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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 H.G. Nelson.
01:14
Yes, T.F. Mark Chedrick has been some AO, a.k.a. The Drain, torching the blindside blue paper for another week. It's a familiar sound of the Sumpster camped in the ABC spot. ABC local radio soundproof booth doing some of his best work. He comes into his own...
01:31
We often put him out for a spell during the winter, just give him the run of the paddock. Comes in early in spring, which we're in now, and he just blossoms.
01:40
And by golly, he's good up after a spell. Hello, Australia. H.E. Nelson lifting the lid on another magnificent week of consenting concussion magic. What an incredible week a week when, dare I say it, too much board is barely enough.
01:54
It's Super Saturday here on ABC Sport, and it's super because there's only one match on, the AFL Boot Part 1. And Aussies from start to stumps, this will be amazing. It's the Lions, of course, in against the happy team from Frio. Will we see Worfie time arrive at the G? Wouldn't that be a treat, Worfie time? And a little bit more on that as we go through the events of the week. And let me just say, right from the start, it's another fully sick afternoon here in Prospect on ABC Local Radio.
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And it's got that TLT touch about it, the trip of a lifetime touch about it. Now, last night at Suncorp, a.k.a. KO, a.k.a. whatever you like, Dolphins 20, Roosters 36, and the Fowls, well, they were just far too good right from the opening moment. They intimidated the Dolphins. The Dolphins just couldn't get going at all, really, especially when they got the ball into the red zone. Roosters were just far too strong inside their red zone and forced them back. And, of course, then you get Marky Mark doing what Marky Mark does and what Marky Mark has done for the whole season, scoring tries when there's nothing on.
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Now, before we get stuck in, our three-hatted sports administrator, Feathers Verlandes, has taken off a top hat, the top hat he wore proudly as part of the Australian racing community. He feels he has not enough time to give his...
03:19
All reign to his three passions. Yes, he just doesn't have enough time in the week. I know how he feels. He bravely remains CEO and Chairman of the Rugby League, which is terrific news for everybody involved in Rugby League. He's farewelled the stable scene with the news that Winx gave birth to a healthy filly by Too Darn Hot on September the 22nd during the week. No name yet for the foal, but I understand the Prancing Pony situation. is what the stable is calling the horse at the moment after the Docker Voss, who describes himself as the Prancing Pony.
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So it's a great, you know, rainbow connection between the MCG and, let's say, Coolmore, where the foal is at the moment. But the Prancing Pony, I'd love to see that name stick too. I think it's great.
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Let's have a quick squiz then at the Festival of the Boot action on the other side of the card. The AFL are scintillating double, well, should I say scintillating double of matches last weekend, saw the Fremantle Doctors doing it all in the last quarter to eliminate the Swans from the 2026 race. Swans 10-11-71, Worfies 12-11-83. In the other preliminary prong, the Lions in the shadows of the final hooter were awarded a free kick right in front of the big sticks. A brave! And controversial decision. Brave being the operative word for the week.
04:36
It'll come up a lot in my sprays. A brave and controversial decision allowed the Lions to sneak into their fourth granny in a row at the G today, as mentioned already. And the happy team, that is the Hawks, the Wee and the Pooh, 19-8, 122, Lions, 20-11, 131.
04:51
Now, this game, incidentally, was described as a shootout.
04:55
featuring great goal kicking, and you can see that from the score, and by those in the know who watch this a lot more than I do, the greatest games of all time, one of the greatest games of all time. Honestly, I don't know how many greatest games of all time there are, probably quite a lot, but this is one of the greatest games of all time. It was marred, in my view...
05:15
Post Hooter, when the volatile and passionate wee and the poo community bravely reached out for the outrage lever in their moment of history. Defenders Barass and Hawke, Captain Sicily, made a beeline for the officials and bravely remonstrated vigorously to the lime-infused clowns, their words not mine, who in their opinion did not know the rules. Post-Hooder, as it turns out, the umpires did know the rules or certainly had a firm grasp on the holding the ball rule. It was a grub-of-the-year performance by the two defenders, but sadly Jack Ginevan and Lockie Neal had waltzed away with this attractive end-of-season bauble earlier in the game.
05:51
From expert Lip Readers reports, Barash and Skip asked for the last quarter to be played again now. Something new that the AFL will have to consider, whether parts of matches could be played again because of confusing refereeing and umpiring decisions. After the siren, Hawks coach Mitchell maintained that while the stink was unfolding, that the MCG was unsafe. Now, you may recall, certainly the pictures were clear, that people started throwing a lot from the stands in protest at the final moments of the big match.
06:24
Bravely, there again, bravely, this is Sam Mitchell, he along with the players, staff and officials and media had to dodge an avalanche of rubbish hurled from the stands at the collective officiating, you know, community who was still out there.
06:38
I think the AFL needs to erect a fine mesh fence over the playing area to keep the hurled garbage out because this will come more and more. Now that outrage fans have a sniff of what they can do about it and that's throw something at umpires, it'll get out of hand pretty quickly. It will. I wouldn't be surprised if there's not an outbreak today, never mind who wins. because people love it. They just love it. They love taking things in there, smuggling them in and then throwing them.
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Maybe they should dig in a mid-G trapdoor with a series of tunnels that allow the participants to exit safely. Not a big ask would be easy to do. Incidentally, I had a peek at the rubbish last Saturday evening and among the usual connection of empty and unopened beer cans, I got two dozen cashback bottles that There were vapes and cigarette lighters and a lot of gear not normally available over the counter done up in little plastic bags. And I found a couple of SPC two fruit cans. These were the 825 gram preservative free tints.
07:34
Don't know how they were smuggled in. And on the way out, I tripped over a couple of Second World War grenades. I handed these into the police at the door on my way out to the North Cobing tram. No, North Cobing tram.
07:45
So it was an avalanche of rubbish. In other football news, the Norwood Redlegs trailed by 18 points at three-quarter time, but stormed home in the last to take the SANFL granny by 14 points from Sturt at the prettiest cricket ground in the world, the Adelaide Oval. Now, Monday night, it was all football this week, as you can see. It was off to football's night of nights, the Brownlow, always a riveting night. You know what you're going to get in the Brownlow and it never disappoints. You're going to get a lot of people sitting around looking as though they're bored shitless, which they are, wondering who's going to get the three votes for Bulldogs versus Geelong round seven.
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I mean, no one knows, no one remembers, but anyway, that's up to them. They're there and they're enjoying it. Now, this is a night when Aussie stars show themselves to be the best in the world. You know, people think it's easy doing the one, two, three over and over again, listing winners and losers. It's not. It does your head in. Have a go at home this afternoon after the match. You know, maybe mock up a few votes and then have a go and see how easy it is. I watched the whole thing again once I got home to make sure I got the complete nuance and implication of every vote counted. Of course, Collingwood's Nick Dacost won the gong with a record-shattering 47 votes.
08:57
The Pullman Hotel carpenters were the large elephant in the room, but the glamour oozed from the players and partners and officials and swamped any odour from the carpenters. And look, as part of the bludge coverage of the boot part one, Let's have a quick squiz at some of the – what I'm describing as the highlights of 2026. It was a year for mine of miracles and wonder. It began with Lockie Neal's contribution outside the fence before the first ball up and ended with a midfield maestro's contribution inside the fence at the preliminary final.
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You know, he did enough for me to be awarded the David Rhys Jones Medal for Contribution Above and Beyond the Call of Duty. I mean, you know, David Rhys Jones, as we know, used to visit the tribunal about once every two weeks for his whole playing career, which is lengthy. And Lockie Neal's going to challenge that wonderful record.
09:53
There was the dick pic fiasco early on in the season that lingered throughout the home and away. There were mandatory rule changes and refinements, including banning the bounce and replacing it with the tossing up of the Sharon because so many umpires, so many umpires were doing their backs in burden by bravely bouncing the ball. It can't be done anymore. You talk about your concussion, what about the bad back in football? It's a story yet to be told by Four Corners. It was revealed most of the umpires are now too old to affect the bounce. It's no longer covered by the AFL insurance and simply asking for trouble to go out there without insurance for your bad back.
10:30
The baffling last-touch controversy, the so-called lasso, did people's heads in early in the week and lingered even in the, well, there were even questions asked in the preliminary final about it. And while an over-the-line and out-of-bounds, you know, is on the agenda, what about the art of the throw-in?
10:47
The throw-in at the moment is pathetic. It's a blight on the game. People don't talk about it, but it's there staring everybody in the face week in, week out in the football year. Should the throw-in be taught in schools? That's what I'm reduced to asking today. Can we have a special, you know, syllabus for throw-ins worked out and at least put in place by the time the season starts next year? At the year's end, the AFL decided all quarters will be of a standard length with time on. And while there is no fixed amount of time for players to begin... Well, I've just set that up wrong.
11:21
While there is a fixed amount of time for players to begin taking a shot at goal, there's no time limit on the player to complete it. Could take 20 minutes if you wanted to before you put the boot into the Sharon. That's seriously weird. The score review system had a wonderful year. They got it almost correct.
11:37
I can hear you groaning. They got it almost correct. They did at least as good as the naked eye. Sometimes the naked eye gets it wrong.
11:46
Corrected by the score review, sometimes the other way around. The score review gets it wrong, corrected by the naked eye. It's a wonderful system and gives something for everyone to talk about at tea break on Monday morning. And is the game set for a subcontinental debut? This has shocked me.
12:05
After the pioneering efforts from the Big SK and the power all those years ago in China, might have been in the Hong Kong area of China, whispers suggest the code should try again.
12:17
staging games at cricket grounds around the world, especially in India, where they've got a lot of cricket grounds and often, you know, a lot of people who are looking for something to do, form them up in teams.
12:28
And I think the AFLW, that's the next test between Ireland and Australia, is headed for London.
12:37
That'll be a big treat for everybody there because there's nothing much going on there. There are whispers that that's the case, and I haven't seen the confirmation to that, but as we always say here, when we know, you'll know. And in the news that wasn't...
12:51
How much juice was squeezed from the James Hurd returning to Essendon as a coach story? I mean, surely somebody should have tapped that on the head in week one and forgotten all about it. It was, you know, one that rivaled, in terms of length of duration, the Geelong concussion tale of, you know, fiasco. You know, they found some papers in the backyard that suggested that they weren't going to insure players or they didn't care about insuring players if they got concussion. It was just too bad. Well, that went on and on and on.
13:22
I'm not sure whether we got to the bottom of it or why it happened.
