The Scoop: Controversial Broncos interview leaves listeners stunned
There were raised eyebrows when Bronco Corey Oates was quizzed about the, ahem, “appendages” on the squad and whose was biggest. Who did he reveal? WE’VE GOT THE SCOOP
Entertainment
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It was the radio segment some thought took Brisbane’s airwaves to a new low – but one listener didn’t seem to mind one bit.
There were raised eyebrows around town last week, wondering if KIISS 97.3 was trying to take a leaf out of the Kyle Sandilands school of radio, when Broncos player Corey Oates was quizzed about the, ahem, “appendages” on the squad and whose was biggest.
Oates of course expressed some reluctance before nominating his teammate Jordan Riki, 24. While you could never speculate on female body parts on air in this day and age, Riki was thrilled with the mention when Scoop sought his reaction to the strange segment.
“I’m truly thankful for big Oatsy, I owe him a few beers,” Riki said.
“It helps me out maybe finding a wife.”
During the interview, Oates attempted to maintain decorum by pointing out that “not many players are walking around with nothing on, to be fair”, highlighting his discomfort with the invasive line of questioning.
This wasn’t the only off-colour incident from the KIIS 97.3 team this week.
Breakfast host Kip Wightman was involved in another dubious act – sniffing his colleagues’ used bras on air, raising some questions about the direction of the morning show.
NEW $5M ‘SUPERCLUB’
The Fortitude Valley has welcomed a new $5 million superclub, Eclipse, which promises to revolutionise the local night-life scene with its high-end amenities and design geared towards attracting international artists.
Spearheaded by Luna Group director Trent Redman, Eclipse, a converted a 900 square metre former office space, stands out in Brisbane for its innovative design elements, including two-meter LED spheres and a custom waterfall bar.
Mr Redman, who also manages Kenjin Afterdark and Su Casa, said the project was a significant financial commitment.
“We’ve blown the budget over $5 million to create something truly unique,” he said.
“The fit-out includes two-meter LED spheres costing nearly half a million.”
His confidence in the project was so high that he even invested his own funds, including proceeds from a recently sold property.
“I sold a property not long ago, and I’ve pretty much put all that into this build, So that’s how confident I was,” he said.
Eclipse is not just about aesthetics; it’s a strategic move to fill a void in Brisbane’s night-life. “The costs of international artists are so high that you need a large venue to make a return on it. There aren’t many venues in Brisbane that can do that at the caliber we’ve built,” Mr Redman explained.
The transformation from mundane office to a multimillion-dollar entertainment hub was a laborious process that started about 14 months ago with complete demolition and renovation.
With Eclipse now open, it has quickly caught the attention of the industry, with many artists and their managers keen to perform at the venue.
“It’s gone from us trying to get artists to come in, to artists coming to us. Management is reaching out, purely because people are doing their due diligence on what’s new and upcoming,” Mr Redman said.
TYLER HUBBARD ROCKS BRONCOS CAP
The Brisbane Broncos may have unearthed a new celebrity fan in American country music superstar Tyler Hubbard.
Better known to mainstream music fans from his days in Florida Georgia Line, which hit commercial radio success with songs like Cruise and Meant to Be, Hubbard was a guest of the Broncos while he was in Queensland for the CMC Rocks festival last month.
Club officials gave Hubbard a Broncos trucker cap and judging from the recent posts to his 837,000 Instagram followers, it seems like he has hardly taken it off.
His camp even contacted the Broncos asking for permission to wear the cap in a forthcoming music video from his new album ‘Strong’, which launched this week.
The hat has since sold out and the Broncos have had to order fresh stock.
Hubbard said he had been won over by the Broncos.
“My favourite souvenir from the (Australian) trip is the Brisbane Broncos hat,” he said.
“Getting to experience my first rugby league game was amazing and meeting the team after the game made me even a bigger fan.
“Great guys. Great community. And great hat.”
TIKTOK STARS DESCEND ON PARLIAMENT
A handful of Queensland’s hottest TikTok stars including Brisbane’s baking ‘it-girl’ Brooke Saward of Brooki Bakehouse descended on Queensland parliament this week in what was the social media giant’s first government-engagement event in the state.
Saward alongside Sunshine Coast chef Andy Hearnden were among the small crowd there to rub shoulders with the state’s politicians and spruik a new report commissioned by TikTok into its benefits (13,000 jobs and $1.1 billion in GDP for the national economy in 2023 according to the research).
More young staffers armed with burner phones were spotted than politicians, noting Queensland has a ban on TikTok being uploaded onto government devices.
But even politicians can’t resist the allure of a hot gift bag, with TikTok handing out a pack containing Andy Hearnden’s cookbook and a Brooki cookie among other wares.
One frontbencher was heard saying to another “I heard that cookbook is amazing” as they passed each other in the hall to grab one.
AMY SHARK REVEALS UNUSUAL PHOBIA
Queensland singer and Australian Idol judge, Amy Shark, has opened up her unique struggle with genuphobia — the fear of knees touching.
During a candid revelation on Thursday night’s episode, Shark shared the bizarre details of her phobia with her fans.
When prodded about her fears, the Gold Coast native swiftly declared, “My knees touching in bed,” followed by visible discomfort and gagging noises at the mere thought of her knees coming into contact.
