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This is an ABC podcast.
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Standby. Roy and HG.
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Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, jet ski loons looking for a picnic to splash and fat tyre e-bike rodeo clowns creating untold mayhem on footpaths across the nation.
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Our great code stands on the precipice of international sporting greatness!
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So, with soul in the shorts, feeling in the feet, and joy in the jumper, it's time to bump, it's time to thump, it's time to sink the slipper!
00:50
Let's pull the cord on the Evan Roode two-stroke and set off for the far horizon. It's another blast of bludgeoning on the blindside with the master of midfield mayhem, rampaging Roy Slavin, and the man with a fistful of bait and burly, Captain Flaphead, HG Nelson.
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Yes, TF Much, Cedric Espen's AO, a.k.a. The Drain. Now, he's torching the blindside blue paper for another week. It's certainly a familiar sound at this time of the year of the Sumpstep camped in the ABC Spot, ABC Soundproof booth at ABC Local Radio. And can I start, as I do usually, Hello Australia, H.G. Nelson, lifting the lid on another magnificent week of Consenting Concussion Magic. What a week. What an incredible week. A week when, let's be honest, too much sport is barely enough.
01:47
And it is another Super Saturday. Sure, there's less matches on than normal, a normal football round, but the importance of the matches has increased exponentially. Exponentially. I mean, it's a Super Saturday easily and covered in depth here on ABC Sport and ABC Local Radio. Aussies from start to stumps.
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It's beyond awesome. It's the planet beyond awesome.
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I mean, have a look at your solar system. Find Awesome, and then this is a planet that we're headed to which is beyond awesome. And look, I've been there and had a look and they just said it's fully sick. You won't like it here. And I'm kind of, you know, let's face it, I don't agree with planets much, but I am today. Fully sick. It's a TLT, a trip of a lifetime. Before we get stuck in, let's have a quick squeeze at the Festival of the Moon results so far.
02:34
Now, I've said this before, many times before, the preliminary matches are often the best matches of the year and it was proved again at the SCG last night. The Swans had it in their grasp and they let it slip. It was a magnificent last quarter. I think that if I'm right in saying the Fremantle side, who were a bit, I don't know, out of it for the three quarters, got into it. at the three-quarter break and came home with the last six goals of the game and won eventually 12-11-83.
03:01
That was Fremantle. Swans 10-11-71. So the Fremantle team, the happy team from Fremantle, the Dockers at Wolfie time, I mean, they built a mythology around it and it's looking good for a grand final tilt against the winner of today's match, Hawthorne v Brisbane Lions. Now...
03:20
The closeness of the game, the drama of the occasion, the fact that the Swans had a dominant, you know, run for three quarters until just before three-quarter time when Hunt got a goal. And then off they went, the Fremantle team, and really dominated the final quarter. I don't think, from memory, the Swans got a goal or they might have got a point. That was all they just backed up and left. Now, in the NRLW...
03:45
There was a great game out at Campbelltown. It was Tigers v Raiders, and Tigers, who I make mention in my opening remarks here, the Tigers appearing in a final for the first time in 15 years in any competition.
03:57
Sadly, they didn't score, but they didn't lose by much because the Raiders were only able to get six when Isabella Waterman scored in the 17th minute, and that was all she wrote really there. So with those thoughts in mind, we come to the second preliminary final between the Hawks and the Lions, as mentioned. It's a Twilight Eliminator at the G, the MCG, with the ball up at 5.15pm today. Now, if the Lions and the, you know, obviously the Hawks can turn on a cracker like last night, then we're in for a great preliminary final weekend.
04:29
I'm not counting it off. And in the league, it's the Roosters v. the Sharks at Allianz today, 7.50. So you can watch, you can get all the action of the AFL and then swap over and see the rugby league. Now, busman to the code City Fog has 147 buses out on the road, shifting the millions of fans from the Shire to Allianz. And what's a lovely touch, he's got an old shark player like Gal or Sparkles McGaw or ET, et cetera, on every bus. So you'll be able to meet the players as you come up from the Shire on the Sid Fogg.
05:00
Well, he's talking about a lift that would, you know, it's a movement of people that's second to none in the history of the world. for a sporting event. This semi is shaping up as an old-fashioned Nigelhoff, with the Sharks urging their powder keg, Ronnie Mulitalo, to unsettle Superchooks Mark Nawal Quantawasse and Spencer Leneu.
05:22
And so Nigelhoff is on the cards for the big one this afternoon. In the league tomorrow, it's the Warriors v Knights at Eden Park. The Knights so far, the surprise packet of the final series, playing excellent rugby league and could go on with it. And next, the NRLW finals, should I say, next on the NRLW finals schedule, Well, I mentioned the Tigers in my opening remarks and they finished, let's face it, back-to-back spoons last year and they just had one win for the year last year.
05:53
And this year, as mentioned, after the 15 years run of outs, they're back playing finals and it's great to see. And the rest of the card is an eliminator today between the Broncos and the Knights. Gee, the Knights have had a year at the Totally Workwear Stadium.
06:09
A location, a bit of a mystery to me, but I love the sound of it. Totally Workwear Stadium at 4.05pm.
06:16
Roosters and Titans have the bye in their finals run. And can I just ask in passing crowds, was anybody else bothered about the lack of crowds at the first week of the finals in the rugby league in particular? I just leave that there. And before we dive into the cut and thrust...
06:30
of the week. The big news from league headquarters this week is that Peter Volanders will become the CEO of the Big Wheeze and the chairman of the Australian Rugby League Commission. It's a two hats, one head operation now. A stunning discovery in administration rules of business of the greatest game of all has allowed this controversial walk around to blossom. Now, let's not forget... that PVL, that's Feathers, began his life in Wollongong after a glittering playing career with the Depto Canaries and the Thrill Butchers. Pete caught the train to Sydney from Fairy Meadow.
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And on this October long weekend, his lifelong dream will be realised at a glittering coronation ceremony. That's what I'm describing it as, a coronation ceremony before the 2026 Big Dance kickoff. Now, A lot of people have made the comment there. It's been very QT about who's appearing at the big dance this year, 2026, a long weekend in October. You know the familiar drill. And usually there's a great artiste from around the world of show business come along. Well, we're not having that this year.
07:34
We're having a coronation ceremony for Verlanders. Peter will arrive at Acor on the big day in the morning suit he wore when he dined with the Queen before her untimely death. on that fate-filled day in September 2022. A lot of league players, you know, will remember that fondly that day. We saw Pete in the carriage going along to meet, you know, obviously had the fish and the soup and the bread rolls and, you know, the rubber chicken and so on. It all worked out well. It was a day that when the HMQ went on to the big sky and, that left all league lovers in rubble.
08:07
Now, Peter's going to arrive with the game ball tucked under his arm, having jumped out of a Cessna 150 at 25,000 feet above Acor Stadium. Now, this will be some trick because obviously he's got the, you know, hold the... hat on with one hand, he's got the ball under the other arm, and he's got to still pull the ripcord on the parachute. I mean, I don't know how he's going to do it. Maybe he's got something, you know, an automatic release triggered by the pilot of the plane when he thinks he's about the right height. He'll land in the suit and the top hat he wore, as mentioned, to the Royal Supper, the final Royal Supper.
08:41
He'll arrive as an ordinary commoner with a passion for rugby league and leave as King Feathers the first to bullae. That's been granted by the palace. That's obviously where the current king is in residence. But, you know, that'll get sealed. Those seals will come through as part of the...
08:58
event. And after the big dance, he'll be known by all subjects as King Wayne in homage to the great coach. So he's selecting, he's Wayne the first of rugby league. The coronation will follow the same script that was delivered at Westminster Abbey when Charles became our King by extension, the King of rugby league on May the 6th, 2023. So a few years ago, the coronation, the congregation rather is asked to wear to the coronation, a footy jumper and shorts ensemble of their own choosing. No problem there. And Incidentally, let's not forget that Royalty and Rugby League have always danced an attractive rumba.
09:30
Charles's father, Prince Philip, was the proud patron of Rugby League for decades. Decades. I mean, they kicked off in 1908. I think Prince Philip got on board in about 1909. He loved it. The details of the big day will be fleshed out in the coming weeks.
09:46
Let's face it, there's only two weeks, so it's not a long time to wait. And suffice to say that the traditional highlight of the big dance will be a spectacle of prominent Dallium winners, past and present, running on with their kitchen doors to be flopped down and run over by monster trucks circulating in club colours of NRL teams. I mean, that's a given. That's a standard part of the big dance program now. And to see all the players, past players, past and present, running on with their doors, waiting for the monster trucks to drive over... It'll have everybody standing, I'm sure.
10:17
So much to look forward to before King Wayne kicks off to get the historic final game for 2026 underway. And the code needs your input to this event to make the coronation totally memorable and a fitting celebration of our first King of Rugby League. Now to more pressing issues and there's an old rugby league adage known to school kids across the nation that screams the bunker hates rugby league. This truism got a good run last weekend. The hatred of the bunker of four rugby league was there for all to see last weekend when the rabbits were completely darted by bunker stuff-ups and the bunker then pushed on to feature big time in the Chooks v Panthers fiasco.
10:55
Just in the refereeing. Now, in the Panthers v. Chooks v. Asco, now, did I see a forward pass penalised in that game? I haven't gone back to look at the stats, but I've got a vague feeling there was, and that certainly wasn't on my bingo card. In other finals fallout after the big win at Allianz, the Sharks are resigned to never playing, never playing a final at House of Mould, a.k.a. Shark Park, a.k.a. the Ocean Project Stadium ever again. This is a tragedy. I mean, the atmosphere of the House of Mould is superb.
11:28
It's a very knowledgeable crowd who parked probably in Miranda or somewhere in Miranda Fair and then walked up.
11:35
You know, they flirt with death every time they turn up at Shark Park. And at this hectic time, it's been suggested by thought specialists that rugby league players, that's all rugby league players, need something to take their mind off the cut and thrust of the greatest game of all as they approach their finals campaign.
11:52
As you know, many walk through kitchens looking for relief. Others seek solace in Monday night lagers and too many oak milk stout schooners of reality. That's just a fact. But Bulldog Lockie Galvin has found distraction from the crushing anxiety of League... in a love of horse flesh and racing. He loves everything about the caper. He started a degree in vet science and has lined up his blacksmithing apprenticeship for the off-season. In the meantime, he's doing a 40-hour week job pricing and doing form for Have a Flutter, the one-stop bet shop working out of Rooting King Lodge.
12:24
which is, you know, drawing a lot of interest with their spring racing carnival in mind and their odds on some of the Melbourne Cup, et cetera, Everest, so on. You know, Lockie's up at 4am in his trackside for the early gallops with the stopwatch ticking over by 4.25. It's a great example for young fit Australians with bugger all to do.
