The trick that saw Bob Lindner Cannon into the Queensland side
In part two of Mike Colman’s series on 100 years of QLD primary school footy, he reveals two more teams of the century and the Wally Lewis connection that saw Bob Lindner win Queensland selection.
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PART ONE: Colman reveals the first two teams
NSW supporters will never stop whingeing about the Maroons “poaching” the great Greg Inglis from under their noses in 2006, but in fact Queenslanders were stretching the rules to get the best team on the paddock against the Blues years before Origin was ever played – and at primary school level.
When Department of Education officials started putting together the player lists in order to pick their 12 regional primary school teams of the century there was one mystery that didn’t make sense.
Bob Lindner, who played in the 1974 Queensland primary schools side before going on to a career that included 25 Origin matches and 22 Tests, was included in the Metropolitan East regional side but was known to have attended Dayboro State School which isn’t in that region.
It took a call to Lindner last week to clear up to riddle.
“It was a long time ago but I do remember that in order to make the Queensland side I had to billet with Wally Lewis and his family and go to Cannon State School with him and his two brothers for a few weeks,” he said.
“I played all my junior footy with Cannon Hill Stars. I was in the same team as Wally’s brother Eddie and his dad Jim was my coach.
“We didn’t play rugby league at my school and I remember someone saying, ‘we’ve got to get you in the Queensland team so you have to go to Cannon Hill State School’. I was there for about three weeks, played in the regional trials, made the Queensland team and after we’d played NSW I just went back to my own school.
“I never really thought about it much, but now that you mention it, it makes sense.”
Lindner is in good company, with the Metropolitan East Team of the Century one of the most star-studded to be announced this week.
It holds the distinction of including an Immortal in Wally Lewis, two players from the first-ever Origin team in Lewis and Johnny Lang, and the scorer of the Broncos’ first-ever try, Brett LeMan.
The full team is:
1. William Zillman (St Laurence’s College, 1998)
2. Brenko Lee (Woodridge North SS, 2007)
3. Peter Jackson (Petrie SS, 1976)
4. Junior Sau (Harris Fields SS, 1999)
5. Gerard Beale (Crestmead SS, 2002)
6. Wally Lewis (Cannon Hill SS, 1971)
7. Jason Smith (Kingston SS, 1984)
8. David Shillington (Padua College, 1995)
9. John Lang (Coorparoo SS, 1964)
10. David Tyrell (Iona College, 2000)
11. Darren Smith (Kingston SS, 1980)
12. Ashley Harrison (Ascot SS, 1993)
13. Bob Lindner (Cannon Hill SS, 1974)
14. David Stagg (Norris Rd SS, 1995)
15. Mick Crocker (St Patrick’s Shorncliffe, 1992)
16. Shane Tronc (McDowell SS, 1994)
17. Brett Le Man (Morningside SS, 1974)
Capricornia, the other team named today contains a third member of the first-ever Origin side in Rod Reddy, as well as Queensland’s current captain Daly Cherry-Evans.
Another selection, backrower Gary Larson, earned many accolades in his 24-Origin, nine-Test career, but few thrills could match the excitement of running onto the SCG as a 12 year-old to play for Queensland primary schools against NSW in the curtain-raiser to the Third Test between Australia and Great Britain in 1979.
The full Capricornia side is:
1. Ben Barba (Victoria Park SS, 2001)
2. Corey Oates (Baralaba SS, 2005)
3. Dane Gagai (Alligator Creek SS, 2003)
4. Matt Sing (Dysart SS, 1987)
5. Rhys Wesser (Frenchville SS, 1991)
6. Cameron Munster (Berserker St SS, 2005)
7. Daly Cherry-Evans (Sarina SS, 2001)
8. David Taylor (Bluff SS, 2000)
9. Ben Hunt (Dingo SS, 2002)
10. Gary Larson (Miriam Vale SS, 1979)
11. Rod Reddy (Leichhardt Ward SS, 1965)
12. Kevin Campion (Sarina SS, 1983)
13. Travis Norton (Moranbah East SS, 1988)
14. Jake Granville (St Anthony’s, Rockhampton, 2001)
15. Justin Loomans (Gracemere SS, 1987)
16. Jason Hetherington (Baralaba SS, 1982)
17 PJ Marsh (Blackwater North SS, 1991)
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