died aged 85. In an interview with the ABC’s […]
A TRUE QUEENSLAND GREAT – JOHNNY GLEESON.
By Steve Ricketts. Johnny Gleeson was a quiet, humble man, who largely retreated from the spotlight after a stellar rugby league playing career at International, State and Club level. Gleeson, […]
VALE JOHNNY GLEESON
One of Australia’s greatest rugby league players, Johnny Gleeson, died today just four days short of his 83rd birthday. Gleeson, a brilliant five eighth, toured Britain and France with the […]
‘BROTHERS CLOSE AND FAR’
Five Star Cinemas at New Farm hosted a World Movie Premiere with a difference on November 4, with the ‘A Listers’ all broken down, old footballers. It was the first […]
DIARY UPDATE: WEEK 8, 2021
DIARY OF A RETIRED RUGBY LEAGUE WRITER WEEK 8 2021 MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22 The Guineas Room, Eagle Farm is the setting for a wonderful memorial service for Paul Malone, one […]
TOM TERRIFIC COULD NOT BE CAGED
by Steve Ricketts. Tom Raudonikis took the wheel of his car, after a long lunch at the Breakfast Creek Hotel, and invited the passengers to help themselves to a beer, […]
START OF A NEW ERA
April 1, 2021 marks the 60th anniversary of the opening of Lang Park’s new Frank Burke Stand, by the Governor of Queensland, Sir Henry Abel-Smith. The completion of the stand, […]
DIARY UPDATE: Week 12, 2020
DIARY OF A RETIRED RUGBY LEAGUE WRITER WEEK 12 2020 MONDAY, MARCH 23 Coronavirus is hitting hard. Our next-door neighbour, Len O’Brien texts about pubs shutting, at noon today. A […]
THE GUNSYND BAR
Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium boasts many fine hospitality suites, but there is nothing to compare with the ‘Gunsynd Bar’ in the old Frank Burke Stand, at what was called Lang Park […]
Taking It To The Streets
The Second Life of the Newtown RLFC, by Glen Dwyer Book review. It is one of the regrets of my life in rugby league, to date, that I have never […]
THE LAST OF THE BREED
Noel Kelly was never one to mince his words, or hide from the truth. The former Test rugby league forward, who died on June 14, 2020, aged 84, was blunt […]
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 […]
DIARY UPDATE: Week 40, 2018
DIARY OF A RETIRED RUGBY LEAGUE WRITER WEEK 40 2018 MONDAY, OCTOBER 1 The Tweed Daily News is 130 years old. I started my journalistic career at the paper on […]
FLASHBACK
JANUARY 1979 The Courier-Mail’s Barry Dick trumpeted Mal Meninga as a player to watch in the 1979 Brisbane Rugby League season, after the giant centre starred for the Queensland under-18s […]
FLASHBACK: December 1963
DECEMBER 1963 France registered a shock 8-5 win over Australia in the First Test in Bordeaux, scoring two tries to one and overcoming the dismissal of halfback and skipper, Georges […]
JEKYLL AND HYDE TYPES
For many years I contributed to, or edited, rugby league programs in Brisbane. So, it always gives me a thrill to look back through old programs, ones that I call […]
FLASHBACK: December 1967
Snow blasted the Australians as they confronted the old enemy, Great Britain in the Ashes deciding Third Rugby League Test, but the lads from down under handled the conditions better than the […]
FLASHBACK: May 1967
New Zealander Reg Cooke was chosen in the Queensland Rugby League side to make a three match tour of his homeland. Cooke starred for Queensland in a selection trial against […]
FLASHBACK: March 1967
New Sydney rugby league club, Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, budgeted to spend $73,000 in their first season, after being promoted from second division with the Penrith Panthers. “That is the amount we need to […]
Steve Ricketts 