12:43
And who, you know, let's face it, if they're not trackside, they're looking for peace to disturb. That's where I was going with that idea. I mean, get them on the track, that's what I say, and all of a sudden society's moving on. Bruce Wood, a stable boss at Rooting King Lodge, believes Galvin will make a superb clocker in time. When Lockie gets his training licence, Bruce believes that he has the talent to go all the way and win the Fat Five. That's the Everest, the Slipper, the Melbourne Cup, the Cox and the Barossa Pearl. The best of the lot.
13:11
The thing that impresses Woodis is Lockie's attention to detail. It's second to none. Gus Gould, the author of the controversial report into St George, which won a Walkley all those years ago, and a knowledgeable pony player himself, often joins Lockie on the rail at Rose Hill for an hour or two of chat about stable whispers and form of top jockeys before supervising training at the kennel in Belmore. This week it was off to Madring Sir for the Spanish F1. The usual suspects were on parade. Norris, Antonelli, Verstappen, Hamilton and Leclerc all lobbed on the front of the grid.
13:44
From there is a snooze fest as the recently refurbished track didn't allow for any overtaking. I don't know where the architects got it wrong. I mean, it's that sort of thing where we've got to turn here, we've got a straight there, we've got to put the grandstand there, and we've got to put the paella outlet there, and we got all those right. We just didn't have it wide enough so as cars could overtake. But it's an easy thing to overlook. Almost impossible to correct, though. But it's a snooze fest. It was...
14:11
You know, drivers apparently had to literally be jolted away with charges of electricity from, you know, race central. Our Oscar in the McLaren was seventh on the grid when the light turned green. Sadly, Piastri was hit twice on lap one by that joke, George Russell. He hit twice before the first corner. You've got an idea of how they take off. They only run about, say, maximum 100 metres down to the first corner. He got hit twice. Our kid struggled with the smashed in front of the end of the car, the McLaren, but heroically, like you knew he would, like you knew any Aussie would, brought the busted wreck home into eighth slot.
14:49
Verstappen completed a rare double, second in the main dash for cash, but first in the 100 go-kart comp.
14:56
It wasn't across the 100 go-kart comp, but it did look good.
14:59
While in Spain, Jess Fox took out gold in the K1 ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup in Sioux. She overcame an early two-second penalty to score 93.77 seconds in 93.77 seconds with 322 points. Sister Noemi narrowly missed the podium coming fourth. Then to the English Premier League. No, I lied. To the English Championship and Soccero Mohamed Toure scores inside the opening minute of the Norwich v Middlesbrough clash. Toure took 52 seconds to find the back of the net, but the Canaries could not hold on and after 90 minutes they were down 4-3 in a classic.
15:37
Now, in AFLW, the North Streak continues. We've been plotting the North Streak for some time. And it continues with a scare against the Navy Blues. Final scores 4-9-33 to North. Blues 3-5-23. So a win to the North by 10 points. Now, the US Open. Sabalenka fine after going down to Rabakina in the final. Will lighten her wallet by 70,000 large. The images of the former champ smashing a racket are magnificent.
16:08
I wouldn't have bothered there, but then there was the verbal outburst, and I understand players do get crossed when things do not go their way, but I thought burning the net... filling the umpire's drink bottle with metho, taking long jimmies in the nearby bushes, pulling the head with a suspicious illness break of three hours and leaving a poo in the opponent's shoe. We're uncalled for. We're uncalled for. Went too far. One thing that... But I can turn a blind eye to all those if the tennis is good. But one thing I cannot stand and will never agree to or see the funny side of is ball abuse.
16:39
Building the slowest engines willy-nilly, hoping it connects with the spectator's head is madness that is beyond my understanding and stretches any sympathy to the breaking point that I have with a player and the predicament of a player in a top-flight slam.
16:52
and worth at least 70,000 K in fines. And I don't resile from these positions. I never will. And to our Wallaroos, while they did not salute against the world's best in the 45 to 15 loss against England, the big W showed enough to suggest the Aussies are on their way. They've turned the corner. The team led at 10-5 at halftime, and the next Wallaroos clashes against France in the Maurice David Stadium at the special family time of 1.45.
17:21
Blindsiders stand well back and let the hounds of hustle see the lure as we welcome to ABC Sport, ABC Local Radio, a man who is passionate about Australian small business. Obviously, this great Aussie contributes today on the condition of complete anonymity, so I'm not going to name him. Rampaging Roy Slavin, can I get the bludgeoning bunny in motion for another week by asking what highlights caught your restless eye, 4K HD, large language model machine learning, AI encrypted bubblegum?
17:49
Yes, thank you very, very much, HG Nelson. Of course, happy rugby league, HG to you and your family and happy rugby league to all Aussies who are happy to have a go at anything.
18:04
You know, changing spark plugs, cleaning out the drains, wiring in a few power points, rotating the tyres, general maintenance, general maintenance of everything. Quite happy to have a go at any plastering.
18:18
Re-roofing.
18:20
I mean, it's not rocket science.
18:24
And Aussies are very, very good at these sorts of things if they're prepared to have a go. And most Aussies mercifully are prepared to have a go, and I congratulate all of them. And welcome. You're the listenership. Can do, people. Can do Aussies.
18:42
Stephen Smith, well, he...
18:46
He may miss the Ashes, it would appear, due to commitments he has to cricket in New York.
18:54
I think Stephen has invested a little bit in the team there. I think he might even have a bit of an interest in the competition in general. And this will be his focus, he's suggesting, instead of the Ashes. I think it's very disappointing, but... You know, it's the modern world we live in. Is it un-Australian? Well, I'm not sure yet. I'm not sure, but it's getting close. It's borderline.
19:15
It certainly is borderline.
19:16
It's borderline.
19:18
But I tell you what isn't complete. Look, he's admitted to being traumatised and reliving Sandpaper Gate whenever he's photographed.
19:33
This is a trauma, and I put out here a call to any psychiatrists who might be listening. I've never heard of this particular syndrome of whenever he hears a click of a camera.
19:48
Yeah.
19:50
Sandpaper gate comes back and he relives the trauma.
19:52
Does this still apply to when he's in America?
19:55
This applies to wherever he goes, wherever he goes, wherever he's photographed. I'm not so sure whether, you know, smartphones taking photographs, they don't make a clicking noise. So maybe he's unaffected by those. But any old-fashioned camera, a camera that makes a clicking noise, upsets him.
20:14
Trauma comes back and he gets the shakes. He's upset. Has to lie down. Has to lie down, yeah, yeah.
20:22
And do people go around going behind them?
20:24
I'm sure they do. I'm sure they do. And I'm sure once he gets to South Africa, that's all he's going to hear.
20:31
I said to him, mate, this is the sort of thing you've got to keep to yourself.
20:36
Don't tell people.
20:38
Talk to a psychiatrist. That's why I'm appealing now, if there are any psychiatrists who are listening who've heard of this syndrome, to get in touch and we'll pass the information.
20:50
Whatever your suggestions. Yep, yep, yep.
20:53
Now, Joe Apataya, he has stunned Las Vegas and has earned a world title cruiserweight shot.
21:01
And I think that's going to happen in May in Vegas. And this is very, very great news. I don't think Apataya's been beaten. He's undefeated now in about, what, 12 bouts? 12 bouts, I think. And the bloke he took out, his name I can't remember, but it might occur to me sometime in the next hour. I don't know. But he'd been previously undefeated as well. Wow. So this was two undefeateds hopping in the ring, cruiserweight, and Apataya took him out. No, no belt.
21:30
Right.
21:31
But he's up for a belt now. It was an eliminator. Phew, good.
21:35
Something on at least.
21:36
There was something in it, yeah, yeah. So this is great news for oppa tyre freaks, of which there are many. I mean, he's a very quiet Australian. Very quiet Australian. He hasn't got big tickets on himself or anything.
21:49
If there's a bit of plastering to do, he'll have a go.
21:51
Yeah, and the spark plugs.
21:52
The spark plugs, he'll do them. Rotate the tyres, he'll do it. He'll do it. He'll give it a go.
21:58
Re-roofing, he's your man.
22:01
Now, it's the end of a golden era.
22:05
This is the first time in over 20 years that one of the big three, that is Roger, Rafa and Novak, are not in the top ten.
22:16
What an era it's been.
22:18
What an era it's been. Well, can I just say that I think the real golden era, however, I mean people are talking about this, this is the golden era, golden era, you know, Rafa, blah, blah, blah, Roger.
22:32
The real golden era, I think, was Lou Hogue, Roswell Laver, Roach, Nuke, Stolle, Roy Emerson. That was your golden era, wasn't it? I mean, that's when Aussies...
22:46
ruled the world when it came to tennis. I know. It was brighter gold, wasn't it? It was. It was.
22:51
Now, can I ask Sinner and Alcaraz and so on? I mean, they appear to be the next generation.
22:56
They are the new. Yeah, yeah. And Zverev. Zverev. Well, Zverev seems a little bit mad. I mean, he was the last to know that he'd won the US Open.
23:04
I know. What's he doing out there?
23:05
What's he doing out there? He was just happy to serve all day. Keep going.
23:09
They had to say, no, stop, mate. No, you've won. What? What? Oh, I've won. Great beauty.
23:15
What an idiot.
23:18
Now, with the collapse of Liv, Cam Smith is owed over $4.8 million.
23:26
Lucas Herbert, I'm a little bit concerned about. He's owed a million.
23:30
And Phil Mickelson, who knows? I'm just hoping that Phil hasn't spent the money before it's arrived.
23:38
Phil, we know, is a little bit... Well, change tends to... He seems to have a hole in his pocket. He does. Let's put it that way. And a lot of change seems to spill out wherever he goes.
23:49
Are you suggesting that Liv may owe an investment firm quite a lot of money?
23:56
Well, I'm not sure. I hope not. I hope not. But we know what Phil's like. We know what his track record's like.
24:03
Winning...
24:05
Doesn't come all that often. Often to tap him on the shoulder. Yeah, yeah. And when it does, he's huge enough. That's right. He's more likely to be on the losing end, could I suggest? Yes, no, I'm saying. And if that's the case in this instance, if he's, you know, because I think he was offered $200 million to begin with.
24:25
In the live...
24:26
In the live, yeah. In the live... Yeah, yeah, yeah. But obviously these were staggered payments. You know, you get $10 million this year. Yeah, $10 million. It might have been over a five-year period.
24:36
Yeah, no, that's fair enough.
24:37
Well, I just hope Phil hasn't...
24:40
Found something to do with it. Yeah, found something. It didn't return anything like playing golf.
24:45
Well, I just hope he hasn't, you know, made some decisions predicated on the money coming in for the... Ah, for the next five years.
24:53
Yes, now I get that.
24:54
Which Phil's capable of, given his track record.
24:57
No, I understand.
