Speaker 1: Hi everyone, and welcome to Off the Record, the sports
Speaker 1: podcast of breaking news, heart, opinion and a little bit
Speaker 1: of gibber. I'm Andrew Webster from The Australian and I'm
Speaker 1: joined by my partner in journalistic crime, Phil Rosfield from
Speaker 1: The Daily and Sunday Telegraphs and Code Sport.
Speaker 2: Okay, buzz, Hello Wabby. I'm not in a terrific mood.
Speaker 2: Why not because you know why which the listeners. We're
Speaker 2: in a little cafe next door twenty minutes ago Latterrea.
Speaker 1: It's my favorite little haunt.
Speaker 2: And I was mistaken as your father. This lovely lady said, oh, Andrew,
Speaker 2: you've got dad here today. Not happy. I do not
Speaker 2: look anything like you or old enough to be your father.
Speaker 1: Now, the thing is, it's not the first time this
Speaker 1: has happened, because yourself and I am Todd Greenberg, were
Speaker 1: at the theater in London, as you do.
Speaker 2: We were watching simply the Best.
Speaker 1: So that Tina that Tina the West End, Western East,
Speaker 1: Wrong Side of the Tracks, and we after, we after
Speaker 1: after the show, which was fantastic, by the way, we
Speaker 1: were at the front and we wanted a photo and
Speaker 1: Todd handed his phone to to one of a woman.
Speaker 1: She was a delightful lady, and she took the phone.
Speaker 1: She said, it's so lovely to see two sons taking
Speaker 1: their father to the theater. And Buzz was mortified. Good star,
Speaker 1: Yes you do. Coming up on the show today, we've
Speaker 1: got some breaking news on the Bunker. We're going to
Speaker 1: rip into the Western Bears and their decision to target
Speaker 1: Brad Arthur's coach, and Buzz is going to lift the
Speaker 1: lid on the day Greg Gliss's wife flipped him the
Speaker 1: bird very exactly exactly right. Let's get into it. Champs
Speaker 1: and chumps. Buzz, who's your champ of the week.
Speaker 2: My champion is Andrew Joey John's eighth for Mortal. I
Speaker 2: thought his takedown of the NRL over this outrageous high
Speaker 2: tackle crackdown was absolutely outstanding television. And I don't normally
Speaker 2: give Channel nine a rap, but his appearance on the
Speaker 2: Sunday forty Show was just magnificent. He spoke for the people,
Speaker 2: He spoke for just about everyone across the game that
Speaker 2: enough is enough. It was embarrassing. It was a face
Speaker 2: all those words. I didn't know Joey could could get
Speaker 2: those work. It was brilliant.
Speaker 1: It's from the heart.
Speaker 2: Oh isn't an incredible minutes from the heart. It was
Speaker 2: how well he delivered.
Speaker 1: And look, you know I was. I broke the story
Speaker 1: later that day on the Australian website about him putting
Speaker 1: the microphone down the last twenty six minutes of twenty
Speaker 1: three minutes of the the Tigers Cronella game because he's
Speaker 1: just disgusted with that that lad Sindbin And look, people,
Speaker 1: Joey's got his critics. I know, people sort of are
Speaker 1: critical of him because he wears his heart on his
Speaker 1: sleeve during Origin weeks ago here and well you do
Speaker 1: lock to bag people. I'm kidding both. But the thing
Speaker 1: that I love about it is, and I've known Joey
Speaker 1: since the nineties and he's just so authentic and everything
Speaker 1: he does, and he is a genuine lover of the game.
Speaker 1: He's a genuine lover of the Knights, New South Wales
Speaker 1: origin and Australia and international football. And I think people
Speaker 1: misread him sometimes. He just he's unfiltered and he is
Speaker 1: who he is. He's a tremendous guy, Joey, and he
Speaker 1: loves the game. He genuinely loves the game. And what
Speaker 1: you saw there on the Sunday Footy Show. What he
Speaker 1: saw at that game between Cronulla and the Tigers is
Speaker 1: Andrew John's and his love of the game.
Speaker 2: Sure, I thought it was particularly brave as well, because
Speaker 2: I can say there are nervous television executives chat on
Speaker 2: Dunlan and Design or Foxtel or whatever we're supposed to
Speaker 2: call it these days, who were about to go into
Speaker 2: crucial negotiations with the NRL for the next television deal,
Speaker 2: and there's a feeling that we should hashtag NRL talk
Speaker 2: the game up to favor their chances where we of
Speaker 2: retaining the rights. I don't know if there's been instructions
Speaker 2: these camps to, you know, to turn it down and
Speaker 2: speak the game up. But Joey certainly didn't get the email.
Speaker 1: No, that's right, and he just calls it as it is.
Speaker 1: So calls it as he is as well. Okay, my champ,
Speaker 1: thanks for asking. The North Sydney Bears are out of hibernation.