“I have to have a pillow in between, or someone — I can’t let my knees touch; it makes me feel sick to my stomach,” Shark explained.
Shark’s admission highlights an often-overlooked phobia known as genuphobia – the fear of one’s knees or someone else’s knees touching, or the act of kneeling.
While rare, this phobia can cause significant discomfort for those affected.
SZA BANS ALL MEDIA
US singer SZA has commenced her much-anticipated Australian tour with a striking move — banning all media from her shows across the country, beginning with a notable start in Brisbane.
Over the weekend, the Brisbane Entertainment Centre played host to the first two shows of the Grammy Award-winning artist’s tour, where she captivated around 25,000 fans with popular tracks like ‘Good Days’ and ‘Snooze’.
However, absent from the audience were local journalists and photographers, typically stationed at such high-profile events to capture the spectacle and spirit.
This absence followed a blanket ban imposed by SZA’s team, which has affected all scheduled Australian stops including Sydney and Melbourne.
Live Nation, the event’s promoters, have confirmed that they received no official explanation from SZA’s team as to why media personnel were turned away from the event.
The decision to exclude the press comes as a surprise, particularly given the generally media-friendly approach taken by most international acts when touring Down Under.
NEW ZEALAND MEDIA FAILS
New Zealand government media might want to take a public relations lesson from some of its international counterparts, going by correspondence sent to Queensland this week.
Police in New Zealand were asked to confirm the name of a man who died in a car accident, after stating this was the usual protocol when family were notified and agreed to a name release.
A straightforward process one would have thought.
However, this was not any normal case.
The man who died had lived in Queensland and killed his girlfriend Justine Jones before dumping her body in a bin in 2010.
Richard Coburn only spent five years in jail of his manslaughter sentence before he was deported back to New Zealand.
Justine’s family were not notified when Coburn died in the car crash at the end of March this year.
They were contacted by people in New Zealand and this publication sought to help confirm the information formally for them, to help give them some sort of level of closure.
But a media response from New Zealand took the Scoop aback when government media there instructed this newspaper police had provided Coburn’s devastated family – yes the killer’s family – information about how to apply for a non-publication order from the coroner to keep his identity hidden.
While the general public may have a right to a level of privacy, Coburn does not.
BILLY WALTERS SCORES FAMILY TRY
Broncos player Billy Walters and his wife Rachel have given fans yet another reason to cheer, as they announce they’re expanding their team off the field with a second child due in 2024. The Walters, who welcomed their first child, son Hugo in September 2021, shared a heartwarming Instagram post featuring Rachel’s baby bump, playfully captioned “Growing our football team.”
The adorable snapshot showcased the family in high spirits, with both dad and son sporting Broncos jerseys.
The couple love story, which began blossoming back in 2016, reached a picturesque milestone last October when the couple exchanged vows at the stunning Sofitel Resort and Spa on Fiji’s Denarau Island.
The wedding was a star-studded affair, attended by Broncos stars such as Adam Reynolds, Reece Walsh, Patrick Carrigan, Corey Oates, alongside Storm’s Christian Welch and the Broncos coach and proud father, Kevin Walters.
MIA PRADELLA SELLS 18TH BIRTHDAY GIFT
Third generation Queensland property developer Mia Pradella has put her luxurious two-storey inner-city penthouse up for sale – with jaw-dropping city skyline views only a richlist family could command.
The 273sq m skyhome was the most expensive apartment in the Tempo building in West End when her family built it in 2007, having been listed for sale in December 2008 at $1.335m. Property records show David Pradella and Pradella Projects bought the penthouse for $1.167m almost 15 years ago, before Mia Pradella was added to the title in June 2017 at a price of $990,000.
To date, no other apartment in the building has surpassed the $1.335m price, with the Pradella Property director set to be the first to break through amid massive demand for luxury units in the inner city.
The expansive property is packed with coveted luxuries for today’s market including four bedrooms, a media room, a study, two bathrooms plus powder room, 99sq m of outdoor living space, two car spaces and a storage cage.
Ms Pradella has had it freshly painted with high end finishes including American Oak timber floors, 2.8m high ceilings, large sliding glass doors with commanding views over West End and the city skyline, a chefs kitchen with stone island breakfast bench, ducted airconditioning throughout, and an architectural staircase.
Ms Pradella has had more of a headstart than most in the real estate world, given her Italian-born grandfather Cesare started operating in the industry in 1959, with his sons David, Silvio and Kim going on to expand into billions of dollars worth of residential, commercial and industrial projects in South East Queensland.
The Pradellas built Tempo and Flow as landmark developments for the West End–Southbank area, putting in resort-style amenities such as a heated pool, gym, theatre room, BBQ areas and security for residents.
The Tempo building is within the highly sought after Brisbane State High School catchment, but also close to other schools like St Laurence’s, Somerville House, Brisbane Grammar, Girls Grammar, and Churchie Grammar, major hospitals, 10 minutes from QUT Gardens Point campus and 16 minutes from UQ via the Green Bridge.
Mr Pradella’s sizzling skyhome has been listed to go to auction on Thursday May 9 at 11am by real estate agents Luke O’Kelly and Jim Ampelas of Ray White West End.
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