24:58
So I'm asking the golf world to reach out to Phil.
25:03
Make sure he's okay.
25:04
Make sure he's okay. Thank you.
25:06
And maybe off a...
25:09
No, I wouldn't offer him anything. No. No, just comfort and advice.
25:14
A cup of tea.
25:15
Because if you hand over the Reddies, honestly, there are no winners here. Well, there are, but...
25:21
They're not connected to people we know.
25:25
In very good news, Mike Brady to appear at the AFL Grand Final with Kylie Minogue. I don't know if they're doing anything together. I'd love to imagine they would be. I'd love to hear Kylie do the second verse of Up There Kazaley. I assume Mike Brady will do Up There Kazaley. I never tire of it. No. What is it, up there and fight?
25:45
Up there and add them. In there and fight.
25:46
Show them your might. Show them your might, yeah. No, it's beautiful. It's the show them your might. Yeah, yeah.
25:52
That's what gets you. That's the line, isn't it?
25:56
Yes.
25:57
When you line everything up, footy wins hands down. Yeah. It's the thing that sticks with me. That's right. Yeah.
26:02
You're absolutely, you know. Up there, Kazaley.
26:05
In there and fight. Now, can I just suggest that we come up with a song that they might be able to do together? Now, you're a big fan of Up Where We Belong, which is not as a vaguely footy theme. Yeah, yeah. You know, or The Wind Beneath My Wings.
26:22
The Wind Beneath My Wings. That's a beautiful song too, isn't it?
26:26
Yeah.
26:27
Yes, that'd be lovely. You are the wind beneath my wings. She would sing that to Mike Brady, couldn't she?
26:34
Well, I was thinking, could we chop it up as a sort of one verse? A duet. Yeah, duet.
26:38
A verse each.
26:39
A verse each, yeah.
26:40
Then they come together with the third verse and do it together.
26:42
Yeah, because that's what the public's looking for here. Something fresh, something new. Yeah. Duets between stars.
26:47
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
26:48
You know, unimaginable.
26:50
Let's hope it's not just Mike coming out with the acoustic guitar and...
26:53
Yeah.
26:54
Up there.
26:55
Let's have this. A little more than that this time. Let's give it a modern twang.
27:03
We're open to suggestions.
27:04
Or not. It might be great. Just simple. You know, just mic, the guitar, and nothing else. Just the crowd joining in.
27:11
I'm pretty sure that that's my understanding is it's, you know, a cutback ceremony this year. Yes. It might go on for an hour or two, but it's cutback. So Mike just walks out. Walks out. With his guitar. And chats between songs.
27:25
Right.
27:25
Maybe he has a cut. Oh, he's doing more than one. I made that up.
27:28
All right. I mean, I'm happy to do 40 minutes, a tight 40 minutes. That'd suit me. Top and tail it with up there, Kazaley.
27:38
Start with that. Do the other stuff.
27:40
Yeah, and then come back to it. People can go and get a drink, that sort of thing, and come back for the final bit with Kylie. And is he going to join Kylie on I Could Be So Lucky? Well, maybe.
27:52
Yeah, or Locomotion. The original.
27:56
The original.
27:57
That was her first big hit, wasn't it? It was. Locomotion. I mean, it's a song that's always bored me, but she brought something to it. Yeah, she did. And she and Mike could certainly bring something to it.
28:06
Yeah.
28:07
Just Mike on acoustic guitar.
28:10
Anyway.
28:12
And one of those sound, you know, benders, you know, that you kind of flesh it out about.
28:16
Oh, sure. Oh, some sort of synthesised addition.
28:20
Well, yeah, you know, like a set of foot pedals that might give it a bit more bump.
28:25
Yeah, right.
28:26
You should be talking to him.
28:29
Now, in excellent news, well, I think it's interesting. Well, it is interesting. Jerome Luai is now the face of True Chi Industries.
28:40
Now, I don't know much about True Chi Industries. I've tried to do a little research. I think they might deliver...
28:49
foodstuffs and what have you to shops, I think.
28:54
Right. Now, why do they need a face?
28:56
Convenience stores. I don't know why they need a face.
28:58
And do they think that the face of Luai will mean that they get more customers? Is that how it works?
29:03
I suppose so. More shops will put their hand up and say, oh, you know.
29:09
I want the stuff that does the Pepsi. The Pepsi guy. Yeah, the Pepsi guy. Because he's the Pepsi guy.
29:15
Yeah, I like Pepsi too. You got any Diet Pepsi? No, we don't have any Diet Pepsi.
29:20
It's weird. It's weird, isn't it? No oversight from anywhere. No. Especially the rugby league who don't seem to care at all about this. They don't care at all. And what happens if all these jobs take him away from playing rugby league?
29:30
Yeah, yeah.
29:32
Well, I don't know if he's going to have time for rugby league with all these commitments because he's the tourism man. Tourism man. He's the face of tourism, the face of True Guy Industries. Pepsi. And the face of Pepsi. And that's only the beginning. That's only the start, isn't it?
29:47
Yeah. What did Toto get the job with? He's Coke, Diet Coke.
29:52
Isn't he? I think so. I was going to say Coke.
29:54
And I don't know if he's associated with True Guy Industries. He could be. I don't know who the competitors are for True Guy.
30:01
Is that K-Y or K-I?
30:03
I think it's T-R-U-K-A-I.
30:05
K-A-I.
30:08
True Kai.
30:09
Anyway, wonderful week for the greatest game of all. Look, could I just say that Mad Monday has come and gone and the players' behaviour has been exemplary.
30:20
Yeah, yeah. Exemplary.
30:22
Exemplary.
30:24
I mean, there's been only one incident that has nothing really to do with Mad Monday and that was, you know, a player might have been in the kitchen, I think. I think it might have been Josh out of a car.
30:36
It was a mobile kitchen. Yeah. That was the trouble. He didn't know it was there.
30:41
No, no. And I tell you what, it's very difficult to just, you know, if you don't know it's a kitchen and you walk in, you don't know. Yeah.
30:49
You know what I mean?
30:50
And I'm sure that's what happened with Josh.
30:52
He was just, come on, mate, we're going in here. What's this?
30:55
Suddenly you find yourself in the kitchen. Yeah. The next thing you know, you're driving home and you think, oh, man, I feel pretty weird. Rip, rip. You pull over. You know, what's going on? Were you in a kitchen? Yeah.
31:07
Get out.
31:08
Make of that what you will.
31:12
The Maguire Society has committed to a breeding program that will keep members busy even if the current feral population of bush junk is tidied away in the next decade. Members have heard the big cat rumors and now the Maguire's big cat subcommittee has sourced some promising gear from the internet dark web. As we speak, the society's bright sparks are turning out the first litter of really big cats due to drop in November.
31:42
This news will excite progressive members and forward-thinking baiters who have been looking for the next-level challengers through bludging on the blind side.
31:58
Oh, I've got some information. Tukai Industries produce vitamin-enriched rice.
32:04
Isn't that great? They grow it themselves or they just add?
32:06
I assume so. Well, they'd probably get the rice from growers and put the vitamins in and then on sell it. Value-add, of course. That's when, I suppose, Luai gets involved.
32:17
And he's there with a bag of rice? Yeah. Boiling it up and then saying, I feel better, I play rugby league better?
32:22
Yeah, I play rugby league better with this rice, especially fired with a Pepsi. Yeah.
32:28
And if you want to come and watch me do it, fly in. Yep.
32:33
And do you think that this is part of a push into Australia by? Two Chi. Two Chi Industries?
32:39
Well, I know people are interested in, you know, vitamin-enriched anything.
32:44
So vitamin-enriched rice sounds fantastic, doesn't it? I mean, so often rice is just, you know, white sits there, some brown sits there, does nothing.
32:54
You know, it doesn't add much, just a bit of fill, really. Yeah.
32:57
Isn't it? That's right. Now, can I ask you, if you've got vitamin and rich, I mean, that sounds just fantastic. Doesn't it?
33:04
That's how much better you're going to feel. Way better.
33:07
Yeah. Now, can I ask, though, I can understand in the islands of the Pacific how, you know, their Pepsi sales might not be as much as they used to and Luai being a big figure.
33:17
Sure.
33:17
But the thing about it is you'd think most of the people there would know about rice and its benefits and all that already. They would. Whereas maybe people in Australia don't know as much about the vitamin rich rice that Tukai Industries is making and therefore that's where Luai would come into his own, stepping up.
33:34
With a larger audience who are unfamiliar with the product.
33:38
True.
33:40
And I wonder why, actually. I mean, we produce wonderful rice in Australia. Best in the world. Best in the world.
33:46
And great vitamin content.
33:48
Well, I'm not sure. I just made that up. Yeah, I know you have. But I haven't seen in the rice, I get, there's no option to buy vitamin enhanced rice. It's just not there. Yeah.
34:02
I mean, you can go to your supermarkets. Now, go to any of your supermarkets, have a look at your rice. It's great, but there's no vitamin-enhanced rice, is there? Are we missing out? We are missing out.
34:12
Would you like to see the CSIRO get involved if they're the right people? Well, yeah, if they're the right people. Government agency to inject into every grain enhanced vitamin content?
34:22
Yeah.
34:23
Well, I don't know. I suppose. Where do you put the vitamins in? At what stage of the process?
34:28
Now, you'll... Is it in the water that you grow the rice here?
34:32
I don't know.
34:32
Well, Tukai are well ahead of us.
34:34
Yeah, dry crop rice, sometimes water-based rice. It's got a variety of problems here.
34:41
Yeah.
34:42
Well, we just hope we can unearth that by the time the grand final gets underway. Now, if you want to get in touch with the show, text line 046792022, 046792022, or the old-style way, roynhg at abc.net.au. Now, the road to midnight is – I think I've explained that fairly well so far. We've got an idea of what's happening. Obviously, the Hawks play the – the Lions in the AFL, and today the Roosters take on the mighty team from the Shark Park.
35:14
The Mould Miracle. The Mould Miracle.
35:17
That's right. Now, were you disappointed with the crowds last week?
35:21
A little bit, yeah.
35:21
But nothing to worry about. Grand final acts. Now, this is fascinating that you raised them.
35:26
As long as the eyeballs were at home.
35:29
I think that's right. Yeah, you want those eyeball numbers. Yes, that's the important thing. That's where the battle is now.
35:33
Yep.
35:33
I think we're fooling ourselves if we're thinking the game will rise and fall on how many people turn up. Those days are long gone.
35:40
I think they are. And the thing about rugby league is it's always better on television than it is at the game.
35:46
You're somehow closer, aren't you? You see more. You do. I think you do. And the players are so literate, they give you a wink and stuff like that. Even in lower grades, they're just beautifully educated. Now –
35:59
We mentioned the problems of the AFL and the Mike Brady and Kylie for the first time in the duets.