Speaker 1: So I've been critical of a Western Australia franchise. And
Speaker 1: then I had a long chat a few days ago
Speaker 1: Buzzed and my great mate James Bracy again, no, no, no, no, no,
Speaker 1: you have no, I haven't let me finish. Let me finish.
Speaker 1: I'm not still not being on a Perth team, but
Speaker 1: I am very very happy that the Bears are back.
Speaker 1: The other person I've been thinking about this week is
Speaker 1: the late great Mike Gibson. It was a massive North
Speaker 1: Sydney fan and was very much you know, it's an
Speaker 1: extension of his personality. They were shafted out of the
Speaker 1: big league. I do have a actually this morning I
Speaker 1: saw a guy running around in a Bears jumper shaft.
Speaker 1: They were broke, yeah, but they got shafted in the
Speaker 1: Northern Eagles partnership.
Speaker 2: Yeah they did. They broke they had when they went
Speaker 2: to the table to negotiate a merger. They had no chips.
Speaker 1: They you know, Oh no, but that's how they fell apart,
Speaker 1: that's how they.
Speaker 2: I feel good that you got my coaching two weeks ago.
Speaker 2: I was come to fruition. While you're on.
Speaker 1: Board, narcissist, it's not always about you say. I always
Speaker 1: had a soft spot for the Bears as a as
Speaker 1: a young fan, my favorite player was Greg Florimo. He
Speaker 1: never ever ever played a bad game.
Speaker 2: Float I saw him last night in the green room
Speaker 2: and he still looks fit enough to play center three quarter.
Speaker 1: What about Billy Moore?
Speaker 2: Billy Moore looks terrific as well. I'd tell you him
Speaker 2: my fate. One of my favorite players was and he
Speaker 2: was so ahead of his time because it was an
Speaker 2: athlete thirty years ago like today's Mark Graham.
Speaker 1: That's right, player, wasn't goodness?
Speaker 2: He was a good player.
Speaker 1: He's a monster too, wasn't he mad?
Speaker 2: He was like Sonny Bill Williams back then? That fit
Speaker 2: you know that pH Zeke.
Speaker 1: But like you and I chump of the week, who
Speaker 1: you got?
Speaker 2: I'm going off the footpath here with the EPL English
Speaker 2: Premier League bag. Yes, well there's a month to go
Speaker 2: in the season and there was absolutely no interest. Liverpool
Speaker 2: have been crowned the champions. The bottom three clubs, which Town,
Speaker 2: Leicester City and South hamps Hampton are relegated. There that
Speaker 2: far below the next West Ham. It's all over.
Speaker 1: So what do you what are you saying? What are
Speaker 1: you suggesting?
Speaker 2: Well, the NFL have finals and Super Bowl, the n
Speaker 2: b A, the n r L. Do you know the
Speaker 2: Olympics have sent me some finals And I know it's tradition,
Speaker 2: and I know I've offended rugby people, and I'm now
Speaker 2: going to offend the soccer type.
Speaker 1: Are We're just going to just ostracize every single sport
Speaker 1: outside of rugby league. Now I get dragged into it
Speaker 1: by association all.
Speaker 2: The league about the head high tackle.
Speaker 1: Wherebe people have.
Speaker 2: To change with the it's like origin rules that were
Speaker 2: made in nine and eighty.
Speaker 1: Because the EPL often goes down to the last weekend,
Speaker 1: doesn't a lot of times it's a race to the finish.
Speaker 1: What you that's that's we need the McIntire system applied
Speaker 1: to the epring having an opinion heavy but anyway, I
Speaker 1: just kept making it very clear that's Buzzer's opinion. I'm
Speaker 1: just only just getting back onside with the rugby union fans.
Speaker 1: I don't want to piss off the soccer fans, although
Speaker 1: I probably will. You know who my chump is? Who me?
Speaker 1: Why I'm giving myself an uppercut?
Speaker 2: So I should have done that with your son.
Speaker 1: Last week, while I was wrapping Ostra Piastre, I said
Speaker 1: that Jack Braban, Alan Jones and Mark Webber Australians who
Speaker 1: had previously won Formula one world titles. Mark Webber did
Speaker 1: not so Jack Brabon won a three times fifty nine,
Speaker 1: sixty and sixty six. Alan Jones, the race car driver,
Speaker 1: not the controversial broadcaster he won in nineteen eighty Webster
Speaker 1: you hack, you dog, You are my chump of the week.
Speaker 2: Early as bad as calling West End.
Speaker 1: Going to the theater on the East End London's yes
Speaker 1: you you.
Speaker 2: Anyway, Gibra. Okay, it's not very famous to the West End.
Speaker 1: No, not at all, not at all. Have you ever
Speaker 1: been to the Are you a theater guy? No, neither
Speaker 1: of I never. Right, Well, Buzz, you've got a really
Speaker 1: big breaking story in terms of the bunker. It's been
Speaker 1: the major issue in the game, not just last weekend,
Speaker 1: but over the last month has just been looney tunes
Speaker 1: in rugby league land in terms of the adjudicating, particularly
Speaker 1: the video ref what he got for me?