13:25
And the Brave Carpenters had a prawn night at the Pullman, which obviously got out of control. If only they'd been given the opportunity to kick six in the prelim, all would have been forgiven. That's the mistake they made. They should have played him in the prelim. And, you know, once Eni gets six, people tend to forget and overlook everything else he does with his life. Towering over all of this was a bloke in a hoodie who turned Carlton from hopeless jokes in the first half of the season to a bunch of winners in the second half of the season who made a finals charge. He was in his hoodie, just there, in a hoodie, hiding in plain sight.
13:57
How'd he do it? No one knows. 2026, as mentioned, a year of miracles and wonder. And now...
14:03
to the NRL in a very entertaining mistake-riddled semi in New Zealand between the Knights and the Wars ended in controversy. We're back to the AFL, of course, with many Warrior fans outraged at referee Klein's decision-making, especially an escort infringement in the dying minutes. I mean, the two games had an echo, didn't they? The Impey mark, which was judged... I mightn't mean a mark.
14:28
The Impey holding the ball decision and the escort which Klein missed. Well, I'm glad the bunker didn't have a deciding vote in the dying moments of that stink. At least it was a human error. As everyone knows, the bunker hates rugby league, and it would have been just to see them get involved would be just dead wrong. And again, a trapdoor in Eden Park would have saved a lot of bother enabling officials, medicos, players, security staff to leave the arena without having to run the Eden Park gauntlet of death. That's how I described it in other media commitments.
14:59
It was in front of a brave and vocal, brave again, 48,500. They love their league in the land of the long white cloud. And the tune, thank you very much, Melody Pipers, was 10, Knights 12. And so the Knights go on to play the Penrith Panthers tomorrow about, I think it's about 3 o'clock, at Allianz. And after the dust and outrage settle, NRL sacked Ashley Klein for... From tweeting in the 2026 finals, he's probably our best referee in rugby league, but he had a day off.
15:33
Well, he had a moment off at the death the other day. In passing, 39,000 footy heads made the trip to Allianz for the Roosters. 46-19 win over the Sharks last weekend. Many fans bravely leaving the Shire for the first time this year. Now, and the Bludge broke this news in an earlier show, but it's progressed a little bit from when we broke it.
15:54
It's boxing, of course, and we've waited a generation for the stool that is Paul Gallon.
16:01
prepared to put his hand up against dangerous Nelson Safar Solomona, and the bout described as the big schmozzle, was in doubt until, well, until, you know, let's face it, it was in doubt because the stool maintains dangerous can't fight and he'll be a pushover, but the stool is sick of old NRL players making a fortune by picking on him. So the well-respected No Limit Organisation found a million dollars and put it up for, you know, there's no bell...
16:31
There's no title. There's no, you know, there's no schmozzle here. It's just two people with a passion for the punch getting into the ring and giving you a great sight and entertainment for an afternoon. Now, I think it might be five-rounder.
16:45
So we've got the big schmozzle, and let's face it, this one, the Gallon V. Asafar Solomona has been on people's bucket lists for years now, and I think it's set down for November the 6th.
16:58
So mark that date in your diary. You can't forget it because the Cup's on a couple of days earlier. Melbourne Cup on November the 3rd. I mean, it's a chock-a-block full of, you know, events that week. You know, Melbourne Cup, November the 3rd. The big bout on the 6th. And the Donkey Stink, as mentioned, no belt, no purse.
17:16
It's going to have a great undercard of, you know, Pelican and Quokka. Now, NRLW finals, I should mention these in passing. Roosters v Raiders first semi today at 7.50 at Moorpark at Allianz. And Titans and Broncos tomorrow at one, well, five past one, according to my notes, at Ceber Stadium in Rubina. And then their big dance, people know where the blokes' big dance is, but the NRLW big dance is October the 4th, at 4pm, Acor Stadium, just before the blokes run out.
17:52
That is the Dally M winners, past and present, run out with their kitchen doors to be run over by monster trucks. So that opens the curtain, lifts the curtain on that. Now, a blindside of Stanwell back and let the hounds of hustle see the lure as we welcome to ABC Sport and ABC Local Radio a man who's passionate about Australian small business and cheese in particular. He appears today on Condition of Anonymity.
18:13
Rampaging Roy Slavin, can we get the bludgeoning bunny in motion for another week by asking what highlights caught your restless eye? 4K HD large language model machine learning SI encrypted bubble jammer?
18:25
Yes, thank you very, very much, HG Nelson. Of course, happy Rugby League HD to you and your family and happy Rugby League to all Aussies who respect the law. Good.
18:40
and ask those who practice the law to respect the right of Aussies to demand these practitioners do so with full regard to the highest ethical standards possible.
18:51
It's not a big ask.
18:53
I had cause to spend a little time with the Blue Mountains Law Society this week to allay their fears about the governance of rugby league in Australia at the moment. There were some concerns which I have allayed, and I thank them for their...
19:09
conviviality and their concerns, which they were quite sanguine towards the end and felt that rugby league is in very, very safe hands.
19:18
Isn't that good news?
19:18
It is good news. Because it's great to get that. They were concerned.
19:21
But they get an officially, you know, good practice die to have a run over what was going on. Exactly.
19:26
And they gave it the thumbs up. They did. They did.
19:28
Now, Australia defeats Zimbabwe in the T20 series. And, of course, Mitchell Marsh was the standout. Outstanding leadership from this young Aussie who has tremendous ethical standards. We know that.
19:45
His leadership brought out the best, I think. Brought out the best in head, which is not always easy to do.
19:51
Wrenshaw, which is almost impossible to do at the best of times.
19:55
And, of course, Inglis, who at the end really was quite heroic as a result of the influence of Mitchell Marsh.
20:05
I think over the years we've tried to talk up this bloke.
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We think he's done an enormous amount of good.
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in raising the standard of Australian cricket. And it's largely gone unheralded and unrewarded.
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And we're here to try and redress that in the small way that we can. And I've passed on our thoughts to Mitchell Marsh and his family, including Swamp.
20:34
Max Purcell.
20:36
He's back and starring in Australia's big winner in the Davis Cup over Poland.
20:42
Now, up until this moment, I'd never really seen Poland as a threat in the Davis Cup. But they appeared as if... Well, the players they produced looked as if they'd played tennis before. And they didn't really embarrass themselves at all. But... I think the Demon played very well and won his rubber.
21:03
And, of course, Max Purcell went out in the doubles and did the same.
21:07
And I... Look, I was...
21:10
Relieved to see him back. You'll recall that he was suspended for 18 months for kitchen work. This is Purcell. But I'm reassured by little Leighton who said that Purcell had been, quote, screwed over, unquote. Screwed over? By tennis officials. Screwed over.
21:32
Yes, I was tempted to drill down, but I didn't get the opportunity to spend much time with little Aidan. Next time I do, I'll certainly ask him what he means by officials screwing over young Purcell.
21:46
You know, either he went in the kitchen or he didn't, would be my view.
21:51
On the other hand, he might have been dragged into the kitchen unwillingly. On the other hand, he might have been drugged, taken into a kitchen and then woke up there.
22:01
You know what I mean? Next thing you know, officials are there.
22:04
Next thing you know, you screwed over.
22:06
18 months. Screwed over.
22:08
Did that come up in your chat to the big wigs during the week?
22:12
No. No, they weren't concerned. What, with Australian tennis? With Australian tennis. Or kitchen work? No, or kitchen work. No, that didn't come up.
22:20
Look, what was tacit is that they were quite sanguine in the way Australian tennis was going, and indeed world tennis. It didn't come up. But if it does come up, I'm quite happy to talk about it and address the issues once I've spent a little bit of time with Little Leighton to drill down on what he means by... Screwed over. Screwed over.
22:38
Yes.
22:39
Because I don't like the sound of it. Not when there's an Aussie involved. I don't mean my players from overseas being screwed over. Bugger them. I don't care.
22:45
Yeah.
22:45
But when Aussies are involved, like Purcell, you know, Purcell's... I know you haven't met him, but I have. And he's not the sort of bloke who'd naturally walk into a kitchen. He isn't. Or wants to be screwed over. Yeah, indeed. Indeed.
22:59
Now, can I ask, is that the comment that Leighton gave to Channel 9?
23:03
Yes.
23:03
So Todd Woodbridge asked him after the match, you know, how'd you go?
23:06
Yes, he said to Todd Bridges, he's been screwed over. Todd didn't follow it up.
23:09
No, no, but you felt as though he opened the door for him.
23:11
He could have done, yes. He opened the door. My question would have been, what do you mean?
23:15
What do you mean?
23:17
But perhaps Todd knew more than he was letting on and felt a little bit uncomfortable about the whole thing. I don't know.
23:26
I can't read what's in Todd's head unless I'm watching Tipping Point where it's abundantly clear.
23:31
Or watching his ads about lawnmowers. Oh, I haven't seen that. Oh, you should see them. Are they good? They're great. Is Todd mowing? Todd doesn't do any mowing.
23:39
You're hands off. Oh, it's hands off. It's one of those computer AI ones, is it? They're great. Hang on.
23:44
S-I if you don't mind.
23:45
Thank you. They're great. They're great. You just sit and forget. You just put it out on your lawn, walk away, and it just does it. I don't know how.
23:54
But it doesn't. It's just one. I didn't know Todd was the face of that.
23:57
Well, he is. He's really championing that. Now, I think he might have a pool mate as well, which goes in the pool and does all the cleaning for you as well.
24:05
Two different things, are they? You can't get one.
24:08
That's the future. You can't get one that does the lawn and the pool. That's the future. If anybody can get that happening, Todd Roberts.
24:14
Todd can.
24:15
Unless he's screwed over.
24:18
Don't go in the kitchen, Todd.
24:21
Now, the Nike brand is in trouble. God almighty, I never thought I'd have to – this would ever raise itself as a topic. I mean, Nike's been everywhere. It's been the most successful brand that I can recall. I mean, as big as Pepsi or Coca-Cola.
24:33
Yeah.
24:34
I mean, it's been huge, Nike, hasn't it? Along with, what, New Balance and I suppose Asics and there are a few others, Puma.
24:44
Yeah, really.
24:45
Adidas, to name a few. But Nike's been, you know, right up there for years. Anyway, it's in trouble. The share price has tanked, absolutely tanked. And part of the reason why it's tanked is that, you know, people who wanted to be associated with the slash have decided they don't want to be anymore. And this includes a player, a very famous footballer called, you know, it might be Killian Mabappi. And he's a phenomenal player and he's been with Nike since eight years old.
25:18
That's a long commitment to Nike. But he switched to the Swiss brand On.
25:26
Now, this Swiss brand On is owned by Roger Federer, and it was Roger who got inside above his head and convinced him to take a walk and go with On.
25:40
So, I don't know what to make of this, but if Roger's behind it, I'm interested. I'm interested. I'm interested.