36:07
Wind Beneath My Wings.
36:08
I'd love to see them. This is a flashback track, Stumbling In. I don't know if people remember this.
36:15
It was Chris Norman, I want to say. Yeah, Norman and Quattro. And Susie Quattro.
36:20
Yeah, beautiful. It was a beautiful song. Yeah, it was just a meeting of minds. Stumbling In. That would be great to do that.
36:26
Yes. Yes. Yeah. And then.
36:30
Yeah.
36:31
It was an odd song, wasn't it? Because there was nothing much to it, was there?
36:35
There was nothing wrong to it, really.
36:36
Yeah.
36:37
I think Stumbling In was it.
36:38
Stumbling In, that was it. Yeah. And so you imagine they must have been out somewhere and had a few and now they're stumbling in.
36:45
Yeah, exactly. You got it. You got it. You don't need much more than that. Now, get this.
36:52
I did some months ago suggest that Olivia Dean, I think the artist's name was, would make a great get for the rugby league. Sure.
37:02
There's been too much to deal with and that's something that's dropped off the edge of the table at Rugby League House.
37:09
And it looks as though the game is going to be the main thing at last.
37:12
Well, how refreshing is that?
37:14
Run on and play.
37:16
Yeah.
37:16
Run on and play.
37:18
So at halftime, there's just nothing, I guess. Just people in the dressing rooms and a few people commentating.
37:25
About the play. Yeah, about what we've seen and maybe a couple of highlights from the first half, that sort of thing.
37:30
That sort of thing. Well, that's fine. And the great thing is they run on, assume their position, they've already tossed the coin, they know which way they're going and all that sort of stuff and kick off. Now, what do you think about the idea of the ceremony to indicate that you know, Volandis is now the king of rugby league. Do you think that's got merit as a sort of like an idea? Because it is an official position.
37:52
And I'm just wondering, is who, let's say Volandis can do this for, say, another 30 years. Yes. You wonder who would take over after he finishes.
38:01
And I think that... Well, no one. You'd need four or five people to take over, wouldn't you?
38:04
You would break it up into two parts.
38:05
You'd have to break it up, yeah. Yeah. I mean, his achievements are extraordinary, really. I mean, that's how he...
38:13
Got the name Feathers. So many feathers in his cap, in his trousers.
38:16
They had to go to his trousers.
38:18
They had to go to his trousers because his cap was filled.
38:20
Yeah.
38:21
So he's stuffing them into his trousers.
38:24
And he's extraordinary. He's close to being...
38:28
An icon, isn't he? Whoa. I know. It's a big call. It's a big call. But is he an icon yet, do we think? He's on the way, isn't he?
38:36
He certainly is. And I just sort of worry about administrations. You know, you're going to have people coming out of the woodwork on this program saying, well, so-and-so is a great icon for the Sheffield Shield. Well, it's not quite the same thing. It's not. I mean, sure, you can have an icon in the Sheffield Shield, but keep it to yourself.
38:51
Yeah.
38:51
This is a public figure.
38:52
Well, we don't have many administrative icons, do we?
38:54
No, that's my point. So this is a, you know, this is a first. Yeah.
38:59
It's a first. I mean, there may well be administrative icons out there that we're unaware of.
39:03
Yes, no, I understand.
39:03
You know, great public servants, for example, that we're unaware of. They've done tremendous work.
39:09
Like people connected with the Olympics, like John Coates. John Coates. You know.
39:14
But I don't know if John Coates we'd consider an icon, would we? What?
39:17
Well, I'm just floating that for the sake of the argument. Rod McGee-ock. Was Rod McGee-ock? Rod McGee-ock. Now, is Rod McGee-ock an icon? I don't think so. No, neither do I. I don't think so. I don't have anything against him.
39:28
No, I've got nothing against him. Terrific bloke. Yeah. As soon as I can tell.
39:33
What I'm thinking is also is that if you can make this, what I'm describing, a trifecta of administration, the CEO, the chairman and the boss of New South Wales Racing. Yes. I mean, that's a big handful. It is. I'm just wondering if...
39:48
you know, we're going to be staggered by how many people we have to appoint to take over these jobs. Yes. I mean, I hadn't thought of that at all until right now, but I take your point entirely.
39:59
Yes, yes. You'd imagine that those roles would be too big for one person to fill.
40:04
Yes, that's right, that's right, that's right.
40:06
Yeah. So you need someone of iconic status, really. Mm-hmm. To be able to keep all those balls in the air.
40:13
You would, yeah. So it's a very tricky.
40:16
I mean, I don't want to look to the end of his reign. No. Because the one thing, it wouldn't be hereditary, would it? It couldn't be hereditary that somehow the king of Lundgren.
40:25
Oh, you'd pass it on.
40:25
Well, mm. I mean...
40:27
Okay. Well, that puts a lot of pressure on the next generation, doesn't it?
40:30
It does. And then you'd have, well, so-and-so maybe doesn't want to do it and abdicates and so they have to go to another member of the family, maybe a niece or a...
40:40
Yes.
40:40
You know, a...
40:41
So you're...
40:43
suggesting it should be along royal lines.
40:46
Well, the difficulty is I can't see any other way of dealing with it, really, because there's no example. I mean, what other world leaders are you going to look at to find an example for something who occupies this sort of position in society?
40:59
Yeah. Yeah, it's a one-off, isn't it?
41:01
Yeah, you see, I mean, I'd love to think that somehow the King of Norway could get involved, but unfortunately he's just recently left us. Right. I had hoped that, you know, they look to be doing something correct. Sure. With the way they've supported each other in the World Cup, the recent World Cup. I thought that would be a great example.
41:15
Yeah, yeah. Into Australia. Well, the thing is, Australia, we've had some brilliant, wonderful administrators over the years, but...
41:25
Feathers is set a new benchmark.
41:28
And do you worry about this workaround they've discovered in the rules that the CEO and the chairman can be the same person?
41:35
Look, if it was anyone else involved, I would be worried. But seeing it's Feathers, I'm absolutely sanguine.
41:43
The Las Vegas Church of Rugby League has secured a month's residency for former Australian strongman, ScoMo, next March. In weekly sprays, the Mo will take us his themes, the miracle of the five jobs, the sermon of the shark, and the night at Ingridine Mecca's that changed his life forever. Dates and times available from Bludging on the Blind Side.
42:10
Now, Roy, you've been working the system there and come up with some more information concerning the… Well, Sunrise, which is an Australian company, a wonderful Australian company, they own the Tukai company.
42:27
Do they? The industries? The industry, yeah. They do. Two-guy industries is Sunrise, which is good to know. Yeah. And according to Michelle, she said she bought a new rice product in Coles yesterday, a Sunrise protein plus rice with collagen.
42:47
Wow, we're doing things with rice that the rest of the world can only dream about.
42:52
And that probably comes out of the Tukai Industries development that they've been doing up there, putting the vitamins into the rice. So now we've got collagen into the rice, which helps with skin elasticity, I believe, HG. Isn't that a wonderful thing to imagine?
43:08
You can eat rice now and get your vitamins and...
43:12
Good skin.
43:13
Are you suggesting that Luai's face will be on these packets?
43:17
It will have to be, yes.
43:18
And so he'll have something like G'day Aussies or G'day P&Gers, depending on where it's being sold. Sure. This is the best you can get or something like that.
43:28
This is the best you can get. This is the rice I eat.
43:32
Something like that.
43:36
Maybe.
43:37
I've thought about it. Now, your talkback topic last week.
43:42
Oh, yes, HG, we asked a simple question. Is Australian cricket in crisis?
43:48
100% yes. Yeah, no, that's obvious.
43:51
Obvious, isn't it? Yeah. Anyway, I passed that on as soon as the, God, we were overwhelmed with response to this one. We put on, how many extra staff? Dave, was it three? Three. Four. Okay. Four extra staff just to answer the lines, answer the calls.
44:06
And did you speak to Greg Chappell about this at all? No, I haven't. I've spoken to no one. No. We've just got the mail now.
44:12
I just left a message at Cricket Australia. That's it. I hope they got it.
44:16
And what's up this week? This week, HG, is a story we probably haven't had a chance to explore yet, but we will.
44:25
And this is the missing North Sydney Bears.
44:29
Yes, trophy. Trophy. This is a very sad story. It is. And obviously the messages from our sponsors are ascending towards us, but we'll try and get to it after the news. Yeah.
44:41
It's got a feeling.
44:43
Well, the trophy they won in 1922...
44:46
The only trophy.
44:47
The only trophy North Sydney Bears ever won has disappeared.
44:52
Yeah.
44:53
No one can find it.
44:55
Some are suggesting now, oh, no, it never existed. Well, yes, it did.
45:00
I remember talking to Greg Florimo about it. He'd seen it. He'd certainly seen it. And now it's gone missing.
45:08
Now, I am suggesting, HG, that the New South Wales Police could be involved.
45:15
Right. Do they have a...
45:16
I'm not suggesting they've stolen it. I don't mean involved in that way. I'm saying they should be invited to get involved to try and get to the bottom of it because this is an iconic, and I don't use that word lightly, an iconic piece of silverware, isn't it? The 1922...
45:34
Rugby league trophy. Can I compare and contrast with the crack police squad that unearthed that missing Australia v New Zealand football trophy, soccer football trophy, which featured a cigarette case that had served on the Gallipoli Peninsula? That's right. That's right. And I put it right up there with that.
45:55
I put it up there with that, yeah. Because the police solved that, didn't they?
45:58
They did. They found it in a garage.
46:00
They found it in a garage, in someone's garage.
46:02
Is there a crack squad in the police, New South Wales police, who looks after these sort of incidents?
46:06
There'd have to be. There'd have to be. I don't know. I haven't discussed it with the commissioner. I haven't. I haven't.
46:14
But maybe now is the time to have some sort of crack squad. Mind you, the North Sydney detectives, they'd be the first people to approach.
46:22
And they would, you know, obviously go to the clubhouse, start asking some questions, phone around, speak to Greg for email, obviously. Say, Greg, when you saw it, where was it?
46:32
And how long ago did you see it?
46:34
You know, the one thing that worries me is they appear to have a photograph which is now considered false.
46:39
Yeah, I saw that. Yeah, it doesn't look false to me. Fair enough. And I showed that photograph to Greg Florimo and he said, yeah, that's it.
46:48
That's it. That's the trophy.
46:49
Now, what's the question? The 1922 trophy. What's the talkback question connected with this story?
46:53
Should New South Wales Police be involved in the search for the missing North Sydney Bears trophy from 1922?
47:00
I didn't realise you'd gone that far with it. So the police involvement...
47:03
Well, I'm suggesting the police should get involved and I'm hoping the public will support this.
47:08
And implicit in this is that the public of Australia want to find this trophy and are prepared to spend funds allocated to, say, maybe other crime, you know, like car theft or something.