Speaker 2: Buzz yeah, wybe, I think it's the story or rugby
Speaker 2: league fans will be happy with. The NRL are going
Speaker 2: to take steps at the end of the season. Well,
Speaker 2: they're not going to put a bomb under the bunker.
Speaker 2: But what they are going to do, who is hire
Speaker 2: three or four full time specialists. They won't be current referees,
Speaker 2: they'll be bunker specialists to do nothing but adjudicate on
Speaker 2: games from heavily the studios, their high definition screens, slow
Speaker 2: mate the lot to try and improve what we've seen
Speaker 2: this year. Who will what sort of person will be
Speaker 2: in there. They'll be ex referees, people like Matt check
Speaker 2: and Ben Cummins were great referees. When they retired, they
Speaker 2: lost to the game. What will happen now is they'll
Speaker 2: encourage people like those who I just mentioned at the
Speaker 2: back end of their careers to take these jobs on.
Speaker 2: They'll get more training, they'll be bought up to speed
Speaker 2: with you know, how the technology works and all those
Speaker 2: sorts of things.
Speaker 1: More consistency, Yeah.
Speaker 2: There will be more consistency will be which is really
Speaker 2: really important and brings down the number of people operate.
Speaker 2: One of the problems I've had with the bunker and
Speaker 2: current referee's do it. You're going to have a guy
Speaker 2: who has a game on a Saturday, he has a shocker,
Speaker 2: he's confidence shattered, he doesn't sleep at night, and he's
Speaker 2: got to get into everly studios the next day and
Speaker 2: adjudicated on a game.
Speaker 1: Crazy.
Speaker 2: It really is.
Speaker 1: For a professional code like the NRL, which is constantly
Speaker 1: telling us how much money they've got, Like it just
Speaker 1: seems it seems very amateurish and buzz didn't they say
Speaker 1: the start of the year there was going to be
Speaker 1: a group of dedicated bunker officials to bring consistency the game.
Speaker 1: And whether it's happened or not, it's the outcome hasn't
Speaker 1: been there, has it? Because it's been hasn't been as
Speaker 1: messy as it has been in the last month.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And from what I'm told where he's referees don't
Speaker 2: particularly like working in the bunker. They do want to
Speaker 2: be out in the field, but at the back end
Speaker 2: of their careers when they are looking, you know, they've
Speaker 2: got to take on some sort of job. And there
Speaker 2: are a couple they are getting towards the back end
Speaker 2: who will be approached as part of this operation to
Speaker 2: take on the role on thing the NRL doing that.
Speaker 2: They've got to be proactive. They've got a major major,
Speaker 2: you know, loss of confidence and fans or stakeholders. And yeah,
Speaker 2: I like it.
Speaker 1: Works four day weeks, that's sort.
Speaker 2: Of it sounds like one of yours. Dare you it does.
Speaker 1: I do four days in one?
Speaker 2: Do you?
Speaker 1: But you know, you know, you know what but this
Speaker 1: is that you make a really good point, Buzz like
Speaker 1: blokes like Checking and and Cummings like that's knowledge and
Speaker 1: experience that you know that that's very hard to find
Speaker 1: in in officiating. Those guys have been involved in some
Speaker 1: of the biggest games, and everyone talking about Cummings and
Speaker 1: the six to go like that's that was. Referees make mistakes.
Speaker 1: But to have that sort that level of experience in
Speaker 1: the bunker and that consistency from week to week, that
Speaker 1: is exactly what the game is crying out for. But
Speaker 1: you cannot have the situation like we had at the
Speaker 1: weekend of where some players are staying on the field
Speaker 1: for knee other players in the head and not you
Speaker 1: know how bad that is terrible. Whereas yeah, and then
Speaker 1: Polo in the in the Tigers game was terrible.
Speaker 2: I said on radio, wouldn't it not me out poo?
Speaker 1: He wouldn't have I'd pay him to do it. Yeah
Speaker 1: would But you're right though, But that was that was
Speaker 1: a shocker, wasn't it made?
Speaker 2: It was a terrible incident that he'd not only need
Speaker 2: him with his right now you come back with you
Speaker 2: so left he stayed on the football field, not even Sinbin.
Speaker 2: I would have send him off. I guarantee you he'd
Speaker 2: gone before Jim Coleman's in the wild old days. He
Speaker 2: would have got six weeks. We got two.
Speaker 1: What do you what do you think of the way
Speaker 1: Abdo gone on the front foot and did the PR
Speaker 1: circuit on Monday?
Speaker 2: Oh I thought he did. Okay, you know, I won't
Speaker 2: wear the fact that he's saying it's not a crackdown, it's.
Speaker 1: A policy change. Well, something's changed.
Speaker 2: Well, there are one hundred and forty percent Simbins people
Speaker 2: on Reporter up seventy five percent. Of course it's a crackdown.