25:49
I mean, I haven't tried on. I don't know. I don't know if you can buy on in Australia. You might have to, you know, get it from overseas.
25:55
Is it a full range? You know, like a... I can't help you.
25:58
I don't know whether... Look, as far as I know, only one pair of shoes has been made and they're now being worn by this Mabapi character.
26:05
Are they better than Volley O.C.'s?
26:07
Not as a roofing shoe.
26:08
No. It's a roofing shoe. Bit TBA.
26:11
I don't know if on has roofing shoe... You know, a variant... to be used on the roof, I don't know. But knowing Roger, if there's a market there, he'll find it.
26:25
You can't blame him.
26:27
See, wouldn't it be great to see Todd Woodbridge on a roof? Yeah. What am I wearing?
26:31
Yes, on. I've got the on's on. I've got the on's on. What are you doing up on the roof, Todd? I'm having a look at my mower.
26:39
It's in the pool.
26:41
Now, the six-year wait for the grudge match between Isaac Hardman and Joel Camilleri. Not Joe Camilleri, but Joel Camilleri in place. People are a little bit worried that, you know, old Joe was stepping into the ring. I've heard no news of that.
26:59
That would be a surprise.
26:59
Anyway, this bout, I mean, we've been talking about it for how long now? Must be six years. This has been seen as a grudge match because they hate each other's guts, and I always like that when it comes to fighters. If they genuinely hate each other, it always makes for a much more interesting bout, I think. That's just me. It's just a personal opinion.
27:18
Anyway, Hardman won, giving him the IBC welterweight belt. Isn't that great?
27:26
A belt has been handed out this week, and it's gone to an Aussie. It's gone to Hardman. Hardman, the world of weight. That's the IBC. It's not the IBF, the IBO, or the BLF. No.
27:35
It's the IBC.
27:37
Now, Elvis Smiley...
27:40
He's hoping to recover from a rib injury in time for the Australian PGA and the Australian Open.
27:47
And I certainly hope he is. I mean, this fellow, we've been talking him up for a fair while now. He really hits the ball very, very sweetly. It reminds me of his swing is somewhat reminiscent of Gene Littler. I don't know if people remember that easy manner that Gene Littler had that was echoed a little bit by Ernie Els. The big easy. The big easy. But young Elvis Smiley has got all the tools, I think, to go a fair way in the Australian Open and the PGA, should he be fit enough. And, of course, he's part of Ripper GC.
28:20
I was doing a little look around, HG. Ripper GC, this is Cam Smiths.
28:28
Team in Live.
28:31
Now, they had a target for the franchise to be worth, at this stage, a billion dollars.
28:37
Now, there's been no public evaluation of Ripper GC, but I'd be surprised if it was at a billion dollars yet.
28:49
What a delicate way of putting it. Yes, this remains to be seen. I know there are a lot of fans of Ripper GC, us included. We love it. If Ripper GC are playing somewhere, we're there.
28:59
Yeah.
29:00
I think the next opportunity we get to see them might be in Adelaide if the Mellon Alsos government has reached out to live and this event is still going to go ahead. And I don't know if the shark-inspired and designed golf course has been finished yet. I know the trees have been taken out, which is great.
29:16
But I don't know if the course has been fully laid yet and I don't know where it's going to take place. You know, I don't know which is going to be the party hole, whether it's the 12th.
29:24
Yeah, we'll find out. Let's hope it's the 12th. Yeah, it'd be good.
29:27
It would be good.
29:29
Now, there's been suggestion that there is a...
29:33
What's described as a curse on Oscar Piastri.
29:37
Now, I worry about this. I don't like players getting a curse. No, it's very bad for them. It is bad. Because they start believing it. Yes, yes.
29:45
Now, is this because of the Baku circuit, which they're racing this weekend?
29:49
It's a combination of a lot of things, HG. Remember, he started off a couple of years ago with so much promise. Yes.
29:54
Absolute world beater.
29:57
Utterly a world beater. Arguably the best driver in the world. One of the best drivers, some are saying, since Jack Braddon.
30:04
Wow.
30:04
Which is a very big call. But in the last couple of years, the last couple of seasons, the wheels have come off, haven't they? And some have suggested or whispered in his ear that he's cursed.
30:16
I hope he doesn't believe it.
30:18
Right, I haven't heard that, but now that you've got me thinking, he does cop a lot of, like the other day, it was somebody knocked off the front of his car.
30:26
Every time he gets in the car and goes out on the track, someone hits him.
30:30
As if he's cursed.
30:35
You know, I hope not. Yeah, yeah. Wonderful week for the greatest game of all.
30:41
Now, Rhys Walsh has signed an ambassador's agreement with Super Bowl champs, the Seattle Hawks. How's this going to work? I don't know how this is going to work. I don't know if Madge knows about it. I don't know if any of the teammates know about it.
30:54
Does he write it on his shorts in text? I don't know what he's meant to do.
30:58
as an ambassador for the Seattle Hawks. What, he's got to talk it up whenever, you know, if he's interviewed after a match by Danica or someone like that. How'd you go today, Reece? Oh, yeah, look, did you see, did you watch the Hawks the other night? They were great.
31:11
Is that what he's going to say?
31:13
I don't know. It is just bizarre.
31:16
Bizarre. And I don't know what the future is with this. But it doesn't augur well for what's going on at the Broncos. It's as if the Broncos are somehow cursed.
31:29
Make of that what you will.
31:32
The Brisbane Broncos Pizza is back with 13 new first-grade varieties. Available exclusively online at BrisbaneBroncos.com. All pizzas contain a minimum of 600 grams of pure Queensland sugar. The Brisbane Broncos Pizza is registered to the Brisbane Broncos Leagues Club, Fulcher Road, Red Hill. This is Bludging on the Blind Side.
32:02
Coming to the matter at hand, it's forecast for overcast and rain at the MCG today, and there's some tremendous pictures coming through.
32:10
That won't dampen spirits.
32:11
It won't. It won't. Some tremendous pictures coming through from Haim, who's interviewing a cavalcade of stars. That'll be right. Stars. Now, if you want to get involved with the show, 0467 920 222, 0467 920 222, or the old-style way, roynhg at abc.net...
32:32
It should be .au. Now, at 1 o'clock, a number of people who might be listening to The Bludge now will be swinging over to the coverage from the ground, the MCG, and that features, of course, you know, the G Flip and the Kylie beforehand and then moving on to the big event.
32:50
No, no, that'll be great. Fantastic. Now, if you want to stay...
32:53
listening to The Bludge, go to Sports Extra, ABC Listen, and hit the Sports Extra button on the app, ABC Listen app, and you'll be able to stay with The Bludge. Right. So that's great. So you can have Kylie and them on in the background and listen to The Bludge.
33:09
Okay. So if people are listening normally in, say, Sydney and Brisbane, for example.
33:15
They keep tuned.
33:16
They keep tuned. Okay. Is that right?
33:19
And then they flip over if they...
33:22
No, that's not right. I'm a bit confused now.
33:23
They go to the AFL.
33:25
They go to the AFL. Well, they've got no choice.
33:28
Well...
33:29
They've got no choice. They just go to the AFL at one o'clock. So if you don't want to go to the AFL... You've got to bugger around and do something, have you? Well, yes. What?
33:37
Your nightmare. That's your nightmare. Because, you know... It's not right. Yeah.
33:42
Anyway. So Sports Extra ABC, listen and hit the Sports Extra button and you can listen to The Bludge. Otherwise, you'll be able to see it on ABC, hear it on ABC coverage on your local ABC outlet. Right.
33:58
That's radio outlet. Okay. Yeah.
34:00
Don't get too down about it. No, I'm not.
34:02
No, no, no. It only happens once a year. No, I'm just trying to imagine if I was a listener, I'd be confused.
34:09
And I hate that.
34:11
Fair enough. As a listener. Now, I'll tell you what's been pointed out here, HG, which may be germane.
34:18
This comes from Tim in Canberra, just on the text. He's saying he was in Port Wormsby this week and the back page of the National Papers, the Post Courier, was all about Luai's sponsorship with Tukai Rice. And Alex Johnson is also doing a wonderful job on billboards as brand ambassador for the Leigh Biscuit Company. Sorry, the Lay Biscuit Company.
34:40
L-A-E. Yeah. What do they make? Do they make a Monte Carlo? They might. Scotch finger? Maybe.
34:46
I don't know about a shortbread. A Tim Tam? Yep.
34:49
Orange cream?
34:50
Yep. Chocolate Monty. It's all there.
34:53
That's fantastic. The Lay Biscuit Company, yeah. Alex Johnson, Mr Biscuits.
34:57
And is there a lot of coconut in the biscuit? Maybe. Because, you know, I was just thinking of local products.
35:02
Well, Betlenut, you'd have your Betlenut biscuit, wouldn't you?
35:07
I don't know.
35:08
Well, it's yet to be done if it's not. Now, the one thing about that is that, you see, I go back to, I think we broke the story that Charlie Curnow, the spearhead at the Swans, had become an ambassador for Taubman's Paint. Now, look, I can't see any evidence that he's earned his money if he's being paid money by Taubman's. Yeah.
35:29
No. I mean, Taubmans is a very respectable brand when it comes to paints, isn't it? I don't know if it's an Australian brand. Let's say it is.
35:39
Wonderful brand, Taubmans, and some terrific colours, and a very modern palette as well.
35:44
Indeed, indeed. With their colours.
35:47
But I haven't seen any evidence, though, of player involvement.
35:53
I mean, you walk into a paint shop, you're not overwhelmed with
35:57
Eh, Kurnow kicking a footy. Kurnow, no. No, I agree. No. Now, but.
36:01
Nor would if I walked into a paint shop and I saw Kurnow kicking a footy, would it encourage me to look at tournaments? Probably wouldn't. Probably wouldn't.
36:08
No, but is that how it works? People in Papua New Guinea see Alex Johnson and think, oh, those lay biscuits. Those lay biscuits. God almighty, the beetle nut. Yeah.
36:17
The beetle nut cracker. The beetle nut cracker. Give me some of those, please.
36:21
Now, the Minogue story and today's festivities at the G, it's a great story, isn't it? It is, isn't it? I mean, it's sort of come full circle. She grew up in Melbourne and I think she comes to, I should know what part of Melbourne she grew up in and, of course, followed football all her life and was taught this week how to kick it for the first time by the Wizard, obviously, and Ginevan came along. Watson and Ginevan turned up for a bit of a class. Great photo opportunity.
36:46
What a thrill for them, though, to show Kylie how to kick a Sharon. Yeah.
36:53
She'd love all that.
36:55
So Minogue has had plenty of stadiums, you know, played plenty of stadiums.