47:19
Gang crime, that sort of stuff, sure.
47:20
To the search for the 2022 trophy.
47:24
Well, I reckon a couple of, you know, smart professional detectives should be able to crack this case within about 25 minutes. Yeah.
47:32
Shouldn't they?
47:34
Just a few phone calls.
47:35
I like the way you're talking.
47:36
Mr. Froy, mate, where did you see it? Where was it? Okay, thanks, mate. Go to that. Where is it? Let us in. Can we have a look in your garage? Yeah, thanks, mate. What are you looking for? This!
47:51
And what would be great is if we could get it back in time for the kick-off.
47:55
That's what I mean, so Mal Maninka can hold that up. No, no, he walks on with it. Yes!
48:02
1922. We're back.
48:05
Something like that.
48:06
Now, what do you want the public to do? Get in touch? Get in touch. You know the number. Yes or no. Yes or no.
48:11
Let's see where it goes. There'll be people here. How many people are putting on day for this one? Three. Okay. Three people will be here to answer your calls.
48:20
International champions who wished they'd played AFL. Big Ernie Els, Alex Hurricane Higgins, Tim Henman and Max Verstappen. This is Bludging on the Blind Side.
48:37
Yes, and if you want to get involved with the show, you can text us on 0467 920 222, 0467 920 222, or the old-style way, ruinhg at abc.net au. It should be .au, by the way.
48:52
Just on the text, HG, someone suggesting Big Bill Hamilton, a former Bear and New South Wales police officer, should be able to open the case of the missing trophy.
49:02
Well, hang on. Rugby league and the police have danced an attractive rumba for many, many years. Sure have. I mean, why wouldn't we consider the buttocks of Paul Syronin involved in this? Sure. Or even, you know, dare I say it, walk on the wild side with Johnny Elias in the police uniform. Sure. Obviously, he's not ticketed. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But he'd certainly scare anybody who was hiding something. Yep, yep, yep.
49:22
But I, honestly, I think for, you know, on this case, I don't think we need detectives who've played rugby league. I mean, that'd be a nice bonus. No, I agree.
49:31
In fact, I think you need an outsider's view.
49:33
I think you need an outsider's view.
49:34
Yeah, and the rugby league's getting in the road of this search.
49:37
Yes. Yeah.
49:39
Well, I've got to be honest here is, you know, up until about, you know, Thursday of this week, in fact, I may be wrong about that, but roughly Thursday of this week, oh no, Friday, I had no, yesterday, I had no idea that this trophy was missing or that in fact there was a trophy.
49:52
Hmm.
49:53
I mean, it gives you an idea of how these things don't come across your desk every so often, you know, until a crisis is emerging.
50:01
Well, that's right. You know, we were discussing this idly earlier, HG. How long has it been since we've talked about the North Sydney Bears win of 1922? It's been a while, hasn't it?
50:13
But isn't it lovely to have it back in our minds again?
50:18
Foremost in our thoughts. In our thoughts. Yeah.
50:22
Can I just raise one name from that, Cess Blinkhorn? Cess Blinkhorn was a fabulous player, wasn't he? Quite a tall, rangy player, Cess Blinkhorn. Might have played fullback for the North Sydney Bears in their triumphal win in 1922.
50:39
I can picture him now holding the trophy aloft. Wow. Wow. I'm not suggesting the Blinkhorn family took the trophy home with them. They didn't because Greg Florimo, many, many, many years later. Decades later. Later, saw it in the clubhouse.
50:55
So that would be the first port of call if I don't want to give the police ideas, but... Could be a start. That would be a start.
51:02
This comes from Peter of Penshurst, HG.
51:05
He says, Happy Rugby League. This is your self-appointed sponsorship correspondent with an update for 2026.
51:12
That's excellent. After 27 rounds, I can confirm that the head-to-head matches, KFC-sponsored teams won 20 games compared to 17 by the McDonald's teams.
51:24
Wow.
51:25
Moreover, in the final series, we'll see the following fast food outlets represented. KFC won.
51:32
Wendy's won. Red Rooster won. Zambrero won. McDonald's won.
51:39
Finally, my interest was piqued hearing that when the P&G pirates join the comp, they'll have Jerome Luai as Pepsi ambassador and Brian To'o representing Diet Coke. This will make it fascinating to see which fast food outlet gets on the pirate ship, giving them McDonald's serve Coke and KFC offers Pepsi to their respective customers.
51:58
I had no idea.
51:59
Isn't that wonderful?
52:00
I know. I thought they'd have both. Yeah. Taps of both.
52:03
Yeah.
52:04
What a great insight. That's fantastic.
52:05
That is fantastic, isn't it? And I thank Peter for keeping his eye on the ball.
52:09
And his excellent work. I mean, that's not easy to do that. You need a spreadsheet.
52:13
You do. You do. You've got to think about it. You've got to do the research.
52:17
That's right. That's right. Probably using a computer with some sort of modern software in it.
52:21
Yeah, probably.
52:22
Yeah, AI.
52:22
AI, probably. Yeah. And you can't blame him for using it. No, he hasn't got all day. No, it does it so quickly and efficiently.
52:31
And gets it wrong.
52:32
Now, this comes from Jono in Shenton Park, West Australia.
52:38
Oh, yes, Shenton Park, yeah.
52:40
Currently on holiday in New Zealand.
52:44
He says, happy pig shooting to you and your families.
52:46
That's good.
52:48
I'm a fair way behind your live programs, but listen to the podcast and you've been talking a lot about the enormous environmental damage caused by feral animals, especially pigs. The best way to tackle the problem, especially advocating for kids to be involved. Well, that's true. Yes. Not resigning. No. No resigning here. No.
53:04
Here's the answer. Our cousins across the ditch have got us licked once again. They're surely punching above their weight with this solution. This is the Coromandel Pig Hunting Club, HG New Zealand.
53:18
It's a kids' hunting competition.
53:22
It's a one-day hunt. Weigh in at 2 to 4 p.m. Prize-giving from 4.30 p.m. The top pub, Coromundal Hotel, bring cash for raffles. All proceeds to go directly back into the club. All kids welcome. First, second and third prizes for boar, possum, rabbit and fancy dress. Plus prizes for the biggest goat, which is a new category.
53:48
Isn't that fantastic?
53:50
That is just incredible. And what sort of numbers? I mean, is there any paper reporting on this?
53:55
No, no. I could look it up.
53:57
September the 5th, is that this year?
53:59
Yeah.
53:59
And so that's just a couple of weeks ago?
54:01
A couple of weeks ago, yeah. Isn't that fantastic? Well, that's when he was there on holidays and that's what he stumbled across.
54:07
I don't know if he got his kids involved. I hope he did.
54:10
And what I was trying to say was that do you assume that across New Zealand there are similar events? Yeah.
54:15
I assume so. You know, like, I mean, sort of Auckland.
54:19
Yeah, sure. Has a pub and off they go. You imagine there'd be, you know, kids pig hunting competitions right throughout New Zealand. I didn't know they had a pig problem there.
54:29
Well, and the other thing is, what are we doing here? Are we shooting?
54:33
Look, I think you can use any means at your disposal, actually. I mean, if you just want to go out with a bit of rope, a bit of string and a knife, it's up to you.
54:43
You know?
54:45
It's incredible, isn't it? It's incredible. I mean, they are way ahead of where we are.
54:48
Way ahead of us. Now, this comes from Peter from Max from Mall.
54:54
He says, my interest was piqued recently by the news of cane toads turning up in Port Macquarie.
55:02
Now, I thought that was a given.
55:05
Yeah, haven't we given up on cane toads? We've given up on them, haven't we? We're just hoping it'll all work out because they're right across in Western Australia now. They're bloody everywhere. They went around the top, didn't they?
55:15
Yeah, they did. But aren't I right in thinking they're in the northern suburbs of Sydney?
55:18
I think so.
55:20
I mean, there might be a few people, you know, when they're travelling in Queensland, you know, fill up the boot and bring them home, bring them down here. There might be a bit of that going on. I don't know. And then they can, you know, report it to a current affair.
55:34
Look at this.
55:35
Have a look at my boot. Cane totes in the backyard.
55:38
Where'd you get them? Dunno, they just appeared. Haven't you been to Queensland recently? Oh, yeah, might have been.
55:45
So what? You won't pin that on me, copper. Can we have a look in your boot? No.
55:51
Why did you just sell your car? I never did.
55:54
Anyway.
55:56
Now, this comes from Max. He says, back in 1980, English singer-songwriter Jonah Louie had a chart-topping hit with a song titled You'll Always Find Me in the Kitchen at Parties. Yep. Do we now feel we finally understand this song?
56:15
Oh, wow. Okay.
56:18
Okay. Puts a different slant on it, doesn't it?
56:20
That's an excellent observation.
56:23
It is. It is.
56:24
It is.
56:25
It is.
56:26
There's a lesson there.
56:28
Now, this comes from Brendan.
56:32
I've noticed a couple of dog tracks up for sale recently, one in Sydney's southwest and one in Tamworth.
56:39
I didn't know the Tamworth dog track was up for sale.
56:43
There it is there, HG.
56:46
I had no idea. That can't be right.
56:49
There'd be public outcry, wouldn't there? Are you seeing signs of dereliction there? I am.
56:56
I am.
56:58
See, if the dog track was going in Tamworth, you'd think there would have been country music artists writing songs about it.
57:06
You know?
57:08
Don't take my dogs away.
57:10
Oh, yeah. My dogs. I took my dog to Music Town. Yeah.
57:16
Yeah.
57:17
It'll never let me down. Got no wind with my dog.
57:20
Sort of thing. There'd be hundreds of songs about it. Yeah. Can't be right.
57:24
And, in fact, I bet you in the old days there was a competition for best dog song.
57:28
Yeah, there would have been. Every year. Yeah, golden guitar.
57:31
Golden guitar. This year, golden guitar dog song. Troy Cassidy, he's done it again.
57:36
Come on, Troy. It'd be great. I'm sure that's happened. Now.
57:42
This comes from Ben of South Fremantle.
57:44
Did he say who's likely to buy this dog track or how much it's worth?
57:49
No idea. No idea. More questions than answers. Yeah, more questions than answers, yeah. Yeah, Ben from South Fremantle. The recent discussion of hammer throwing and pig baiting has piqued my interest considerably. Turning my mind to the topic at hand, is not Mark Hammer McGaw...
58:07
the natural ambassador for pig baiting, hammer throwing and rugby league trifecta. He's well qualified. Hang on. Wasn't he sparkles, Magool?
58:15
Well, is he talking about the gladiator series in which he played? He is, I guess.
58:20
He played hammer. And J.A. might have been the referee.
58:24
Yeah, J.A. was the referee or the starter. Great show!
58:27
Why did they stop that show?