Speaker 2: They've over corrected themselves from a problem they had in
Speaker 2: one around when they missed a few. That's right, they've
Speaker 2: over corrected, and.
Speaker 1: As a consequence, we're now going into another magic round
Speaker 1: shrouded in uncertainty.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and I forget who said I think Joe said it.
Speaker 2: Working class people I mentioned on this show all the time,
Speaker 2: save for weeks and weeks and weeks for their flights, accommodation, food,
Speaker 2: ground entry, they get up there and they're watching Yeah
Speaker 2: thurday and on two.
Speaker 1: I agree.
Speaker 2: I think they'll drop off this week.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I think they will but then they open themselves
Speaker 1: up to being inconsistent again, like its look to be honest,
Speaker 1: they can't win in many respects, they can't, but there's
Speaker 1: just there has to be there's no way that they
Speaker 1: can have some of the incidents exactly crazy. But I
Speaker 1: can't believe like I would have sent current from the
Speaker 1: field from that in that Bulldog's Broncos game. I thought
Speaker 1: that was terrible that the shoulder charge on paying hears
Speaker 1: how he can get tending to be in pole a
Speaker 1: can get the same same punishment from a different game.
Speaker 1: Is like, that's that's a game that's at two polar spectrum.
Speaker 2: To blame the refs, they've got to back stop there.
Speaker 1: I hate to be a ref. Fast Well, this is
Speaker 1: what I reckon the game again. And I also don't
Speaker 1: blame what they also. And I was on s c
Speaker 1: N on on Saturday and we had Craig Bellamy and
Speaker 1: I asked him this question. I said, Belly, it must
Speaker 1: be extremely difficult for a player and a coach these days.
Speaker 1: The game's gotten immeasurably quicker in the last four or
Speaker 1: five years because of the the six to go rule.
Speaker 1: The players have never been quicker. They've never been stronger,
Speaker 1: they've never been more agile. And if you're trying to
Speaker 1: and they're all coming together so much quicker, it's so
Speaker 1: hard for him not to hit each other, you know
Speaker 1: what I mean. Like, it's just it's different to today's.
Speaker 2: It needs more common sense and I think this will
Speaker 2: go a long way to being achieved with full time
Speaker 2: specialists in there.
Speaker 1: Remember you heard it here first. Absolutely, unless, of course
Speaker 1: it doesn't happen. Okay, let's get to the news of
Speaker 1: the week, and there's a bit going on. Let's get
Speaker 1: to the Western Bears, who we broke, sorry buzz broke
Speaker 1: on this program last week. We had agreed in principle
Speaker 1: to be admitted into the NRL from twenty twenty seven.
Speaker 1: The thing that surprised everybody is that the NRL have
Speaker 1: just gone straight after out of work, well not out
Speaker 1: of work. Former NRL coach Brader, he's at Leeds, but
Speaker 1: he's not obviously in the NRL.
Speaker 2: What Wayne, Bam, thank you, ma'am, is just appointed as
Speaker 2: head coach.
Speaker 1: There was a strange it's strange to have you mearmarked
Speaker 1: already as the coach.
Speaker 2: Andrew, I ask you, where is the due diligence, Who
Speaker 2: made the appointment? Who decided Brad arthuris to coach this franchise?
Speaker 2: Did they ring Craig Bellamy? Did they make it call
Speaker 2: to Wayne Bennett? Did they check out Trent Robinson who
Speaker 2: people say, you know who knows they're in Cleary, I
Speaker 2: need a change? Did they No?
Speaker 1: I don't think they did.
Speaker 2: They just appointed Brad Arthur, who's never won a comport power.
Speaker 2: And I'm not begging Brad Arthur one little bit. I
Speaker 2: just want to know if they checked what else was
Speaker 2: around for other options? Did the Bears get to say
Speaker 2: the Bears had no idea? Absolutely no idea.
Speaker 1: It seems like nobody had any idea.
Speaker 2: Who made the appointment? Well, then of Orlandis was Andrew Abdall?
Speaker 2: Was it the commission?
Speaker 1: I don't know, Buss, but such.
Speaker 2: A significant appointment. You need a magnet for players, You
Speaker 2: need top echelon coaching, you do.
Speaker 1: I find it bizarre that they've they've identified the coach
Speaker 1: before they went and got the board, the CEO, the
Speaker 1: recruitment manager. I would have thought they were just as
Speaker 1: important before you worked out who your coach was. Do
Speaker 1: you reckon how many? How many? How many players. Is
Speaker 1: Brad Arthur going to drag there?
Speaker 2: I don't know. He might have got Dylan Brown, Sorry,
Speaker 2: but I thought he might have got Dylan Brown, but
Speaker 2: he's gone to Newcast.
Speaker 1: Do you remember how hard it was for Bennett, the
Speaker 1: most successful coach ner to build that Dolphins squad. So
Speaker 1: what's Brad Arthur going to do?