36:59
All over the world.
37:00
You and I have done a few jobs with Kylie. We have. We have. In fact, famously in Timor. Yeah. Where she just bought the house down. She did. Or the house was already down by the time she got there. Yep. And with the Olympics, we did some work with Kylie.
37:13
Oh, the Olympics, yeah. Yeah.
37:16
And we've found Kylie very easy to work with, haven't we?
37:20
Very easy to work with. No trouble at all. Very professional.
37:24
She's never played a stadium in which she has to get on and get off in such a quick time. That's what her big problem is today. She's got to rush on, do the hits, entertain everybody, leave them gasping for more and rush off before the footy players run on. Mm-hmm.
37:41
You know, she rattled through a tight set and make it coherent for a massive audience live in the venue, obviously live in the G, as well as, you know, live on the TV.
37:50
Yes.
37:51
It's got to be that. And, you know, when you think about the great Snoop Dogg, Kiss, going back to Meatloaf, who still towers above every entertainment in the G. Talk about a bloke getting on quick, doing the hits and getting off. No one was quicker. No one was quicker. With the longest show, this is Kylie, with the longest show, you might have two or three songs to kind of settle in. But with a 20-minute set, I've got to get it to the point quickly.
38:15
Yeah.
38:16
I did feel when we were rehearsing that that as much as the MC is gargantuan, and even when it's empty, it has an incredible energy.
38:24
Yeah, that's true.
38:25
Incredible energy. It's on a par with Watford Oval, I find.
38:29
Very similar. Yep.
38:30
It's also like a massive hug, she says. That's something I haven't encountered before. No.
38:34
A massive hug. That's an insight, isn't it?
38:37
It is.
38:43
It is such a communal space that it felt good out there. It feels good out there. Now.
38:48
I think what she's getting at is hallowed.
38:52
Well done.
38:53
I think that's what she's getting at.
38:55
And the other thing I would suggest, HG, is it's iconic.
38:59
Yes, it's iconic.
39:00
The MCG, isn't it? Even its hallowedness is iconic.
39:03
Yes.
39:04
Everything about it is iconic, isn't it?
39:07
For no car parks, for getting the public transport there, that's iconic.
39:12
Just walking in, sitting down.
39:14
Iconic. Iconic. A pie. Iconic.
39:18
A beer. Iconic.
39:20
Chips. Iconic. A footy record. Iconic.
39:24
Siren. Iconic.
39:26
Bounce of the ball. No longer.
39:28
No. No.
39:29
Gone. Now, Kylie declined for newspaper reporting to reveal the songs that she would play, though she did reveal that Love at First Sight might be one of the songs because she loves performing that, but she promised a set, and this is important, of songs that people know a little bit, sorry, songs that people know, a little bit of nostalgia, a little bit of fun, and a few surprises. I like that. Now. That's a big ask. It is a very big ask. She's only got 20 minutes. That sounds like a full night's thing. I'm just wondering if, with a wink at Johnny, she'd do a version of Sadie the Cleaning Lady.
40:03
Ah.
40:03
You know, because obviously Johnny's in trouble with herself and couldn't make the concert this week.
40:06
Yeah, yeah.
40:07
And another one with Gary, sorry, I was going to say Angry, Angry sadly passing this week. Yeah.
40:14
Bad Boy for Love. Exactly. I was going to say, a couple of bars of Bad Boy for Love. Now, the one thing I did last week, we played an Angry Anderson song or a Rose Tattoo song, We Won't Be Beaten. And I made some comments referring to the song had somehow been played at a time when the Commonwealth Games team was about to set off. It's Bound for Glory is the song that he played on that particular occasion. That's right. Now, so the other thing that I thought she should do is something left field like The Ace of Spades by Motorhead.
40:48
Now, that would be a big ask for Kylie, but I wouldn't put it past her.
40:52
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, I associate her with dance music, music that makes you want to get up, stand up, move about. You know, like locomotion. Yes, I suppose so, yes.
41:04
Or I could be so lucky. I could be so lucky.
41:07
Thank you.
41:08
You know, the Stock Ake and Waterman catalogue.
41:12
Yeah.
41:13
That's what I want to hear.
41:14
Right.
41:15
Songs that were written for her.
41:17
Okay.
41:17
Sculpted for her. Yeah. That make you want to get up and move about.
41:23
You don't think she's going to do Sadie then?
41:25
No, I don't think so.
41:26
Bugger. I had a dollar on that. She says, I'm not in a team. She makes a great comparison here. This is Kylie again. We're all talking about stepping over the line and I've been thinking about a lot of those parallels. I'm not in a team sport, but I kind of am. There's so many people working on this show and everyone's got each other's back and the self-talk in your brain is in your mind leading up to the importance of the gig or the game. You can do it, you can't do it.
41:57
You know, she's saying two schools of thought. This is going to go wrong, this is going to go what if, but then it drifts away a bit, maybe. But it's an interesting insight, isn't it? Not a set position, but something that has to be...
42:13
sort of thought about from both the good and the bad. That's right. That's right.
42:17
Well, that's great insight, really, HG. You know, these tremendous performers, we think, you know, it's easy. They just get out and do it. But it's not.
42:27
No.
42:28
They're filled with as much doubt as anybody else.
42:30
And the place.
42:31
As much doubt as, you know, you phone an electrician to come around and fix up your house. The electrician comes in. He or she looks at the job. They're filled with the same doubts. I hadn't thought of that. You know what I mean?
42:44
I hadn't thought of that at all.
42:46
It's the same. It's called the human condition. What's it called? The human condition. Oh, the human condition.
42:55
Now, then she's, the other big thing, of course, is that she's obviously been asked before by the, I guess, to do it, but she's always cried off.
43:05
And now she sees this as a sort of return to Melbourne-ish things.
43:09
Yeah. Well, it's a great opportunity for her to catch up with family.
43:13
Ah, true.
43:14
Catch up with, you know, her roots. There'd be a lot of family members, you know, uncles, cousins, that sort of thing. She probably hasn't seen for years. Yeah.
43:22
But she could probably get them free tickets. Yeah, maybe. Yep.
43:27
And it is an opportunity. I was trying to get, not so much the family thing, but the world of Melbourne, you know, maybe, oh, I don't know, go to the War Memorial or go to the Botanic Gardens, which is like an art gallery and things like that. Yes. Immerse yourself in what Melbourne means to the people who live there all the time.
43:46
Indeed.
43:46
I mean, she's probably blown in and blown out 20 times since she was last there.
43:50
Sure, sure, sure. And there may well be a school reunion she could go to.
43:53
Oh, a school reunion. Yeah, that's a good idea.
43:55
That'd be great.
43:55
I mean...
43:58
Yeah, plenty to do. Now, just before I ask for your talkback results this week, again, coming up to 1 o'clock with those important messages from our sponsors as part of the boot part one. Now, if you find yourself drifting away from the bludge for whatever reason, nothing to do with us, you can go and keep listening to the bludge on Listen, Sports Extra, ABC Listen and press the Sports Extra button. Now, I've never done that.
44:25
No.
44:26
I don't know anyone who has.
44:31
I've had no need.
44:32
Sports extra, what are you talking about?
44:33
I've had no need. That's the button you press and you'll be able to keep listening to the blunts. Now, what question did you ask last week?
44:40
Well, last week, as you recall, we asked, should the New South Wales Police be involved in the search for the missing trophy? This is the North Sydney 1921 victors trophy. There was a lot of...
44:52
Well, people were uncertain as to whether there actually was a trophy. There was a trophy cited that was in a storage bin somewhere that they thought was the trophy and it's not the trophy. Others suggesting it might be the Alex Lorimer shield they're looking for. Yeah, well done. There were others suggesting it was the Truth and Sportsman's cup that they're looking for.
45:16
And somebody suggested they saw two halves of it.
45:19
Yeah.
45:20
Yeah.
45:21
Cut in half with an angle grinder.
45:23
I know. And then there was a suggestion that maybe the shield might be stuck to the back of the JJ Giltman shield.
45:30
Yeah, look, I didn't give that much credence.
45:33
No, I know. I know you didn't. Maybe I shouldn't. I know you didn't. But we asked, should the New South Wales police get involved? 79% of people said yes.
45:42
And was there any comment about this, as in,
45:46
I've heard no follow-up.
45:48
No, but 20% of people didn't want that to happen. And I'm just wondering why they thought the police should be more engaged in crime, you know, looking in kitchens and all that sort of stuff.
45:58
Yeah, or unless there are 20% of people involved in this survey who don't want the police to get involved.
46:05
Or don't want the trophy to be found.
46:06
Yes, who have the trophy themselves perhaps.
46:09
Yeah, well, that's what I really thought of. Yeah.
46:11
I don't know. It's weird.
46:13
Well, that's fascinating. Fascinating.
46:15
It is.
46:16
That gives you more pause for thought than I thought it would.
46:20
Now, this week, HG, I was simply asking, is enough prominence given to the J.J. Gilton and Shield?
46:29
Right.
46:30
How would you... Well, back in the day... Yeah, good. ...if we start there... you know, in between the times of the 1921 Cup, the Truth and Sportsman's Cup or whatever it was, the JJ Gilton and Shield come into view.
46:50
And that was all you won. There were no other trophies. You just won the JJ Gilton and Shield. That was it.
46:57
And at the end of the grand final, It was an awkward thing to carry, but players lifted it up and lugged it. It was heavy. It was very, very heavy.
47:06
Mainly because it was burned down with a Lorimer shield.
47:09
It may well be. May well be. And it was an awkward sight that people enjoyed because, you know, there you were, players were buggered. Nobody wanted to lift the bloody thing, but they felt duty-bound to do so. And so a couple of players would hold it and... walk around a little bit with it. They had to do a full circle of the ground, so to speak, to present it to all the crowd. And so players would pass it off to other players who'd reluctantly grab it and, ooh, bloody hell, so idiot. There were no handles or anything. You just had to...
47:41
manipulate it as best you could, as if it was a bag of concrete or something. And it probably weighed about the same as a bag of concrete. So it's very awkward. And I'm wondering if we're missing something now that it's awarded to the minor premiers, not the major premiers.
47:58
You know, that raises something the other day. I think the Penrith Panthers won it. And the description of it was that J.J. Gilton and Shield was wheeled onto the sideline.
48:07
See, I take your point. It's heavy. No one wants it. It's heavy.
48:11
It's awkward to lug. Yeah, wheeled off. Wheeled on, wheeled off. Yeah. Yes, yes, yeah. Well, it should be given more promises. I mean, it's one of the few things that separates rugby league from everything else. No other code has an awkward big bloody box. JJ Gilton's shoe. Yeah, to lug about.