58:28
It was brilliant.
58:29
And there was quite a lot of them, wasn't there? Yeah, yeah. And did they play off against or did they run against ordinary Australians?
58:37
Must have done. Ordinary Aussies came and got involved.
58:40
And then the Mark Sparkles Magore went on to found the Magore Institute of Fitness.
58:46
He did. He did, which may have kicked on. I don't know. I don't know if you can get that vitamin-filled rice there. You might.
58:54
I don't know.
58:56
It'd be great if you could.
58:57
Well, you see, Sparkles was his rugby league name. Sparkles was his name. I mean, Hammer meant nothing to. It was just a party play. Yeah. I bet you if you looked up the program, you'd see Hammer tonight to be played by Mark. By Sparkles McGaw.
59:10
Exactly. Mark Sparkles McGaw.
59:16
Now, this comes from Callum in Mandurah in Western Australia. Oh, yeah.
59:24
Running last week, I'm astounded. His genius brain of linking NRL with hammer throw. This plus your wish for NRL players receiving more TV airtime got me thinking. Imagine a show on Channel 9 right after Friday Night Dog Night called So You Think You Can Swivel.
59:41
Now, he's suggesting Athletes Australia trial interested NRL players and the top 10 play off... to get the best rugby league hammer thrower and it could be hosted, he's suggested, by Jane Fleming and Danica.
59:57
Now, is this because Corey Parker, if I've got the right rugby league player, graduated from hammer throwing to the rugby league?
60:03
He did. He did. And he's the only one I know of who's taken that path, the hammer path, through the rugby league.
60:11
It's not a bad idea for a show. I mean, I'd watch it.
60:18
Sure. One thing tacit to this is the problem of, I know this is a long bow to draw, the Olympics wanting to modernise its playing events or its sporting events or its competitions and where something like the hammer would fit into that. Well, now we're starting to get an idea of how to drag the hammer back into the public view of modernity. Now, I can't... I don't know whether we can decorate the hammer in some way. I'm using that word advisedly.
60:49
Yeah.
60:51
And the reason why I raise this is because I know there's a tuna throwing competition connected with the Port Lincoln Festival, which is run, I think, in middle of January each year. That's right. And I couldn't work out how they could use a floppy fish, but it's a frozen, you know, tuna or, you know, on the end of a rope that they use as the hammer and stuff like that.
61:10
One of our great athletes was good at that, in fact.
61:13
Yes. Now, you're talking about Dean Lucan. Dean Lucan.
61:15
He used to be able to throw the tuna for miles, couldn't he?
61:20
The frozen tuna, yeah.
61:21
The frozen tuna, yeah.
61:22
Now, can I ask you, could we have a variety of what we consider hammers? Because...
61:31
I would imagine throwing a lump of whatever it is on the end of a bit of string could be replaced by a frozen tuna to no disadvantage or advantage to any of the participants. I might be wrong about that.
61:47
As a means of modernising it?
61:49
Well, as a means of adding variety, bring your own hammer, competitions, you know.
61:55
I can see a coloured hammer work here.
61:57
Coloured hammer.
61:58
And maybe one that made a noise when it's hurled through the air.
62:04
All of these things I'm looking at. And then how about if it hit a target and things blew up?
62:10
Great. People love that. They love seeing things blowing up, don't they?
62:16
I do.
62:17
Or if we set targets out there like a house or a car or something of no value or anything like that, you know.
62:25
Yeah. Do you know what I mean? I do.
62:27
To add some sense of this is a game, you should be part of it and you'd be mad not to come and watch it.
62:32
Yeah. Well, that sounds great and very modern. So people are sitting having a cup of coffee or a cup of tea in a cubby house that's at the, you know, The end of the oval, 60 metres away, and you've got hammer throwers trying to lob one through the roof. Yeah, that's right. Or through the chimney. Or even through the chimney. Brilliant. Paul from Riverwood says, NRL Chairman Peter Vlanders, media blitz this week was a huge missed opportunity by journalists. who failed to ask tough questions about the issues that really matter.
63:04
Oh, yeah. The ABC's Catherine Murphy and Nine's Tom Deeson didn't ask about the efforts to make rugby league part of the school curriculum or about promoting gambling in schools. Instead, they conducted these soft interviews that missed the mark completely.
63:19
While they raised the issue of rule changes, there was no question about the impact of six again on player injuries, an issue that's been raised by many players of late.
63:27
Aside from the bludge, Vlanders has been treated by royalty by the ABC and this is a very disturbing development.
63:34
Well, he's becoming king. I suppose, isn't he? Royally, he's becoming royally, not treated like him. Yeah, yeah.
63:40
People aren't going to ask him the hard questions anymore, are they? It's all red carpet and bowing and all of that sort of stuff. Scraping and, you know, sort of backing out backwards. Yeah, that's right.
63:52
Now, can I ask, here's a list of few things, things like no one asked about the global round, stadium funding, choosing the 20th team, player, fan, discontent about the rules, et cetera. They just let him go.
64:03
Yeah, they do. They just let him go.
64:04
They do. They were stunned.
64:06
Yeah. They were stunned. Yeah. Yeah.
64:09
This comes from Gerry. He says, I wish I could offer a happy rugby league to both of you and your families. Unfortunately, I have some disturbing news to report from the San Francisco Bay Area.
64:18
Oh, what fire ants?
64:20
Given the prohibition of reporting any opinion that is perceived as negative by the NRL, I'll leave it to your discretion on whether you might prefer to channel this opinion via a Phil Gould special report or a Ricky Stewart spray. Fox News used to show two NRL games a week and the annual State of Origin series. Now, just before the final series starts, it looks like Feathers' new media contract means the only way to watch NRL games in the US is either through the NRL app or behind the Fox paywall.
64:50
What?
64:52
How are they ever going to get the game to take off? Exactly. That's his point.
64:56
Whereas the AFL, you get it on free-to-air.
65:01
So...
65:03
The trouble with this is it's a bit late for us to do anything about it.
65:06
Well, we can't do anything about it, but surely journalists should be putting these problems to Vlanders and saying, how come this is the case? You're spending a lot of rugby league money going to Vegas, sending teams over there to try and spread the word over there. Free to wear, there were two games, now there's none. What are you doing?
65:25
But they're not game, are they?
65:27
They're not going to ask him. And you assume that Volandis has been bought off. Yes. By the various deals that he's done. That's right. That have forced the confinement, the containment of rugby league to those.
65:40
Behind a paywall. Yeah, who charge for services. That's right. That's right.
65:46
Just finally, thank God it's a good news story. This is Des in Coulomb Beach.
65:54
He says, I'm a coach driver and this week I had to take a group of secondary students to a rugby league game.
66:00
Wow, that's a good job.
66:01
On the way, one of the teachers was telling another how he used video of a game they had recently played in a maths lesson based around ratio, probability and statistics in his Year 9 class.
66:13
He had them studying number of tackles per try scored, set of six completed, percentage of tackles missed, etc., etc. It was very interesting and he said the class were more engaged than they had been for other maths lessons. There were non-rugby league lovers in the class he feels were developing a new appreciation for the game when they could see its relevance to maths. Such is the power of rugby league when integrated into the curriculum.
66:37
Isn't that fantastic?
66:37
Isn't that a wonderful story?
66:39
And I hope the bus driver took notes. Yes. So as if he got a busload of people without teachers, he could talk to them about maths and rugby league. Yes. That's the sort of STEM subject matter and material we need more of.
66:53
We do. We do. More of. Yeah. And I thank all correspondents.
67:02
Australians, rugby league crime is at pandemic proportions.
67:09
Referees and officials can't see everything, but together we can.
67:16
If you see rugby league crime, then as an Australian, do your duty and report it to bludging on the blind side. Text us on 0467 920 222.
67:36
You're listening to The Bludge on ABC Local Radio and ABC Sport, the Homer Grandstand.
67:45
Now, there's a blast from the past. Nobody's talking grandstand, aren't they?
67:48
They might. Are we allowed to mention grandstand? And Jim? We're hoving into view. No, that's triggering for some people. Now, let's go to this North Sydney Bears controversy.
68:02
As you mentioned, a desperate search for North Sydney's only premiership trophy continues. Continues. I didn't realise...
68:09
It's ongoing.
68:10
After it emerged, a piece of silverware found in a Sydney garage, or should I say Sydney storage facility, was not the bear's 106-year-old holy grail.
68:20
They thought they had it, did they?
68:21
They did. So only the poor old bears could lose their only premiership trophy. That's a bit unfair, I think. An arduous search for the silverware famously won by the North Sydney Club in the 21 and 22...
68:34
years, that's 19, 21, 22, not the recent 21 and 22, the club's only premiership wins brought unbridled joy last week followed by a heartbreak letdown.
68:47
So you can see they thought they had it and never had it, but we'll get to that in a minute. The Daily Telegraph spent months trying to determine whether the trophy called the Truth and Sportsman Cup still existed.
69:00
The Truth and Sportsman's Cup.
69:02
God, that's got a ring to it, hasn't it? It has, it has. A historian with links to the rugby league found the silverware in two pieces inside boxes at a Sydney storage facility. There it was, a cheap cup with a wooden base. Oh, I don't like the sound of that. Cheap.
69:17
Cheap cup with wooden base.
69:19
Norths won the 1922 Grand Final Trophy on September the 6th with a 35-3 win over the Glebe Dirty Reds.
69:27
Yeah. Remember when there was a drink put out called the Dirty Red?
69:30
Yeah.
69:31
Yeah.
69:32
Now, that was 15,000. Legendary winger Harold Hoarder.
69:36
Oh, Harold Hoarder.
69:37
He could score them? He got 20 points that day.
69:39
Did he really?
69:40
It would be a two tries and seven goals. Wow. Dead eye with the boot.
69:44
The 1922 side included a hoarder, Duncan Thompson, who had the grandstand named after him at North Sydney Oval. I didn't realise that. I didn't realise that. I didn't know that stand. Is it still there?
69:54
Let's say it is.
69:55
Herman Peters and Cess Blinkhorn.
69:57
Cess Blinkhorn, who we talked about.
69:59
Yeah.
70:00
And the Duel International. Not many Blinkhorns have played subsequently, have they?
70:04
No, it's not a name you associate with the rugby league, but more should be made of it.
70:08
Yeah.
70:08
And wouldn't it be great if more kids were called Cecil?
70:12
Yeah. I'm sure there's Blinkhorn family. They may well be listening. Keep your eyes out for one of the kids.
70:19
Who has a step. Who has a step.
70:21
Yeah. Yeah. And a nice friend.
70:23
Yeah.
70:24
Now, the coach was the dual international, Chris McKivitt. Wow. Wow.