Speaker 2: But Wayne being the face of that club was a
Speaker 2: significant reason behind their success, an amazing success in being
Speaker 2: so competitive so soon, And I think I just wanted
Speaker 2: to know why other people weren't even considered.
Speaker 1: It's not too much, I agree. I agree, it's going
Speaker 1: to be interesting how it all like? Who they who
Speaker 1: they get? I know that I've read reports that they've
Speaker 1: identified paying Hass to go over there. I can't see
Speaker 1: him leaving Brisbane. It depends on the money obviously.
Speaker 2: But paying halfs will be the first one point five
Speaker 2: million dollar front row. Ever, the way he's going it
Speaker 2: was half back money. A prop like just playing the
Speaker 2: game on form this year so normally it's Cleary or
Speaker 2: pin up, but on form this year, paying Hass is
Speaker 2: the number one play in rugby.
Speaker 1: When was the last time a prop on the dam,
Speaker 1: if at all?
Speaker 2: Never I can't recall one.
Speaker 1: I can't even remember a Ford. Gavin Miller won it once,
Speaker 1: didn't you?
Speaker 2: Gavin Miller won a couple. Gavin Miller won a couple.
Speaker 1: Very good.
Speaker 2: Okay, what's next?
Speaker 1: Webby Dragon's coach Shane Fldagan has dropped half back Lachland
Speaker 1: Ilias for the match against the West Tigers. The young
Speaker 1: gun like a King Tonga. Hopefully I haven't pronound that nearly.
Speaker 1: He's coming in in his place. There's a lot of
Speaker 1: raps on that kid. I know the Knights are after
Speaker 1: him and they've just extended him at the at the Dragons.
Speaker 1: What do you think buzz of Ilias getting the chop
Speaker 1: for the Anzac Day massacre.
Speaker 2: Yeah? Well, Shane Flanagan had that bad press conference after
Speaker 2: about round three or four and he basically dumped on
Speaker 2: Locky Elias said, didn't he? So he's given him another
Speaker 2: three to four weeks. Even his manager Braith and Nash
Speaker 2: to concede on an R three sixty a few weeks
Speaker 2: back that look he was playing for his spote and look,
Speaker 2: I can understand the change had to be made around
Speaker 2: the Haars because they're seasons slipping away on them. The
Speaker 2: only thing I don't like is that Saint George put
Speaker 2: seventeen players onto the park on Anzac Day, and I
Speaker 2: reckon fourteen or fifteen of them were very, very ordinary
Speaker 2: and Locke had a lot of mates and to pick
Speaker 2: out the half is it tough?
Speaker 1: Yeah?
Speaker 2: It is. But I can also understand it because they
Speaker 2: go nowhere with him playing there.
Speaker 1: Before hang on, before this game, they'd gone one back
Speaker 1: to back games. I thought, I think it's unfair. I
Speaker 1: thought it was a little bit earlier. I think the
Speaker 1: drama for Flanno Shane Flanagan is that his son's in
Speaker 1: the team and also in the halves are not going great.
Speaker 1: I think Kyle's playing okay, but you know, I'm a
Speaker 1: Dragons fan. Buzz and my phone lit up with text
Speaker 1: messages about Kyle Flanagan, not Lachlan Ilius on his suggesting
Speaker 1: well not just suggesting that he wasn't playing particularly well.
Speaker 1: And this is going to be the drama for Shane
Speaker 1: Flanigan whilever he's coaching his son in that team. Is
Speaker 1: that like there's going to be claims of favoritism. I'm
Speaker 1: not saying that's the case. I'm not saying that's the case,
Speaker 1: but you know, Kyle's Kyle's a solid player, but he's
Speaker 1: not He's not brilliant.
Speaker 2: I've said before, unless you're Johnny Lang and Martin Lang
Speaker 2: and Ivan Cleary and Nathan Cleary. My goodness, it's hard
Speaker 2: to coach your Sanbozo had a manly with Scott and
Speaker 2: Bread and claims of nepotism picking them over the top
Speaker 2: more players who probably deserve the jersey a bit more. Look,
Speaker 2: I don't want to go into the Flannagan situation. I
Speaker 2: think Kyle's defense has kept him in the side more
Speaker 2: than Lockie, who's been found out on the edge a
Speaker 2: couple of times. Yeah, but I understand what you're talking about.
Speaker 2: There's certainly perception of you know, why.
Speaker 1: Don't you want to talk about it because you were
Speaker 1: close to Plannet.
Speaker 2: No, No, I'm confirming there is a perception there because
Speaker 2: I think Kyle does not deserve to be dropped at
Speaker 2: this stage. However, if things do not pick up, oh
Speaker 2: here will be under massive pressure to stay in the side.
Speaker 2: They do not have a lot of better options.
Speaker 1: So no, that's it, that's it. That's it. But as
Speaker 1: I said, that's the that's the problem that it's going
Speaker 1: to be at that club while ever you have a
Speaker 1: father coaching his son. It's hard to watch the other.
Speaker 2: Night O dreadful antic day two years in a row.