48:31
Now, what was the one that Laurie Daly tipped off the back of the Uters who was parading around Canberra when they won it?
48:37
That might have been the Winfield Cup.
48:39
Oh, okay, okay.
48:41
Maybe.
48:41
Do you reckon in 20 years' time we'll be looking for the Winfield Cup?
48:45
Well, where is the Winfield Cup? I don't know. I just made that up as something to worry about.
48:49
I haven't seen the Winfield Cup.
48:52
I mean, the trophy we have at the moment, the Summons and Proven.
48:57
Yeah, yeah, Summons and Proven.
48:58
Yeah, that's very heavy and a bit difficult to lug about. Yeah, I agree. I'd like to see it attached to the JJ Giltman shield.
49:08
Just, you know, tacked on at the top to give them something really difficult to bloody lug about.
49:13
With some superglue.
49:15
Well, I don't know how you do it. It's up to the techs to work out something, whether you, you know.
49:19
That is a great idea.
49:20
Use tech screws to bolt it on somehow.
49:24
I tell you what, that could be a talkback topic for next week. Would you like to see the JJ Gilton and Shield and the Summons Proven Trophy joined?
49:32
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And was the JJ, sorry, was the Winfield Cup the Proven Summons? Yeah.
49:43
I don't know.
49:44
I don't think so. Don't think so?
49:45
No.
49:46
So the Proven Summons has been around for how long?
49:50
Some time. Some time.
49:52
Yeah.
49:52
Yeah. Yeah.
49:54
What a fascinating question.
49:55
Fascinating thing. Yeah. And who was the last winner of the Winfield Cup when we were in?
50:02
I don't know.
50:03
I don't know.
50:04
And look, if you want to keep listening to the Bludge, remember, Sports Extra, press the Sports Extra button on the Sports Extra app.
50:13
What is the Sports Extra app?
50:15
Where do you go to get it?
50:18
Is it the ABC Listen app? Yeah.
50:22
And in there is a Sports Extra app. Is there a button in it?
50:29
There you go.
50:31
I can't see people doing it. I just can't. I mean, it just beggars belief.
50:36
The Coachwood and Myrtle Mamozealous Pancake Mix is now available in 27 kilo packs. There's a bobblehead of your favourite rugby league player in every bag of breakfast brilliance. Collect your team. Remember kids, Mamo Pancake Mix is the head-in-a-bag breakfast with try scoring goodness in every serve. Available from the team at Bludging on the Blindside.
51:04
Yes, welcome back to Bludging on the Blind Side. Just a quick update on what's happening at the MCG.
51:11
We've got an hour and a bit before the match gets underway, and that's going to be filled up by G Flip, Mike Brady doing what Mike does best, and that's up there, Kazaley, and Kylie. So that's the running order for the musical additions to the day. And then, of course, the game gets underway with the ball up about 2.30. So if you want to join the show, 0467 920 222 or the old style way, roynhg at abc.net.au. And the following people have Roy.
51:41
Yes, Neil in Newcastle is wondering if Kylie will be staying at the Pullman while she's in.
51:47
I'm pretty sure she will. I think she probably would. The only thing is that she lives in Melbourne, in inverted commas.
51:52
Oh, the family does.
51:53
Yes, I mean, maybe there's somewhere that she has some attachment to. Is Danny living in Melbourne? No.
52:00
Let's say she is. Yeah. She'd probably stay at Danny's place, wouldn't she?
52:03
Probably, yeah. There'd be plenty of room at Danny's place.
52:05
You'd think.
52:06
Although. I don't know. Yeah, no, it's her. I can't answer these questions. No, no. In fact, I never thought to ask. No. But the Pullman would be a good standby.
52:15
Yes, yes. I don't think we've stayed at the Pullman, have we?
52:19
Have we? No, I can't say that we have, no.
52:22
No.
52:23
I have no memory of the Pullman.
52:24
See, the Pullman's near the ground. Okay. Not a million miles from the ground, I think. Okay. My geography.
52:30
Well, what about when we were doing the tennis with Channel 7? No, we stayed in the city. We stayed in the city, yeah. Yeah. And what, is the Pullman heading towards St Kilda or something?
52:41
Yeah, well done.
52:41
Okay.
52:42
With the ground, of course, he's on the other side of the river.
52:44
Yeah. Yeah, okay.
52:45
Okay.
52:47
Well, next time we should do the tennis, if we're ever asked again, we should insist on staying at the Pullman.
52:53
Yeah, what a good idea. I don't know. It's certainly an idea. It's the place where people stay, obviously.
52:58
Yeah. This comes from Michael in West Cork in Ireland, HG. He's a regular correspondent.
53:04
He said, on last week's programme, there was mention of a greyhound track closing...
53:09
That was in Tamworth. Tamworth, well done. Well done. Yeah.
53:14
We still didn't get to the bottom of it, did we, as to why it was being sold? And I think we doubted it would be sold because there would have been songs written about it.
53:26
It'd taken my dogs away, that sort of thing.
53:30
Don't take my dog. It was Troy Cassadale. Troy Cassadale.
53:34
He won a gold guitar for it. He did. He did. He did.
53:37
Now, he says, is this an opportunity for the ABC to purchase the said track and use it as a permanent home for Friday Night Dog Night?
53:44
What a great idea.
53:45
What a great idea.
53:46
I reckon we could rent it. We wouldn't have to purchase it.
53:49
We'd only need to rent it on Fridays.
53:51
Yeah, true, true. Wouldn't it? The only trouble was it did need some, by the look, some refurbishment, if that's the right word, to a dog track.
53:59
But I wouldn't worry about that because all you're going to be doing is, with one camera, focusing on the dogs. Couldn't give a bugger about what the stands look like.
54:06
Would the lure be drivable?
54:07
Oh, yeah, right. Quite right. You'd have to keep that.
54:09
Yeah, and kenneling, you know, for the dogs before the race.
54:12
Yes, yes. But, Michael, that's an excellent idea and we'll suggest it to next time we're talking to the ABC board. It would certainly be a good use of ABC funds. It would. It would. We could probably buy it for a song.
54:26
Well, remember, of course, your idea, rent at Friday's is the only time. Yeah, yeah. And obviously the one camera set up, we just leave there, bolt it into the spot.
54:34
Oh, God, yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
54:37
Now, this comes from Tony.
54:43
He says, as a long-suffering West Tiger supporter and current member, I was pleased to see the following offer in my emails this week. Own a piece of Leichhardt Oval history.
54:56
At last, yes. A piece of Leichhardt Oval could soon be yours. Discover the latest items added to the auction and bid now for your chance to own a piece of the eighth wonder forever.
55:06
Mm-hmm.
55:08
Suffice to say, I jumped on the auction link in the belief that, apart from all the other memorabilia, I could be offered a piece of the heritage-listed toilets of interest.
55:18
To my chagrin, nothing was offered. A highlight of other items currently on offer are the official Leichhardt Oval Tunnel, the Tiger Head sign, current bid $2,698, with a picture of Danica interviewing Benji in front of the sign.
55:37
Wow.
55:38
Well, that sounds like good value.
55:41
And what's the tunnel?
55:45
It must be the tunnel that the players run out from.
55:49
So they don't get showered with beer cans. Yeah, I suppose so.
55:52
So there'll be a photograph of the tiger head sign over the tunnel and in front is Danica talking to Benji.
56:00
That's a separate photo. Yeah. You get the sign plus the photo of the sign in place with Danica.
56:06
Yeah, which is a great value.
56:07
It'd be great to get that audio too.
56:09
Yeah.
56:10
Whatever the interview was. Yeah. And hopefully, you know, what he says, then thanks Danica.
56:14
Yeah.
56:15
Because that's your money line.
56:17
That is.
56:18
There's the official Leichhardt Oval Home Team Dressing Room door.
56:25
Wow.
56:25
Current bid, $1,150.
56:28
Yeah, that's a great getter, that. Imagine having that in your house.
56:31
Or putting it on the front door. Incorporated into your front, yeah. Front door, yeah.
56:36
the Leichhardt Oval Bay signage, Bay One, the Robinson stand, current bid $400, and so on. He also received another email offering to buy a piece of Leichhardt Oval turf.
56:49
Oh, yeah, that old one. Well, that's a bit dull, isn't it? Yeah, it's a bit done before.
56:52
Yeah. But the one thing that would have been prior to place in my soon-to-happen bathroom renovation would have been a Leichhardt Oval Heritage-listed urinal with all the patina that goes with it, he says.
57:03
Wow, that would be fantastic. Imagine that. Just step this way. I don't know why that's not available.
57:10
I don't know. We'll have to speak to Inner West Council, I suppose.
57:14
And are all these things, are they demolishing the stands as well? Yeah, I think so. Oh, gee, I thought they might hang on to some of that. Yeah.
57:22
Anyway, you can have a look at the master plan. It's on the, like, website. Yeah, council. Yeah.
57:27
Now, the other thing is if the orange, let's say the grass was orange, it would be interesting, but the grass just looks like grass. Exactly. Yeah.
57:36
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I'd suggest you could just get a bit of lawn from somewhere and – Your front yard. And put it in your front yard and say, this is like – Yeah, I know. Who's going to know?
57:45
Who's going to know?
57:49
This comes from Charlie in Bel Air, South Australia. Oh, Bel Air, yeah, no, well. Apropos the Bludger's advocacy for hammer-throwing renaissance, I fear this is under threat following the initiation of criminal proceedings arising from an incident at a school in South Australia in 2024.
58:07
Apparently at the Christian Brothers School, HG, there was a hammer-throwing incident where someone was hurt, I assume, by being hit with a hammer.
58:23
Why?
58:27
There's a lesson here.
58:29
You've got to supervise these things.
58:31
I was going to say, where's the PE teacher?
58:34
Yes, yes, you've got to ask the teachers. Who was involved? Who was on duty that day? What was going on? I mean, it's like these things are weapons, essentially. Eventually. I mean, it's like you've got to supervise kids if you're training them in the use of the bayonet.
58:50
You do. You can't just let the kids run around with bayonets. You've got to, you know, keep control of it.
58:57
Ditto with shooting training.
59:00
Now, is there any example of or is there any discussion of how this incident happened and what the damage was?
59:07
Like, is it a broken arm?
59:09
I don't know. It doesn't go into... Right. I don't know.
59:13
Can I ask why the school's insurance wouldn't cover it?
59:16
Yeah, well, there's a thorny thing. It is an insurance issue. I mean, how often have we wondered, HG, with golf clubs? You know, you and I, you know, we've teed off at certain fair ways where if the ball...
