FLASHBACK: January 1997
JANUARY 1997 Super League supremos boasted that their new ‘world order’ would see the likes of Allan ‘Alfie’ Langer and Gorden Tallis become household names across Asia. Sounds fanciful, and […]
Tag Archives: Ron McAuliffe
FLASHBACK: AUGUST 1986
AUGUST 1986 Wynnum-Manly’s Test rugby league skipper, Wally Lewis welcomed the prospect of a Brisbane side entering the New South Wales competition in 1987, describing it as the salvation of […]
DIARY UPDATE: Week 4, 2021
DIARY OF A RETIRED RUGBY LEAGUE WRITER WEEK 4 2021 MONDAY, JANUARY 25 Former Queensland forward, Reg Cannon idolised Brisbane Wests’ stars, Alex Watson, Duncan Hall and Col Weir when […]
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, […]
FLASHBACK: January, 1971
JANUARY 1971 Queensland Rugby League chairman, Bruce Hatcher retains fond memories of a time when some of the state’s best footballers were effectively put into isolation for two months, living […]
FLASHBACK: January, 1951
FLASHBACK JANUARY 1951 Renowned BBC commentator, Eddie Waring warned that France’s historic tour of Australia and New Zealand could be a huge success, or a colossal failure. Waring said if […]
DIARY UPDATE: Week 23, 2020
DIARY OF A RETIRED RUGBY LEAGUE WRITER WEEK 23 2020 MONDAY, JUNE 8 The Japanese flag flies from a house at up-market Ascot, here in Brisbane, as my wife, Marie […]
MAROONS ‘LACKED THE BASICS’
As Queenslanders celebrate the 40th anniversary of the inaugural State of Origin match, it is interesting to reflect on one man’s reasoning behind the amazing slump, which saw New South […]
FROM TEXAS TO ALICE SPRINGS, VIA WYNNUM AND BLACKPOOL
When rugby league fans talk about ‘what might have been’, the name Terry Saunders quickly springs to mind. Chosen for the Queensland State of Origin side in 1981, the Wynnum-Manly star’s […]
FLASHBACK: February, 1985
FEBRUARY 1985 It was the moment Queensland probably lost the chance to defend its State of Origin title, and it happened at the unlikely setting of the Maclean Showgrounds, on […]
HISTORY OF RUGBY LEAGUE ON THE GOLD COAST:Â A STORY OF RESILIENCE AND ACHIEVEMENT
Just as there was life ‘Before the Broncos’ in Brisbane, there was a proud history of rugby league on the Gold Coast and Northern Rivers before the Titans and its […]
‘OUR GAME’ – SPEECH BY STEVE RICKETTS
Chairman of the Queensland Rugby League History Committee, Steve Ricketts addressed the recent QRL administrative conference on the Gold Coast, about the establishment of the code in this state. A […]
FLASHBACK: SEPTEMBER 1959
SEPTEMBER 1959 Norths moved for Redcliffe to be admitted to the Brisbane Rugby League first grade competition in 1960, even though it would mean ceding some of their territory to […]
DIARY UPDATE: Week 48, 2017
DIARY OF A RETIRED RUGBY LEAGUE WRITER WEEK 48 2017 TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 28 English couple, Terry and Joyce Holmes are our guests on a country drive. Terry is a contributor […]
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: January 1972
Test lock, Ron Coote rejected a $70,000Â contract offer from the Queensland Rugby League, believed to be the biggest deal in the code’s history in Australia. The three year contract also […]
FLASHBACK: June 1986
State of Origin stalwarts, Chris Close, Colin Scott and Dave Brown were axed from the Queensland side to play New South Wales in the second match of the 1986 series. […]
FLASHBACK: February 1981
Former ballboy, Ross Livermore was appointed general manager of the Queensland Rugby League, a new position created for the re-constituted governing body of the code in the Sunshine State. Livermore, […]
FLASHBACK: MAY 1940
IN arguably the most dramatic start to a representative rugby league season in Queensland, virtually the entire Brisbane Bulimba Cup side was dropped after the players refused to back down on demands […]
FLASHBACK: April 1970
‘HAGAN’S HEROES’Â they were dubbed after the Toowoomba Clydesdales breathed new life into the Bulimba Cup inter-city competition with a shock 17-13 win over Brisbane at the Athletic Oval, Toowoomba. The […]
Steve Ricketts 