Speaker 1: Sad. We brought it up, all right? Are we going
Speaker 1: to talk very briefly. We don't want to get too
Speaker 1: much into the Lachland Galvin situation, but can I just
Speaker 1: say this, after what happened at Leichhart on Sunday, there's
Speaker 1: only one way that he could silence the booze, and
Speaker 1: that was to play the house down, which he did.
Speaker 1: And I hope he hasn't signed with Paramatta because if
Speaker 1: he keeps playing like that, he'll just keep adding noughts
Speaker 1: to the end of his next deal. God, I hope
Speaker 1: it could work. It Is there any way, Buzz that
Speaker 1: they could just work it out that he could stay.
Speaker 2: He didn't look like a blake sewing the footy club dinner.
Speaker 2: He didn't look like a blake.
Speaker 1: I look like a blake. Unhappy with the cold.
Speaker 2: I'd abandon all legal proceedings right now. They're filling the
Speaker 2: pockets of guys. He charred three four thousand dollars an hour.
Speaker 2: You know I'm talking Barrisses. SC's called the jam off.
Speaker 2: He was terrific. The other day he had a smile
Speaker 2: back on his face, set up the first tribe, did
Speaker 2: high fives, jumped on players are just beautiful and it's
Speaker 2: a credit to the kid that he withstood all this pressure,
Speaker 2: tumultuous times in Tiger Town and good on him.
Speaker 1: Good on you, Lachlan final our final. Sorry we're keeping
Speaker 1: you from something.
Speaker 2: No, no, no, I'd just like to keep you rolling on.
Speaker 1: I'm the host, unless you want to go with.
Speaker 2: The most Andrew WebStar.
Speaker 1: Now, speaking of the More City Bears, Let's kiss, former
Speaker 1: Bears winger is the next Onlies coach.
Speaker 2: I'm a little bit ignorant, as many listeners would be
Speaker 2: aware on my rugby union topics, I don't know a
Speaker 2: lot about les Let's kiss. Remember him as a good
Speaker 2: fellow when he played as a winger on the old
Speaker 2: concrete pit at bar Bar Park, No Sydney Oval, and he.
Speaker 1: Was a less It wasn't so much as speed. So
Speaker 1: he's a good defensive winger. I remember.
Speaker 2: It's funny wingers and coaches. Wayne Bennett, you know, Johnny
Speaker 2: King was a great Johnny King was a coach Western Division.
Speaker 1: There you go.
Speaker 2: You know Wayne played for Australia. Now Les Kiss he.
Speaker 1: Go, So I don't know much about him, so it's
Speaker 1: sort of like being speculated for a while. There was
Speaker 1: others in the mix, including Michael Checker, but but I
Speaker 1: mean Les Kiss. He's the coach of the Queensland Reds.
Speaker 1: He's been the front runner for the job for some time,
Speaker 1: to take over from Joe Schmid, who will vacate the
Speaker 1: job at the end of the year. But it's it's
Speaker 1: an interesting it's an interesting one in the sense that
Speaker 1: so he had a rugby league career obviously, then tried
Speaker 1: he's I think he was at the Northern Eagles as
Speaker 1: an assistant coach and then and then went and found
Speaker 1: his way in rugby union all around the world, including
Speaker 1: the Reds this year, and now he's going to coach
Speaker 1: the Wallabies in the lead up to the twenty seven
Speaker 1: World Cup. It's a good appointment. It's a good story.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'd love to learn a bit more about him,
Speaker 2: and I'm sure there'll be some good media and television
Speaker 2: interviews and docos and all that.
Speaker 1: Which you get him in.
Speaker 2: He well, why don't we put in a request?
Speaker 1: I think what are you well? I think you should
Speaker 1: your Rugby's friend.
Speaker 2: No, I'm not, but it's a huge job. It's a
Speaker 2: huge job because rugby. Although the money is coming in,
Speaker 2: I've still got such a long way to go and
Speaker 2: we need a healthy, strong Wallaby outfit well well.
Speaker 1: When the Wallabies are going well, Australian rugby is going well.
Speaker 1: So yes, let's get it going.
Speaker 2: That's a big skirt. When the Wallabies are going well,
Speaker 2: Australian rugby, thanks for that. And when they're going bad,
Speaker 2: they're going back.
Speaker 1: But you need you need your national team going well.
Speaker 1: Oh right, that's very very important to the Australian rugby brand.
Speaker 2: Sorry for picking up where you needed to be.
Speaker 1: I'm going to tell you that. Let's get to our
Speaker 1: very popular section war stories, where Buzz basically talks about
Speaker 1: his favorite subject himself. You really tell us there. You
Speaker 1: gave us a little taste a little more.
Speaker 2: Week when you're talking about Greek I've got some happy
Speaker 2: war stories that I am going to tell, but you
Speaker 2: seem to like the ones where I'm involved in combat
Speaker 2: and it's not a particularly memorable day of my career.