59:29
could arc out onto the street, hit a passing car, crash into the windscreen, the car goes out of control and goes into a backyard where a family's having a picnic. You know what I mean? Who gets insurance? How do you get insurance with this sort of stuff? And who's responsible? If you do tee off and it does hit a car that does hit a family that is having a picnic in a front yard or a backyard, whose insurance covers it? I mean... Amy?
59:57
I don't know. I don't know.
60:01
But insurance is going to go through the roof if teachers aren't going to possibly, you know, probably or police properly the use of the hammer and the javelin.
60:13
Well, and indeed in a school there are certain areas like putting your hand over a bunch of burners, a G up and all that sort of stuff. All of a sudden you've got third degree burns. Yes. You know, that great one of, you know, when the ceiling fan's going around it's summer and you don't realise how much you've grown and you stand on the desk and you get whacked in the head by the... That's right.
60:30
You end up with concussions.
60:33
Weeks off school. Ambulance comes. You can't do your exams.
60:37
HSC or whatever it is.
60:40
I know. I know. It's a nightmare.
60:42
This comes from Paul in Wagga Wagga.
60:45
Our story last week of meeting Cement Gillespie in Chengdu in China piqued his interest. He says he had some mates working in Chengdu who played for the local rugby team, the Pandas. Do we know if Cement brought a Steeden with him to do any local clinics? No.
61:04
Cement was just there having a holiday.
61:06
Yeah. I mean, he wasn't. No, it wasn't an official duty. No official duties whatsoever. I mean, that'll be the day.
61:12
And was keen to play down the fact that he was there.
61:15
Yeah, and that'll be the day when Volandes Feathers thinks about China.
61:19
Yeah.
61:19
And sending a crew over there to start showing them what to do. Yeah, well. Because that's the future of the game is China.
61:25
Well, Paul's suggesting rather than the PNG Pirates being a barrier against the Chinese Cup, the NRL embraced them with cement as the ambassador. Maybe feathers and cement can meet with President Xi and outline what Rugby League can do for the People's Republic. Look, it's not a bad idea that should cement want to go back to China, he could do so.
61:45
And get involved in rugby league.
61:47
He could do so in a more official capacity and be officially recognised as a representative or an ambassador for rugby league. I've got no problems with that.
61:55
No, no.
61:56
But. But.
61:57
Yeah.
61:58
But.
61:58
That's where the problem lasts.
62:00
And I think, you know, rugby league ambassadors for China, it's not a bad idea, generally speaking. The difficulty is, have we locked them out? Cemented want to do it. He'd want to have to do it.
62:12
Have we locked them out with the Kafusi line and the Taiwanese oysters? Well, we're probably getting up their nose a little bit.
62:17
That's why having cement there, just to ease their concerns. Yes, that's right.
62:21
It would be a good idea. Yes. And he talks that language. He does. Yeah. That diplomatic language. Yes. That the Foreign Affairs Department has lost the ability to do.
62:30
It would seem.
62:34
This comes from Paul in Riverwood.
62:36
He says, happy rugby league.
62:38
My interest was piqued while watching an AFL final on the weekend when the camera showed Sports Minister Annika Wells engrossed in doom scrolling on her phone while seated in the stadium. Oh, no. Such lack of interest by a federal minister is disrespectful to the players and the code. Oh, and the nation.
62:58
I think that's probably right. Yeah.
63:00
I was reminded, HG, of former Premier Bob Carr who quite famously took a book to read when he went to the State of Origin.
63:08
Well, I understand that because he obviously wasn't the slightest bit interested.
63:12
No.
63:12
He wasn't Minister of Sport.
63:14
No, he wasn't. He was the Premier.
63:15
Yeah, he didn't pretend he was interested in sport.
63:18
I mean, I don't think he knew why he was there at all. No. He just knew he had to sit in the back of the car for a little while, get out, sit somewhere else. And read a book. And read a book. And then go home. Yeah.
63:28
Well, it's a big day out for Bob.
63:32
But I think some people at the State of Origin were a little bit – they felt that it was disrespectful.
63:39
Well, it's a view. It's a view. It's a view, yeah. It's a view.
63:43
But as you pointed out, he wasn't the sports minister.
63:47
And he wasn't the sort of person like I think Gladys Berdiklian famously would wear a scarf and hold a beer to indicate how much she loved rugby league. She did.
63:58
And that was genuine. It was a bit like – It'd be cynical, but I think it was genuine. And when former Prime Minister Scott Morrison just loved his sharkies. Yeah, he loved his sharkies.
64:11
Loved his sharkies. Yeah. He was the number one ticket holder.
64:13
Number one ticket holder. Still is. Is he still? Do we know? We don't know. Let's say he is.
64:19
Isn't he in America? Yeah, but he still loves his shark ears. He rings up and finds out how they got on. Devastated by the loss the other night. That's right. Nico Hines going down in the first tackle. That's right. Oh, no.
64:29
He'd have been devoured.
64:31
Gutted. Gutted.
64:36
Bravely gutted, though.
64:37
This comes from Andrew in Yarra Man in Queensland.
64:41
I was watching the Warriors v. Dolphins game over the weekend and during the second half, while the Dolphins were down by eight, Blocker, that'd be Blocker Roach, I guess, made a revelation in the commentary box. He stated, quote, the Dolphins just need to start playing a bit of footy.
64:58
I was gobsmacked. Does this mean they weren't playing footy in the first half? If not, what have they been doing out there?
65:06
Well, that's a common refrain from commentators. It is. And what they mean is they mean they should score a few tries. Now, last night I'm pretty sure that that comment came up as well.
65:16
Yeah.
65:16
As they'll start playing footy now.
65:18
I would say last night the Dolphins weren't allowed to play footy.
65:22
Yeah, true.
65:23
Whereas Easts, they were playing footy all the time.
65:26
Yeah.
65:27
Now, by playing footy, is my understanding, is that in attack you have a very deep backline set.
65:38
I can remember when we played footy with the Shamrocks, if we were attacking and we were in what we call the red zone now, our attack, if we were on the left-hand side of the field, Our back line was back in our 25.
65:56
Yeah.
65:57
So deep was it set.
65:59
Beautiful. Could you often score that way? Oh, I would. Yeah.
66:03
Because there's so much room to play footy.
66:10
And that's what East did last night. Very deep back line.
66:13
Marky Mark would take advantage of that.
66:16
Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Can you imagine Marky Mark, you know, back in your own in goal while you're attacking? Up the other end. Up the other end. Gives him so much space. Yeah.
66:28
To play footy.
66:29
To play footy.
66:30
Now, of course, they were intimidated completely by the pack. Yes. That's what you need. You've got to dominate so you can spread that back line back to your 20s. That's right.
66:39
That's right.
66:41
That's right.
66:42
This comes from Roderick from Marrickville.
66:47
As a rugby league fan working in the tourism industry,
66:50
Well, there's a red double.
66:52
I was keenly focused this week on Minister Burke's migration changes as it pertains to working holidaymakers, that is, backpackers who work in the bush.
67:00
Yeah.
67:02
What I was looking for was to see if he was finally going to create a new category of visas for working holiday rugby league players.
67:11
Working holiday rugby league players would be for backpackers who get visas not just to travel and pick fruit but to pack down as well.
67:20
I think that's a very good idea. We've raised this before. Remember a while ago, we were very big on the original crisis in rugby league.
67:27
Yes.
67:28
And there weren't enough people to blow up the jumping castles. There weren't enough people to put the urns on. There weren't enough people to do the car parking, stuff like that, let alone play. There weren't enough players. There weren't enough players. No. So the idea was a special visa where you came to Australia for a certain amount of time to play rugby league. Yes. Now, I noticed one of the players of the Dolphins is an Englishman.
67:51
Herbie Farnworth.
67:53
They might have two, in fact. But are they here on...
67:57
I don't know. Sports visas in inverted commas? I assume so.
68:00
Yeah. So they're basically what they've got is that because there's a lot of conversation that goes on about how long they're coming for and how long they're going to stay.
68:08
I don't know what the One Nation position would be or the Liberal Party position would be on Herbie Farnworth.
68:13
And I don't know if Herbie should, you know, get his passport out and make sure everything's tickety-boo.
68:20
Not that it matters now because it's over for him for this season. He's probably got to go home. He's probably been escorted to the departure lounge as we speak.
68:30
Yes, yes, by a couple of big people.
68:32
By a couple of big people, yeah. People bigger than him. Oh, mate, on you get. Shut up.
68:38
Yeah, and if you're coming back, make sure that's, you know, the date's stamped correctly, will you?
68:42
That's right.
68:42
It's already well put in last year's date, but it doesn't fall last.
68:46
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I don't know, but maybe there is the Herbie Farnsworth precedent loophole for people who are coming to Australia. And what are you here for?
69:01
I'm a backpacker. Yeah, but what are you here for?
69:04
I'm here to play rugby league. Yep, in you come.
69:07
Yeah. Now, I think that's an excellent idea. But what I'd like to see is, you know, A player, say, went to, for argument's sake, Wellington, where they top dressed.
69:18
Wellington, New South Wales.
69:19
Wellington, New South Wales. Played for the Wellington Football Club.
69:23
The Devils, yeah.
69:24
The Devils out there. And in the meantime, did things like in the downtime of not playing rugby league, did things like line marking, did things like mowing the lawn. He could get something from Todd Woodbridge to mow the lawn so he didn't have to walk around behind it. Yes. Et cetera. Then repainting the goalposts, having a go at the change rooms, putting the doors back on, the cubicles, all that sort of stuff. That work that is voluntarily done by others who don't have time because they're caught in the cost of living crisis.
69:53
Well, that's not bad.
69:55
But there might be pressure as well saying, oh, well, it's the end of the season, you know, we're...
70:01
What are you going to do now? Herbie. You know, Herbie, whoever it's going to be. Maybe they could go to the MIA and do a bit of fruit picking.
70:09
They could. Yes, that's right.
70:11
Because honestly, it's very difficult to get people to pick fruit these days.
70:15
Now, can I ask, let's say there's an impost of time here or, you know, some condition of time. So you could have six months playing rugby league and six months pricking fruit. Yeah. It'd be a good person to have.
70:26
Excellent person to have. Yes, yes.
70:27
In the meantime, you'd learn how to blow up a jumping castle. Yes. How to organise the car park. Yes. How to turn on the urn. How to do the pie warmer.
70:34
Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. And there are fitness issues. I mean, picking fruit, I mean, you've got to be fit.
70:42
Yeah. You know, it's up and down the ladders all the time. Yeah. Lugging heaps.
70:46
Lugging heaps, like oranges.
70:49
They're heavy.
70:50
Avocados are very difficult to pick. You've got to use special equipment.
70:55
I mean, you've got to make sure with your avocado there's a little bit of the stem on it. Otherwise, it'll ripen too quickly and be bad.
