Why should the Redcliffe Dolphins be the NRL’s 17th team?
Why should the Redcliffe Dolphins be the NRL’s 17th team? Here is an A to Z guide as to why the region should be attractive to both the NRL and new recruits.
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Why should the Redcliffe Dolphins be the NRL’s 17th team?
Here is an A to Z guide as to why the region should be so attractive to the NRL and new recruits.
The list highlights the area as rich rugby league history, its local juniors on the rise, and of course to the many natural and culinary delights of the area.
A. Two words. Arthur Beetson. A is for big Artie whose career took off in 1964 when he moved from Roma to play with the Redcliffe Dolphins. He was the club’s player of the year during 1965, the same year the rugby league immortal helped the Dolphins to the premiership. A can only be for our Artie.
B. Where else in the greater Brisbane region can you watch the sunset over the water other than the Belvedere Hotel. What Redcliffe recruit would not like to have a relaxing meal at the Woody Point-based Hotel. B is also for a couple of old Dolphin’s bookends – props from the 1970s John Barber and Steve Bullow. You also can’t get any more B than Bevan Bleakley and Steve Bleakley, club legends, or the Boxalls.
C. The Cherry clan. C is for the Cherry brothers and Daly Cherry-Evans, a Redcliffe SHS past student. Like Beetson, Redcliffe is a club which gave country kids a start in the big league and so it was the case when the Cherry boys, one after the other, followed each other from Beetson’s old town of Roma to Redcliffe. Decades later, Daly Cherry-Evans became an offspring in the family.
D. D is for Dolphin Oval (now known as Moreton Daily Stadium). What a wonderful training facility and great viewing ground for spectators who, if the Dolphins won the 17th team licence bid, would have a birds eye view of NRL pre-season matches. It is also for a premiership winner, Danny Burke. D is also for Trevor Day.
E.E is for the esplanade walk along the front of Suttons Beach. What new recruit to Redcliffe would not enjoy that walk with his family?
F. F is for fishing off the piers of Bramble Bay or along the beach front at Redcliffe. F is also for a couple of champions old second rowers, Forrester Grayson (1970s) and Grant Flugge (2000s).
G. G is for Brian Gardner, a former beach sprint champion of the 1970s who lit up the BRL with his dashing sideline runs playing for Redcliffe and Queensland. It is also for former premiership winning coach Anthony Griffin who is held in high regard.
H. Is for the Scarborough Harbour. On a day off, Redcliffe players would have Moreton Bay as their playground.
I. I is for Ian “Bunny’’ Pearce. What a man, what a legend. Bunny died prematurely after a shocking road accident, but he is forever more remembered around the hallways of the Redcliffe Leagues’ club and the streets of Redcliffe as a gentleman and a legend. He was also a champion goal kicking fullback for Queensland and Redcliffe. Bunny only went to one place – heaven – and from there he would take great pride in seeing Redcliffe enter the NRL.
J. J is for the wonderful junior base that would form a foundation of the club’s future, if it won the NRL licence. Juniors like Matthew Bennett, Jaedon Wellington, Sebastyan Jack, Kallum Weatherall – Stacey, Karl Oloapu, Michael Waqa, William Sologinkin, Thomas Lunney, Mason Kira, Drew Timms, Tuhii Ratana-Leef and Jonathan Maller could feature. J is also for Bob Jones, a past player and current chairman, and stats guru Jon Sloan.
K. K is for the Kangaroos the club has produced, which emphasised how Redcliffe can be used by players as a launching pad to representative honours. Someone like Wally Fullerton-Smith is a great example, a bloke who came from Roma and over a five-year period worked his way into Origin and Test football.
L. L is for a couple of country legends, Troy “Cowboy” Lindsay and Peter Leis, another example how Redcliffe can give kids from the Samford and Caboolture regions a chance in the big league.
M. M is for Morgan’s Seafood Restaurant at Scarborough. You can almost smell the seafood cooking from Dolphin Oval. When Redcliffe do their big sell to prospective NRL players, lunch at Morgan’s will be a must. M is also for former premiership champion Mick Roberts and a doyen of the club, former secretary Don McLennan, and former champion coach Barry Muir.
N. N is for Alan Nunan, a fine Redcliffe forward of the 1970s.
O. O is for the Obst boys, dad Tony and son Sam who gave the club such great service. O is also for Ross O’Reilly who coached Redcliffe to a hoodoo ending premiership in 1994. O is also for Old Boys like Neil Okamura who, along with his mates, helped pay for the first fence around Dolphin Oval, and Bill McLeod who helped bankroll the club early on. It is that type of spirit Redcliffe would exude on the field in the NRL.
P is for the one and only Petero Civoniceva. My goodness, talk about legends. Big Civoniceva is one of those and if Redcliffe gets the NRL licence, a statue to the big fella would not be out of place. P is also for grand past halfback Colin Part and Shane Perry.
Q. Q is for all the Queensland representative Redcliffe has produced over the years, highlighting the success the club has had. It is an impressive list headed by Bob Gehrke, and the club’s first local junior to represent the maroons, Trevor Harkin, who were No.1 and No.2 in a long list to represent their state from Redcliffe. The list rolls right through to Queensland’s current skipper, Daly Cherry-Evans.
R. R is for the mighty Redcliffe Leagues Club, a cash-cow which would help fund Redcliffe’s entry into the NRL. R is also for 1973 Redcliffe grand final captain Ron Raper. It is also for the Redcliffe SHS, the education facility that guided the lives of people like Daly Cherry-Evans and Josh McGuire.
S. S is for Scarborough Beach where southern recruits would love to live. S is also for former Queensland and grand final five-eight Steve Williams.
T. T is for the legendary Dick “Tossa’’ Turner who was also a legendary Queensland manager, and T is also for club legends like Trevor Benson and Ian Thinee.
U. Rugby league players love their golf. Then why not have a hit at Undersea Putt and Play in Bluewater Square, featuring an 18 hole putt putt course.
V. V is for Virginia Tzimas and her husband, Nick, owners of the iconic Golden Ox restaurant at Margate. It would be a wonderful venue for special occasions for Redcliffe Dolphins’ NRL players.
V. V is for Vic Tighe, a champion Dolphin who progressed from the backs to play in the 1981 grand final.
W. is for the famous Webb family, including the elder statesman Des Webb and whose boys went by the great Aussie nicknames of Spider and Funnel. W is also for Des Webb’s old teammate, Col Weier, Redcliffe’s best and fairest player during the club’s first season in 1960s.
X. What better way for a new player and his family to get to know the region than on a Redcliffe X Wing Mini Segway Tour?
Y. Y is for Redcliffe 1965 premiership player Kevin Yow Yeh, who followed Artie Beetson to Sydney in 1966 where they played with Balmain.
Z. Enjoy a meal after training at the time honoured Zambrero Restaurant.
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