Speaker 2: I used to get on okay with g I, but
Speaker 2: Melbourne Storm when they broke the salary cap. I took
Speaker 2: a picture a boat in his car park, which turned
Speaker 2: out was a gifted to him, and we plastered all
Speaker 2: over the back page of the Telegraph under my byline,
Speaker 2: and he gave me life basically, and that was it.
Speaker 2: You know, we're doing my job, you know, exposing the
Speaker 2: roots along with you. The Harvey Norman bloody cards and
Speaker 2: two contracts.
Speaker 1: It was a red Manila folder. Yes, yes, the red
Speaker 1: was never supposed to be anywhere on site because it
Speaker 1: had the secret contracts. But no, no, no, no no. The
Speaker 1: storm my heart done by a power.
Speaker 2: Anyway, I kept my ten meters with him at all
Speaker 2: times after that, and you know, I didn't want to
Speaker 2: make a scene. But anyway, he was getting married on
Speaker 2: the Sunshine Coast about six or seven years later, and
Speaker 2: it was this big story g I settling down and
Speaker 2: so I ranked Shane Richardson, who was at Theuse, and
Speaker 2: I said, mate, can you check with g I Funk
Speaker 2: cover his wedding And he said yeah, mate, no problems.
Speaker 2: Rich rings me back. He said yeah, mate, sweet gave
Speaker 2: me the name of the resort. So on a Sunday morning,
Speaker 2: I flew to Sunshine Coast, hired a car picked up.
Speaker 2: A photographer turned up at the wedding at the resort,
Speaker 2: mingled with guests, got the camera ready. Ge I seized
Speaker 2: me and gives me the desk there and tells me
Speaker 2: I'm not welcome. I said, rich, I told me you
Speaker 2: cleared it. He said, you aren't not welcome. Go and
Speaker 2: I said, mate, I've come all the way from Sydney.
Speaker 2: He said go, And this was no time to negotiate.
Speaker 1: So can I have some of the cake?
Speaker 2: So I then made an executive decisions that I'd flown
Speaker 2: all this way. You know, a thousand airpis a bit
Speaker 2: of accommodation. A high car filled the tank up was
Speaker 2: an expensive assignment. I thought, I cannot go back to
Speaker 2: Sydney empty handed. Grabbed the photographer, found some bushes and
Speaker 2: hid behind the bushes. It didn't bush trick with telescopic lenses,
Speaker 2: and we got the money photo. We got a picture
Speaker 2: of g I and his lovely wife.
Speaker 1: From from the bushes.
Speaker 2: From the bushes.
Speaker 1: That's that's great. That's old school pat old school tabloid.
Speaker 2: Anyway, it gets worse. I said to him, look, we
Speaker 2: should try and find out where the official photo is
Speaker 2: and you know, get that. So next thing I know,
Speaker 2: GI and his bride were sitting out the back of
Speaker 2: a golf cart, which was taking them to the beach
Speaker 2: to get their official podos, and they see us behind
Speaker 2: the bushes. I'll never forget his lovely wife going like
Speaker 2: this to me, giving me the.
Speaker 1: Bird, flipping the finger. Oh she what you do?
Speaker 2: I said, Lord, I've had enough of this assignment. Let's go,
Speaker 2: We've got anyway. I punched out a colorful three hundred
Speaker 2: four hundred words and yeah, page one exclusive. G I
Speaker 2: is wedding bliss and whatever these sort of new idea journalists.
Speaker 1: My god, and how are you with him? Now?
Speaker 2: It's funny, as I said, I kept my ten meters
Speaker 2: wherever you know we were. There was a chance we're
Speaker 2: going to bump, and then we're on a plane to
Speaker 2: Las Vegas. Last year, he was sitting in the ray
Speaker 2: behind me. This is awkward, but look I got up
Speaker 2: to put my bag in the overhead locker and g
Speaker 2: I said, gumbarz and MI your cans, and so nothing
Speaker 2: had ever happened.
Speaker 1: He's a good man, g. He's evolved one of.
Speaker 2: The greatest players I've ever seen, Laser bo and I
Speaker 2: can't I can't vouch him as a person because I
Speaker 2: really don't know him.
Speaker 1: I haven't look I remember doing a piece on him
Speaker 1: for Inside Sport when he was a kid. He's and
Speaker 1: he was very quiet. He actually grew up in a
Speaker 1: town called Maxwell, which is just south of where I
Speaker 1: grew up.
Speaker 2: Where the boat is called your Ranga. I think the
Speaker 2: boats retied to Maxwell.
Speaker 1: Well he is. He's as I said, he grew up
Speaker 1: near where.
Speaker 2: I grew I thought it was Queensland.
Speaker 1: Very funny, but he's a very Maxwell's a very very
Speaker 1: strong apart from the home of the late Philip Hughes,
Speaker 1: but the rugby league wise was always a strong nursery.