71:04
I have no idea.
71:06
You know?
71:07
You should get university graduates for that.
71:10
Yeah, yeah. But it's very difficult to get people. I don't know what experience you've had with fruit pickers, but I can tell you now, you know, the experiences I've had, it's very difficult to get people who are motivated.
71:24
Motivated. That's right. Well, that's the same with everything.
71:26
What are we doing today?
71:27
Pick the fruit. You really, let's go.
71:30
You can only keep that up for so long.
71:35
After a few days.
71:37
I don't want to do it anymore. The thrill's worn off. Yeah, I know. I know it's too hot. I don't want to do it anymore. The flies. My back's buggered. My back's buggered. I don't want to go up the ladder anymore. I've got the volley OCs on and they don't work.
71:51
And I thank all correspondents.
71:55
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72:17
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72:19
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72:41
Well, I tell you what, I watched, I think it was the Today Show. Today Show, yeah. Earlier in the week.
72:49
And I don't know who the new hosts are, but they're great.
72:54
And they were suggesting that Shannon Noll had...
72:59
called into the show saying that he was available if the NRL wanted him.
73:05
Isn't that great?
73:06
And I thought that was a terrific – because if he did – A brave gesture by an Aussie. Yeah, what about me?
73:12
What about me?
73:13
That would go off.
73:15
Yeah, it would. It would. Everybody knew it. It would absolutely go off. Yeah.
73:19
And he wouldn't cost a million bucks. He wouldn't. No, that's true. That's true.
73:22
He seemed to suggest through the show that he was happy to do it for, you know – What, a couple of tickets? Yeah.
73:30
And I was going to say that what's interesting is there's a lot of younger people who would be happy to push the idea of, you know, Tones and I off the stage and have a go themselves.
73:41
Yep.
73:41
Be hundreds of bands. Yeah. Or maybe what would be great, wouldn't it be great to reform a band that, you know, maybe didn't get the exposure deserved at the time? I don't know whether it'd be possible to get the moving pictures back together or machinations or, you know, some of these radiators or some of these great Aussie acts from this band together.
74:01
What a great idea.
74:02
Or how about Super Jesus? I've always wanted to see them. Yes. I probably wouldn't be able to see them except at the NRL grand final. Now. Mm-hmm.
74:10
Leave that there.
74:11
Yep.
74:13
This week the story was dominated by the Lockie Neal saga.
74:19
And the Lockie Neal saga was based on a problem that Lockie largely created for himself by punching Ginevan in the stomach, Ginevan being the one from the wee and the poo. You gave evidence by Zoom. I did. And you said that you'd actually filmed some vision of that being at the ground with your camera and your phone and that it showed something completely different and that Neal should be exonerated.
74:46
I did suggest that, HG. I did say that I did have film of it, but I'd lost it.
74:53
And they questioned me quite a bit about this, you know. I just said, look, I had the file and I just dumped it. I don't know how it happened.
75:00
Yeah.
75:01
But it clearly showed that it was an open hand approaching the stomach. And missed. No, no. But I said, look, in a way...
75:16
What is true about football, all football, is that every team needs what I call a policeman.
75:25
And when you see a crime committed, the policeman has got to act immediately.
75:32
Now, what Lockie Neal had seen was a grub act. Yeah, grub act. And he responded as a policeman would with immediate response. How did this go over with the tribunal? There was a lot of nodding, but they said they'd like to see the footage.
75:49
And I just had to say, look, mate, I haven't got it.
75:52
Yeah.
75:53
I've lost it. I deleted it. I don't know how. But I had it and all my mates saw it and they agreed with me.
76:00
Can I ask, were you received with some, thanks very much for bravely volunteering this information?
76:08
Well, it was a Zoom call. Oh, yeah, no, I know.
76:10
You could have turned off at any time. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And did they appear interested in the concept that you're raising of the each team has to have a policeman idea, which is a novel concept in football?
76:21
Mm-hmm.
76:21
I mean, I understand, you know, people stand over players and all that sort of stuff. Who can forget Trelly standing over that poor kid he knocked over in the final the other night, which is a great bit of rugby league.
76:31
Yeah, but that wasn't police work. No. Police work is, you know. Provoked. Well, no, Jared, for example. Jared. Jared was a policeman in the eastern suburbs team there for many, many years.
76:43
And he would see, you know, some grub act enacted upon one of his teammates and Well, Jared.
76:52
He would go and help out.
76:54
Immediately.
76:55
Yeah.
76:55
As a police person, a policeman would.
76:57
Now, in the wash-up for this, which did last, you know, the great thing lasted all week, the great imbroglio lasted all week, the good bloke defence seemed to be raised at some time that Lockie should be allowed to play in the big one today because he's a good bloke.
77:12
Yeah.
77:13
Yeah. Well, policemen are good blokes.
77:15
They are.
77:17
You know, they see a crime, they see an injustice is the word, an injustice and act upon it.
77:27
And that's what every team needs.
77:28
Now...
77:30
And relies upon.
77:31
I made some comments earlier that I thought that Lockie Neal deserved the David Rhys Jones medal. Yes. For creating content for all those shows, those chat shows like Gary and Gerard and, you know, Cain Corns and all of those shows. There's hundreds of them. Eddie McGuire's son, Xander and so on. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. All producing all this content.
77:52
Yeah.
77:53
And in fact, it gave, I think I'd say Gary and Gerard, three bites of the cherry because there was three days when it was, something was going on about it. Yeah. How it could be. But overall, the good bloke idea could be applied to anybody who plays AFL.
78:09
Yeah.
78:10
Only, you know, there's very few people come in with a, you know, like car robbering You know, carjacking crime or, you know, somebody who robbed a bank or, you know, there are probably one or two who get through the net, but generally speaking, they're all good blokes. They're all good blokes. Because let's face it, the way of training and the team meetings and weeds out the bad apples.
78:34
Yeah, yeah. I agree with that. I agree with that.
78:37
Now.
78:37
Yep, yep. What I found extraordinary though, H.E., was the number of levels of appeal. I know.
78:44
It's just incredible.
78:45
Appeal, reappeal, reappeal. Reappeal, finally get what's right. Until eventually they made sense of it.
78:52
And I did see somebody claiming that they wasted a lot of time. They didn't waste time because look at the content it provided for Gerard and all those shows that he's involved with. It was just great. And, you know, younger players today, they can't assume because Lockie Neal, a hero of theirs, punches people that they can go out and punch people. Like on the way to work today, I saw a number of ambulances being backed up at grounds and I thought, hello. Hmm.
79:18
It's Lockie Neal come to visit. Right. So it's not a thing that you'd say because the senior players are doing it, the junior players can do it as well.
79:29
Well, that's up to the individual coach, whether they're going to train certain players in their team to be police people.
79:39
Right.
79:40
What an excellent idea.
79:42
Often they'll just naturally emerge. Yeah. You know, someone can, you know, in an early incarnation be a bit what you'd call a hothead. Yeah.
79:51
white line fever, you know, grubbish.
79:54
But as they mature, they start to wear the blue uniform and have the stripes on the shoulders and do the right thing, i.e.
80:05
you've hit my mate, I hit you. What are you going to do about it? Nothing, mate, I'm sorry. Okay.
80:12
Now...
80:15
Here's a, you know, sort of the standard you walk past is what you're saying, is that the police force, the standard that you walk past isn't going to, we're not going to tolerate this stuff, you know, and you're going to find out, you know. Sure, you can laugh. You can think you got away with it, but you haven't. What?
80:32
Yeah.
80:33
You know? Yeah.
80:33
I mean, I suppose it's a sort of, you know.
80:37
Well, I think these things about, you know. Balance each other out. Yeah, they do. They do. But I think you've got a strike in the heat at the moment. It's pointless saying to Ginneman, whispering in his ear, I'm going to see you, you know, at the end of the game. I'll see you in the dressing room or I'll see you out the back.
80:51
No, no, no. It's not the same. It's not going to happen.
80:53
It's best just to go up, give the bloke a whack and say, you know, you shouldn't have done that. You'll think about it next time.
80:59
Now, would you like to see something say, I know Kylie's coming up at the MCG in a couple of minutes' time. Would you like to see a duet between Lockie Neal and Kylie Minogue and say, you know, I should be so lucky?
81:12
Wow.
81:13
You know, hands across the water. Hadn't thought of that. Sort of welcoming him back in.
81:17
Yes, yes, yes. To the new. That's not bad. Or what would be equally compelling is Kylie and the Pullman Five.
81:27
Wow, that would be great now.
81:28
That would really pull some heads, wouldn't it?
81:34
I agree, and that does raise the question about the Pullman Five. Wow.
81:40
You went to the meeting the other night where the Pullman Five turned up. Yep.
81:45
And how did you think their apology went over? I mean, it was a mass meeting. Very well. Very well? Very well. And was it along the lines of the classic apology, I'm sorry, you know, I've damaged the jumper, I've damaged the community, I've damaged teammates, I've damaged the, you know, the sport, I've damaged Sydney, I've damaged, you know, the SCG?
82:04
No, they didn't say anything like that. It was more honest than that, I think, HG.
82:09
Because that can often look faux, can't it?
82:11
Yeah, it can. Yeah. They were very honest with the players. They said, look, we knew there was going to be a bit of entertainment, but we didn't know what the entertainment was going to be.
82:22
And we knew someone had organised it, but we didn't know what it was going to be. And when the entertainment started, we didn't know what to do.
82:31
And we'd had a few and, you know, it was just one of those things. And it was entertainment and it was great, but...
82:40
you know, in future we won't do entertainment like that anymore. And we won't do entertainment like that unless we know what the entertainment is and as long as we know what the entertainment rules are because we didn't know what the rules were.
82:55
You know, we thought it was one thing and it wasn't. It was something else and we weren't sure what it was and we were a little bit confused and we were a little bit silly.
83:03
Now, because we were so pissed that we didn't.
83:06
Pretty much.
83:06
We didn't have the radar out. Yeah, that's right. Now, look, can I ask, how did this apology go over?
83:11
Very well. There's applause.
83:12
Well said. You're forgiven. Yeah. Now, can we come to the nub of this?
83:18
If Lockie Neal kicks six goals today. Yeah.
83:24
Well, I mean, people don't think he's done anything wrong, but let's say there's a certain percentage of the crowd that think he's done something wrong.
83:29
He thinks he's got away with murder. Yes.
83:32
Correctly.
83:33
Now, if he does kick six, will everything be forgiven? Oh, God, yes.
83:36
Yeah. Yeah.
83:37
Oh, yeah, he'll be here. I mean, he should win the... Oh, Norm Smith. Norm Smith today. Oh, wow, what a great idea. I mean, that would really shove it up them, wouldn't it?