70:29
Now, Gleber North finished equal points on points of the competition, 28 points, 22. The NS, it was New South Wales Rugby League then, opting to play a grand final to determine the Premier. Luckless Norths didn't win another top-tier competition after that day. This was pre-Sydney Harbour Bridge. Wise.
70:48
So, opposition's teams would catch a barge across the harbour to play Norths. Back then, Norths were known as shoremen.
70:57
Some media called it the 2022 side, that's 1922 side, the Bears, although the moniker wasn't official until 59, 1959. North's also won in 21, but that premiership was awarded for being first past the post. So it's a, you know, premiership points. Yeah. The trophy donated by the Truth and Sportsman Limited, a well-known Australian media company which published the well-read truth. I can remember that. Yeah. Truth they had in the – might have ended up here as a Melbourne publication with Jack Dyer's column, Diarrhea.
71:31
Diarrhea. That fabulous headline, Snedder's died on the job. The job.
71:36
That was the truth.
71:37
Beautiful.
71:37
And the Sydney Sportsman newspaper was first awarded to the Balmain Tigers 1920 premiers making the trophy, 106 years old.
71:47
It was to be a perpetual trophy which could only be kept by club which won the NSW RL Premiership three years in succession. So South's remained the rightful owners, having won in 25, 26, and 27 before claiming more titles. Side track there. Even the new Perth Bears were excited about the discovery. But then, amid the joy, remember, of course, they've discovered it in the garage. They've broken it out of the boxes and thought, you beauty, you can see Malmaninga walking out with it, et cetera.
72:18
And then amid the joy came the deflating news that there might actually have been two Truth and Sportsman's Cups and that this particular piece of silverware was more likely donated to the NSWRL in 1924, two years after the Bears' triumph, that was followed by the suggestions about the 1922 trophy being called the Alec Lorimer Shield.
72:39
Wow. Just got cinema written all over it, hasn't it? Okay. It's quite possible that a Premiership Trophy was not awarded in 22.
72:49
Oh, I'm sure it was. Of course it was. I mean, Greg Florimo isn't going to make it up.
72:55
So, Greg Florimo, did he see the Alex Lorimer? He must have.
73:00
He may well have seen the Lorimer.
73:02
Yeah.
73:02
I've got to be honest, if you produced it now, I wouldn't have a clue what it looked like.
73:06
How could we? Yeah.
73:07
Yeah.
73:08
How could we know? I mean, it'd be great to get 60 Minutes involved in this.
73:11
Yeah.
73:12
So it's quite possible. So it's not the sport, the truth.
73:15
Well, they don't think it is. They're not completely.
73:17
The truth in sports, but it's not that cup. No. It's got to be the Alex Lorimer.
73:22
Well, remember, of course, is that for years, the football, as in Football Australia and Football in New Zealand... thought there was no trophy that celebrated the clashes between the Australian Soccer House Football Association and the New Zealand Football Association. Then out of the blue came this trophy based on the idea of the cigarette case that saw action in Gallipoli. That's right. Magnificent trophy. Magnificent trophy. Now, see, after all those years, I mean, it's a long time since Gallipoli.
73:50
Yeah.
73:51
That was 1914, well, not 1914, but, you know, 1915 or thereabouts.
73:55
Yep, yep, yep. And so it is possible. We're right in that period, aren't we? The Alex Lorimer Cup.
74:03
has got to be somewhere.
74:05
Right. It's quite possible that the Premiership trophy was not awarded at all in 22, as you point out, very unlikely.
74:11
Unlikely.
74:11
In the year of North's first Premiership victory in 21, there had been mentioned earlier in the season of a shield known as the Alec Lorimer Shield. So they've sort of got two ideas going here.
74:22
Okay. So maybe it's a shield we're looking for and not a cup. Well, let's probe the Lorimer story.
74:27
But Forremo said it was a cup. Well, hang on to that idea. Lorimer was born in England and became a manager of Paramount Pictures in Australia. Wow. What a story. After the single press report, the shield in the Sydney Sportsman in May of that year, there's no subsequent mention in any newspaper or the NSL Rugby League news. It is possible that the offer of the shield was made but never delivered on.
74:52
I mean, how would the cops track that down?
74:55
There's no further mention of Premiership Trophy until 24 when the Truth and Sportsman Gold Cup was donated to the NSW trustees of the estate of the late John Norton, a Sydney newspaper proprietor. Alas, the quest will continue. We want to present, etc.
75:13
It goes off.
75:14
It's an incredibly baffling story.
75:16
It is, isn't it? But full of mystery. I mean, policemen listening...
75:21
They'd be excited about this, wouldn't they? There's so much here to get your teeth into.
75:26
It's an old cold case, isn't it?
75:28
Yes. Where's the cup? Well, where's the shield?
75:31
The Alex Lorimer shield? Well, the shield's one thing. The cup is another. I've gone back to the cup being a real thing.
75:37
Yeah. Oh, I'm sure the cup's a real thing. And I'm sure the shield's a real thing.
75:41
Oh, no, that's true. But that guy hadn't got the mystique of being won by the Bears. No. That may be, may be, may be a percentage of the Bears. But we know the Bears won the cup.
75:49
We do. We do. I wonder if the Lorimer shield, the Eric's Lorimer, was somehow incorporated into the J.J. Giltman.
75:57
Like, is anyone... The backboard of the Giltman... The backboard of the Giltman might have the Lorimer shield inside it. Well, remember... Well, if I was a police officer, that's the first thing I'd be looking at. Right. Bring that J.J. over here, thanks. Yeah, let's break it up and have a look at it. Smash it open. Anyone got a hammer?
76:18
Blindsiders, at the end of the day, imagine slipping between smoother silk sheets made from recycled rugby league jumpers. If you're quick, you can pick up queen-size flannelette sheets made from the 2025 Maroon State of Origin team or get a duna cover stitched together from the shorts of the Panthers' three-peat premiership side. The latest footballing bed linen available now from the Royal House of Hubnau. There are big discounts for listeners to Bludging on the Blind Side.
76:56
Terps, metho, bleach and hand sanitiser in equal parts. Try it. What have you got to lose? This is Bludging on the Blind Side.
77:11
Well, speaking of the past, it loomed up in another story this week and it concerns this development that Feathers, you know, King Wayne, is going to unleash on the world of taking rugby league everywhere. And so next year, the glamour clubs, described here as the Broncos and the Roosters, I don't like that really. They're rugby league clubs, they're not glamour clubs.
77:34
Every club's got its own glamour. Yeah.
77:36
could make history by playing the first NRL Premiership match in Japan in 30 years. And I had to think, wow, 30 years ago. Was I around then when they went to Japan the last time? I don't remember them going to Japan.
77:47
Okay, I'll flesh it out.
77:48
Okay. After the legendary Arthur Beetson took the Roosters to Tokyo. Now, in 1996, the Chooks in the midst of the Super League War played an exhibition game against Manly, no wonder Manley's left out of history, at the Komazawa Olympic Stadium in Tokyo. That would have been a stadium they used in, I think, the games in 64.
78:09
No, in 60 or 64, yeah.
78:11
60, yes. Anyway.
78:12
Oh, that's right. 60 was Rome, wasn't it?
78:14
64 was Tokyo. So coached by Queensland origin great Arthur Beetson, the Roosters took home the Revolution Cup.
78:23
What's happened to the Revolution Cup?
78:26
Got a name. Yeah. The score was 38.
78:31
30 to 34. So the Roosters just got there.
78:33
So they put on a show.
78:34
They did. A great show. Win over the Seagulls and the Bondi Club is keen to return to Tokyo. Okay. I'll say they were. They're a lucky spot.
78:42
Well, they'd still be remembered over there very, very fondly, one imagines. People would still be talking about it in Tokyo, wouldn't they?
78:48
The Revolution Cup.
78:49
The Revolution Cup, yeah.
78:51
Now. Won by Easts. Now, one of the football managers said, poor Artie.
78:58
Arthur got culture shock and wanted to come home as soon as we got there. We were in a very nice hotel in a five-star, but the rooms were tiny. Arthur could hardly get into the shower as so small. Philander said, this is King Wayne, said a number of NRL clubs were keen to embark on the Japanese expedition.
79:16
Now, what we should do is I forget what the, what would it be? It wouldn't be the RIF, would it? What was the Kokoda, the force that went to Kokoda from Australia? So we've got to get a bit more language. So as though the Japanese were the enemy, which they obviously are in rugby league terms.
79:35
You mean something like the Kokoda Cup or something like that?
79:39
Perfect. Kokoda Cup.
79:41
Yeah, or the Weary Dunlop Shield. Ah, that's not bad. But I don't know if that's right because I might have the history there wrong.
79:48
Yeah, the Weary Dunlop Tom Uren Shield.
79:56
Now, they've had several clubs express interest in going to Japan. There's a real market in Japan. It's a top destination for Australian travellers.
80:05
Oh, that's true.
80:06
So, I mean, you could easily see how they – I'm not sure how big the Komazawa would be in terms of numbers, but it'd certainly be, you know, many thousands.
80:17
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
80:18
Now, so they're going to make a history. The NRL intends to stage two premiership games to kick off global round 2028.
80:25
Japan and Hong Kong are slated as historic features as part of the Volandis Commission for World Domination, especially of the Asian market. Now, the Roosters have told the NRL they're interested in going to Japan, while the $98 million Broncos, hang on, who put that price tag on it?
80:42
That's undervalued them enormously. I mean, Melbourne Storm, you know, part of it was on sale for $200 million. I know. To a hedge fund. To a hedge fund in Norway.
80:51
You'd be lucky to get Reece for $98 million. Yeah. If he was going to New Guinea and with his rice and his, you know, soft drink endorsements, come into their calculations, give the club status to one of the most powerful brands in sport. Now, the...
81:10
Oh, Broncos have existing links to Japan. Club chairman Carl Morris and others, club CEO, have travelled to the land of the rising sun in recent years to meet with bosses from their chief apparel supplier, ASICS, whose global headquarters is Kobe. So that's how it fits together. That's a link, isn't it? Yeah. Japan is the fourth largest economy in the world and a trip to Tokyo, that's exactly how you should be talking, the fourth largest economy in the world. Forget everything else. They've got money and we want it.
81:41
And we want it, yeah. And they'd certainly love the rugby league and especially with the beachhead that's been established by Arthur Beetsman all those years ago.
81:49
And that would be a talking point on television for them.
81:51
Yeah, it would.
81:52
It would. What was the cup they played for? What was it called again? Yeah, the Revolution Cup. The Revolution Cup, yeah. And they'd be able to have people there who would have been, I'm sure, still alive. Yes. Who would have been there in 96.
82:03
Oh, for sure.
82:04
You know.
82:05
For sure.
82:05
And what a great day it was. Yeah. The atmosphere and how close it was. The atmosphere and how close it was.
82:10
No helmets and all that sort of stuff and they run into each other. They're sort of like sumos but, you know, they're faster.