Speaker 1: The Donovan brothers used to play for for Maxwell. A
Speaker 1: lot of a lot of really strong indigenous players used
Speaker 1: to come out of that area. So you know, if
Speaker 1: people forget from a young age he went away to
Speaker 1: Melbourne and if you've been anywhere else it would have
Speaker 1: been it would have been tough out if he wasn't
Speaker 1: under Craig Army sort of wing. But he he's really
Speaker 1: He's had his ups and downs obviously with with various issues,
Speaker 1: but you know, like a lot of these players buzz,
Speaker 1: they eventually grow and you know what I love, I love,
Speaker 1: I love you know. I look at Carne and Mitchell Peace, Wow,
Speaker 1: both off the Grog, both absolute role models. You know
Speaker 1: they were.
Speaker 2: Both Toddy Carney Las Vegas had the best chat to him, right,
Speaker 2: best chat to him, and I've written about all his scandals.
Speaker 2: He was such an impressive dude over there.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, it's amazing how these guys.
Speaker 2: Todd on the loose in Vegas ten years ago would
Speaker 2: have been a friggin night meat. I want to talk
Speaker 2: about Maxwell. Not important, but they've built that bloody freeway
Speaker 2: around it now and I love that drive to Queensland.
Speaker 2: But I used to love winding through Maxwell.
Speaker 1: I didn't, didn't you wind because it's like.
Speaker 2: You know, the big survey there there is not a
Speaker 2: better ham and cheese toasty in the country.
Speaker 1: Have you've been there around holiday time? You can't. You
Speaker 1: could take you an hour to get through there, just
Speaker 1: like it was an.
Speaker 2: Hour to get to get a picturesque.
Speaker 1: Well, sorry, sorry for having family and your younger and
Speaker 1: having and wanting to get there a bit quicker than
Speaker 1: well you have your little little.
Speaker 2: Your I'm going to tell a happy war story next time.
Speaker 1: Well, did you want to walls through for me? When
Speaker 1: next week?
Speaker 2: Yes, unless you want one? Now have we got one?
Speaker 2: How are we going?
Speaker 1: Let's do it next week?
Speaker 2: Got your turn?
Speaker 1: My turn's next week?
Speaker 2: Right?
Speaker 1: Okay, let's think of all the very few people I've
Speaker 1: fallen out within this job two hours. Feel as forecast
Speaker 1: buzz when you.
Speaker 2: Go first, because I haven't thought of one. You're better.
Speaker 1: Good nights of professional preparation. Look, I'm not going to
Speaker 1: tip a I'm not going to tip a multi this week.
Speaker 1: I'm not why because I don't want to, because that's.
Speaker 2: A great fork.
Speaker 1: I'm off the park.
Speaker 2: What are you going to do?
Speaker 1: This is what I'm going to This is what I'm
Speaker 1: going to tip. This is going to tip. If you're
Speaker 1: going to magic round, there is only one place you
Speaker 1: have to b and that is the car park at
Speaker 1: the Caxton Hotel on a Saturday afternoon. That is where
Speaker 1: you will see, you will be touched in a deep
Speaker 1: and profound way because I remember being there last year
Speaker 1: and it is an experience in itself. Before you get
Speaker 1: to the foot it, make sure you go to the
Speaker 1: Caxton Hotel car park and to soak up the atmosphere
Speaker 1: or the four x either all my forecast.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I love magic ground and I do what I'm
Speaker 2: going to forecast. We're going to see eight games a
Speaker 2: great forty that the NRL have woken up to themselves.
Speaker 2: They're going to back off. I think the players will
Speaker 2: get the message too, and we're going to be celebrating
Speaker 2: a great weekend at forty where me and I'll be there.
Speaker 2: I'm staying on the beautiful Gold Court Coast beach walking
Speaker 2: and I swim, then drive up and consume some beautiful
Speaker 2: rugby league.
Speaker 1: Thank you for painting that picture.
Speaker 2: Well, see, that's what podcasts are about.
Speaker 1: Your voice at me.
Speaker 2: People like color. They to go behind the scenes.
Speaker 1: Of what you getting out of the water. Well, it's
Speaker 1: getting close to your fiftieth Yeah, that's not yet we're
Speaker 1: getting I'm feeling icebergs. Let's not tell everyone where my
Speaker 1: fiftieth birthday party is, all right, we don't want dribblers
Speaker 1: coming in off the street.
Speaker 2: Bring a cake in next week.
Speaker 1: Very good? I like chocolate five O.
Speaker 2: They great, Webb, very good?
Speaker 1: Right, shut up?
Speaker 2: Where's the code?
Speaker 1: Off listen? Hold on, let me get to organized here.
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Speaker 1: us on YouTube at Off the Record Podcast. And that's it, buzz,
Speaker 1: Thank you for another great week.
Speaker 2: Been outstanding, webbe outstanding.
Speaker 1: And we've got a podcast with a very special guest,
Speaker 1: Yes Matthew John's Wow that comes out in a couple
Speaker 1: of days. Stay tuned. Thanks guys,