83:46
Yeah, it would. That's what he's got to do.
83:47
That would shut them up.
83:48
Look at this. Norm Smith. Any odds? What are you looking at?
83:53
I remember I'm the policeman.
83:55
The annual Rugby League World Ball will again be held on November the 7th at Rugby League World Auburn.
84:04
This year's theme is referees. Come as your favourite referee for a night of whistleblowing mayhem.
84:13
The five-course meal and beverage package is only available through your local rugby league club. Music will again be provided by the Gavin Badger Experience. Book early to avoid disappointment.
84:27
This is Bludging on the Blind Side.
84:34
Speaking of musical acts and the AFL, Kylie's just blowing them away, hasn't she? Wonderful. On a night like this.
84:42
On a night like this, yes.
84:43
And the dances.
84:46
They reminded me of what I'd call the Tony Bartuccio dances.
84:50
Gee, that is going back. Now, did Tony Bartuccio appear with Don Lane? Yes.
84:53
Yes.
84:55
Very, very professional. The other thing that struck me as she was the theme of, I don't know if you recall the blue dances, the blue flames from the natural gas campaign. I can remember them clearly. That's what we saw. They were the natural gas Tony Bartuccio dances with Kylie. Yeah.
85:12
You know, this week I saw a clip of Don Lane. Did he ever do this gig, the MCG on Grand Final?
85:20
Let's say he did.
85:20
Yeah.
85:21
With the Tony Bartuccio.
85:23
With the Tony Bartuccio dancers. It was great.
85:25
Yeah.
85:26
And now, the blue people who we've just seen, have we seen them before like with Snoop?
85:31
With Kiss. I assume so. Hundreds of kids.
85:34
They come out every time. They're not always dressed in blue.
85:37
No, that's right. That's right. That's right.
85:38
Sometimes they'll dress according to what the situation demands.
85:44
You know?
85:44
I don't know if Kylie said, can we do something about natural gas?
85:51
Probably did. Probably did. Now, the one thing is, of course, is the fashions are just incredible. Obviously, the people dressed in swimsuits and stuff like that jumping around, and Kylie herself has changed.
86:04
Well, Kylie herself looks as if she's been dressed by Adam Ant.
86:09
It's that Ant music look she's got.
86:11
Yeah.
86:12
She's brought it back. Yeah, brought it back.
86:15
Fantastic. And the general reception here is just out of this world, isn't it? It's sort of Melbourne, you know, that has a great sense of superiority when it puts on its own show.
86:25
Yeah, a lot of self-confidence.
86:26
Self-confidence, followed by, you know, Mike Brady was on earlier. We saw the players who were leaving. Yeah. Not a dry eye.
86:33
Not a dry eye. No, no, no, no, no.
86:36
And now, you know, Kylie, and once we get Lockie Neal kicking skulls, it's going to be a day to remember.
86:41
Yes, with the Norm Smithian hand at the end.
86:44
Yeah, that's right. Get a load of this.
86:47
Perfect.
86:48
Look, we'll take a short break and take in some more of these wonderful pictures here. Are these people playing, Roy, do you think, with their musical instruments?
86:57
No, they'd be mimed. I think the vocal is live, the instruments are mimed. That's usually the way these things work. Someone has texted in HG suggesting that Scott Morrison is no longer the number one ticket holder for the Sharks. That can't be right, can it? I don't believe a word of that. Of course he would be.
87:15
The Payne Haas Art Prize for the best portrait of a player or TikTok effort with rugby league theme is on again. $250,000 is up for grabs in the Haas, the richest rugby league art prize in the world. Have a crack at the Haas, lodgers.
87:38
Yes, and a couple of rugby league stories to finish up with, maybe.
87:42
Before you get there, Sylvan's is wondering if would we regard Shannon Noll as an Aussie icon? Yes.
87:50
Yes.
87:52
And what do you make of instruments that don't make any sound that are being used?
87:56
Yeah, I don't get that. Would you... Well, it makes it arty.
87:59
It's sort of... Yeah, of course, I'm expecting it to be rock, but it's art.
88:03
Yeah, it's art.
88:04
Yeah. So she might do, say, the Ace of Spades, because she wouldn't have to worry about the instruments. No, true.
88:12
Good.
88:12
And the costume changes, and...
88:14
Look, now it's seamless, haven't they? Seamless, incredible, yeah.
88:17
And, of course, the other thing that's interesting is that this is one of the great opportunities for young people who are interested in show business to get a real feel for it without overcommitting themselves in terms of having to go through to Whopper or something like that to get a singing degree or anything like that. They can just be part of something where there's a key star doing all the heavy lifting.
88:40
I agree. I agree.
88:43
Now, Hayden's been in touch. He says the last winner of the Winfield Cup was Canterbury-Bankstown in 1994. So it may still be at Belmore or in Gus's office.
88:57
Right.
88:58
So that's likely there. And the subsequent trophy is known as the Gladiators. That's Summons and Proven. Of course, of course, of course, of course.
89:06
Now, one thing that worries me about the, and I'm not at all against it, the Peter Volandis, he's already, even though he's been top...
89:15
dog only for a few days. Yeah. He's already promised to put a succession plan in place. Good. He said that the ARL commission, first executive chairman, also hinted the fans would be in for a surprise on grand final day. I flagged that earlier in the show. Yeah. as the NRL scrambles to lock in a headline act. But Volante's also assured the clubs and states that he will begin grooming his successor to take over when he decides it's time to step aside.
89:46
Good.
89:47
Now, he initially agreed to stay at the helm for three years, but there's nothing to say he won't continue beyond that, given his ambitions for plans. A spokesperson for him, Peter Beattie, is on the committee. He says, a very historic moment in the history of rugby league where everyone is on the same page. Peter has completely reinvigorated rugby league during his tenure and the commission is backing him to grow the game even further. He inherited a game with limited reserves and no significant assets, one that had needed an advance from its broadcasters just to play the clubs and players.
90:20
That was a shocking era. He constantly put the fan first and record audiences and the biggest blah-de-blah-de-blah. Okay, we come to who's going to succeed Volandes.
90:29
Yeah.
90:30
Now, would you like to see a possibility of a player promoted, somebody who knows the cut and thrust of rugby league?
90:39
Jerome Luai, for example.
90:41
Jerome Luai as the...
90:45
CEO and chairman of the NRL.
90:48
Once he's completed his rugby league commitments, I mean, he could keep on his commitments for whatever it is, Pepsi and the rice.
90:58
The rice and his tourism. And his ambassadorial role as a tourist ambassador, yeah. But that would be great if he could... Obviously, you know, win a few flags with the Pirates and then decide, well, that's my playing day's over. It's up to somebody else to carry that on. Yes. But I'll take those things you've just mentioned into the boardroom.
91:15
Yep, yep. Well, he's been wherever rugby league's been going under the Volandis administration, hasn't he? He understands how it works.
91:26
He's taken the full possibility and opportunity that Volandis has shown him how to do.
91:32
That's right. That's right. Or if people were a little concerned and would prefer a much safer pair of hands, there's always Peter Beattie. Well, Peter Beattie's not bad. Wherever he's been with Rugby League, he's done very well with Rugby League. Rugby League has been in very safe hands. I think he might have looked after Queensland Rugby League for a while.
91:53
Don't confuse Peter with Dud.
91:55
Dud Beattie? Yeah. No. I wonder if they're related, those two. I've no idea. It's never occurred to me before.
92:02
That's all right.
92:02
The connection of the Beattie name with Queensland Rugby League. Peter Beattie certainly knows politics. He does. And how to get things done in trying circumstances. He does. And I'll tell you who else does, who's had some experience at the helm of the West Tigers, is Barry O'Farrell, former Premier.
92:19
Now, can I come in a different direction?
92:22
Yep.
92:23
I'm going to go with the policeman role here and say that the policeman role that Jared were here at Hargroves would be excellent for the rugby league.
92:31
Yes, would too. No one would put a foot wrong with Jared in the head office. That's true.
92:38
That's true. Can you see some of the people who have steered these joint ventures around the place? Because that's a trying thing to get to. Look how much trouble the dragons have had and how much trouble the tigers are in, these tigers.
92:54
Well, the other thing I issue would be to think left field.
92:58
And I know we referred to him before, but he's been proven as a terrific administrator, and that's Bob Carr.
93:05
He would have a very, very dispassionate view of the game. It wouldn't matter. He wouldn't care. He wouldn't give a bugger about the game. He'd just worry about the nuts and bolts. The nuts and bolts. The cash in, cash out. The cash in, cash out. The ledger, the general journal. The sums, do they add up? Yeah.
93:28
Et cetera, et cetera.
93:29
Now, can I ask just about the assets that came up in this thing, that the rugby league didn't have any assets until, you know, Volandis came along and said assets are the go. They bought a lot of hotels, mainly probably for the poker machine, and you're – Great insight was that they should go after the rare earth minerals.
93:45
Yes.
93:46
And buy mines.
93:46
And nanotechnology. And nanotechnology.
93:48
Yes. And I still think that's a big thing. Would you see that you would support somebody coming in, let's say Bob Carr said, don't give a bugger out the game, you've got to get into nanotechnology.
93:58
Yes. I think that would be refreshing to give rugby league absolute certainty of footing because, you know, pubs are great, but I worry that... You know, a pub's going to be here forever in the way they are. I mean, it's a very, very, it's a changing world.
94:16
Changing world.
94:17
And what there is certainty about is the potential of not only artificial intelligence to wit, you know, Todd with a motor mower that you don't have to touch that'll just do your mowing and clean your pool at the same time. I mean, that's phenomenal. But nanotechnology, that is the future.
94:38
Yeah.
94:39
You know, being able to defend Australia with billions and billions of tiny. Little bits. Insect-like. Things that go in your head. Things that can go into your head and blow it up.
94:51
Now, if Robey League's heading in that direction, I want to be there.
94:54
Yeah, count me in. Count me in. Now, on that very, very positive note, we wish everybody best of luck with the result in the MCG match. The Dockers take on, of course, the Lions. The Lions going for their fourth win in a row at this level. And, of course, the Fremantle Dockers going for their first win at this level. So it's got a little bit on it.
95:17
It does. Yeah.
95:18
And we'll be back next week to preview the NRL grand final.
95:22
Yes, with the final show for the year, is it?
95:25
Final show for 2026. It's come around so quickly. Bloody hell. You know, you think, oh, there's a few left, but now there's only one. Yeah. And so with our annual review of the rugby league, join us next week. Hopefully you've found your way to the app and you can find your way back to local radio. See you then. Bye now.
95:53
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