82:17
Faster. Yeah. And they never stop.
82:19
They are.
82:20
And there's no ring. Yeah. If I've got the right terminology.
82:24
Yeah, terminology. Sure.
82:26
Yeah. So, I mean, I think it's going to be... And they understand it because they understand Rugby Union because of the Brave Blossoms. The Brave Blossoms. They're Rugby Union too.
82:35
And the great work, is it Eddie Jones? Eddie Jones, yes.
82:38
Well, Eddie Jones could come on and say... Yeah, hello, I'm Eddie Jones. You know me. I coach the Brave Blossoms. This is Rugby Lee. Welcome to Rugby Lee. You remember the Revolution Cup?
82:48
It's back. It's back, yeah.
82:50
Now, where is the Revolution Cup? That's the next question.
82:52
Well, it'll be in the East Clubhouse, you'll imagine.
82:56
The Australian Rugby League and the New South Wales Rugby League are appealing to all members of the public with information concerning the missing Gould inquiry report into the St George Leagues Club to come forward. All respondents will be treated with anonymity and respect by the AFP, the New South Wales Police and the Queensland Police. This is Bludging on the Blind Side.
83:34
Now, they're talking about getting the Matilda back for the 32.
83:38
That big winking Matilda was beautiful, wasn't it?
83:42
You're listening to Bludgeoning on the Blind Side.
83:44
So modern. They want to modernise the games, don't they?
83:48
So ahead of its time. Yeah.
83:50
Big material.
83:51
And the oink. Now. Oh, dear. Just in passing, there's a great pie-eating competition on this weekend. Good. It's described here as the inaugural Galo's Australian Pie Eating Championship. Right. Plenty of people have got a talent for devouring the Aussie pie.
84:10
Yep.
84:10
It's got to be at the Coogee Bay Hotel. Obviously, Sean Garlick in charge. Right. And...
84:17
Is it a straight, like, fastest to eat a pie or number of pies eaten in a certain time?
84:24
They seem to have a number of categories.
84:26
Right.
84:27
It's what I like. Could be the fastest to get one down. That would be fantastic. And then the number consumed in an hour.
84:32
Yeah.
84:33
And how hot? What's the temperature of the pie? I find if a pie is really hot, it's very hard to eat quickly.
84:39
What a good question. You know, temperature and competition is so important. It is. Like an Olympic swimming pool is always 26 degrees. Yes, that's right. Because that's the best optimum temperature to swim well in. Competitive eaters such as Aussie James Webb will feature in the 10,000 main event, while a string of ex-NRL players will compete on their own pie-off. So there's obviously a head table where the big names in the world of eating gather, and then the NRL plays would be great to see some NRL plays.
85:11
Well, isn't that great family entertainment for the Coogee Bay Hotel to be throwing on?
85:17
It's got to be outdoors, actually, so people can be able to line the streets and watch.
85:22
Because there's nothing funnier and more amusing, I think, than watching people eating very quickly in competition.
85:30
It's great, isn't it?
85:31
And the after effect.
85:32
Yeah. Yeah. You know, it's very hard. Because often if you do eat, you know, four or five pies very, very quickly, say in the standard 6.2 minutes for eight pies, often you do need a bucket there to vomit into and so you can get yourself ready for the next comp.
85:48
Yeah, I know. For the next special particular competition. Yeah, no, look, it's going to be a fantastic afternoon. And all of that's ahead of the people who turn up.
85:59
Yeah. Family entertainment. What time's the kickoff? Oh, sorry, the bite off.
86:03
The bite off.
86:06
I haven't got a time for the fight off.
86:07
Well, let's say 3 o'clock. Get along there at 3 o'clock. Yeah. Today.
86:11
Or tomorrow.
86:12
Sunday. Sunday, okay. See, I just hope it avoids rugby league matches. I haven't done my maths here, have I? But, you know, if it went on, it could bump into that, you know, the other final, which is on tomorrow. We've got one today, obviously. Yeah. And then the one tomorrow, the Newcastle match against the Warriors, I think.
86:30
Well, let's hope they get the timing right because you don't want you know, the final to coincide with the kickoff.
86:36
You don't want the title to be interrupted by a flood of vomit.
86:40
Thanks.
86:42
Thanks. Do you know what I mean? Yeah, I do know what you mean. Unsettling.
86:46
Let's have, you know, the whole area cleaned up, hosed out before the football starts.
86:54
Unsettling for Aussie families. Yes.
86:56
It can put you off your rugby league. What, the smell of vomit?
87:01
I agree. I don't like it. I hope they've thought it through.
87:05
Now, listen, one small thing we broke last week was this alarm in the West Tigers joint venture community about the disappointment of the season that we've just completed and what the team can do about this wave of...
87:24
Disrest. That's an odd word, isn't it? Unrest that is sweeping. And I hope Volandis, the king of the rugby league, can do something about it. Maybe call for calm. I mean, that's the first.
87:34
Well, there's got to be a call for calm to begin with, for sure. I mean, you wouldn't want to see people... And the impact of, you know, Jerome Luai... you know, not turning up for the club awards night.
87:46
That was a bad look. I know.
87:49
Here he is, the face of, you know, vitamins in rice, the face of Pepsi, the face of Papua New Guinea tourism.
87:56
Imagine if he'd come along with a prize of a free trip to Papua New Guinea given to the best West Tigers player.
88:03
That's right.
88:04
Not a big ask.
88:05
It's not a huge ask at all.
88:07
I mean, obviously, tourism in Papua New Guinea is going through the roof with all this. And another, obviously, underwhelming campaign, Inner West Mayor Darcy Boone has issued a call to arms for supporters to mobilise as part of a new independent group called West Tigers Unite to be formed in the off-season. Wow. And unlike this... So we've got the club. What's that about? Well, hang on. At the start of the season, West Tigers supporters deliberately held off, establishing a permanent supporters organisation.
88:37
Like every Tigers fan, we hoped the club had finally turned the corner and wanted to get behind the team. Regrettably, this season has shown the underlying problems remain unresolved. After 15 years without finals football, West Tigers supporters have shown extraordinary loyalty, yet we still have no meaningful say in the future of the club they love.
88:56
Yeah.
88:57
I mean, that sums it up in a nutshell. That's what they want.
89:00
Because there's that big concert today at Leichhardt Oval, isn't there? I mean, I think Wayne Pearce is on at five o'clock today. Wayne Pearce, he's been. And I think the Super Jesus are playing.
89:11
Quite a few bands turning up, I think. Right, well, that's great, but that doesn't... That is great, but it doesn't help West Tigers, does it?
89:17
No, the thing is, though, that if people were connected with West Tigers and wanted to express their opposition to what's happened in 2026, it'd be a good place to start. It would be a good place to start. And a march to the town hall.
89:28
And in between songs, you could talk to people nearby. What do you reckon we should do? That sort of thing.
89:33
Exactly. Do you support the Tigers?
89:34
Yeah, I bloody well do.
89:36
Are you disappointed with the Ways? I bloody well am. What are we going to do about it?
89:41
You know what I mean?
89:43
Really get some action done. Really get some emotion happening. Yeah. Let's form a committee. What a good idea.
89:49
What a good idea. Would you have a publicity officer for that committee? Well, why not?
89:53
And you'd have a secretary? Yeah. You'd have a treasurer?
89:55
Treasurer.
89:56
Because money would pour in, wouldn't it? Would.
89:58
Would. Would.
90:00
And then you go and approach, you know, Coach Marshall. These are some of our ideas. We want better handling, better passing. Yeah.
90:08
Don't throw to the ground.
90:09
Yeah. Don't give away cheap penalties. Yeah. That sort of stuff.
90:14
And fitness. How fit are they? Can we come to fitness training and have a look at what they're doing?
90:19
Yes. And the Centre of Excellence. Can we go and have a look?
90:23
We're having an AGM.
90:25
We're having an AGM for the Rebels and we'd like you to come and address it about what your plans to get the Tigers happening again.
90:32
Yeah.
90:32
I don't know if some of the sting has gone out of this campaign because the women's team made it into the finals last night. Sadly, they didn't win, but it's a stepping stone. It is a stepping stone. Well, it's something to build on, isn't it? Yeah, it turned the corner.
90:44
Turned the corner, yes. Yeah, well, part of the club's turned the corner.
90:48
The blokes, though, I mean, it's just a mess.
90:50
No, it's very disappointing.
90:52
Now, how are you seeing the matches this weekend? Maybe you should end on that.
90:56
Do you think... Well, let's see how the mold boys go. I mean, they've still got that horrible skin crisis, the psoriasis and what I do.
91:07
I mean, they're really going to need some of that sun rice that has the collagen in it, doesn't they?
91:10
They do. That'll give them the stretchy skin.
91:12
Yeah, fix the skin up. I mean, I don't know if it's going to... Wouldn't matter how much rice you ate this afternoon, it's not going to help you, is it, tonight?
91:19
One good thing in the match today with the Sharks is that Mulitalo said it's great to see that, you know, wingers are finally getting the respect they deserve. Right. Because he's obviously, you know, a known hothead. Yeah. And he's trying to unsettle the famous Roosters winger.
91:38
Oh, yes. Marky Mark. Yeah. Yeah.
91:40
So he says it's cool to see wingers getting the attention. Usually it's the halves and the middles being spoken about. It's a privilege to share the field with players like Marky Mark, and I want to do it with respect. This is no different contest for me. I played against all the good ones, Brian D'O, Alex Johnson. This is no different, so I respect the bloody blast. So that sounds good there.
92:02
Well, that does sound good, doesn't it? I like it when wingers respect each other.
92:10
It's refreshing, isn't it?
92:11
It is. It's really good. And wingers, I think he's right. I mean, this year, we started off the year with wingers being the outcasts of rugby league. Yes. But now they're down.
92:21
But now they're front and centre, aren't they?
92:22
Front and centre, pulling the big bucks.
92:24
Yep.
92:24
Because they know Alex Johnson has paved the way.
92:27
Yep, yep.
92:28
With big scores on the board.
92:30
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And, of course, Brian Todd is going to be the face of Pepsi in Papua New Guinea, isn't he?
92:35
Oh, Diet Coke, sorry. Diet Coke, yeah.
92:38
I don't want to make that mistake.
92:40
Yeah, no, that'd be terrible. Oh, Lord. Imagine people would just be scratching their heads. Yeah.
92:44
What the fuck is he talking about? Yeah, what's he talking about?
92:46
Now, that takes us away from bludgeoning on the blind side for another week. Next week, of course, will be our AFL Grand Final edition.
92:54
Yes.
92:55
A must listen and, you know, obviously all the action of the week will be included then and then we push on to the big dance in the following week. In the meantime, have a great week and join us for the AFL Festival of the Moved Edition this time next week. See you.
93:15
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