Brisbane Broncos coach Wayne Bennett pays tribute to club founder Gary Balkin
WAYNE Bennett has spoken of his sadness at the loss of Gary Balkin, and confirmed Broncos players will wear black armbands this weekend against Cronulla.
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WAYNE Bennett has spoken of his sadness at the loss of Gary Balkin after the Broncos founding father died last night following a short battle with pancreatic cancer.
Bennett confirmed Broncos players will wear black armbands tomorrow night against Cronulla in honour of Balkin, who passed away at age 78 leaving a remarkable legacy to Queensland rugby league.
Along with Barry Maranta, Steve Williams and the late Paul “Porky” Morgan, Balkin formed the quartet of entrepreneurial business personalities who bankrolled the creation of the Brisbane Broncos in 1988.
Balkin paid $4000 to launch Bennett’s coaching career at Souths in 1977 and four decades later, Bennett is an NRL super coach, paying tribute to Balkin’s passion for rugby league and the Broncos.
“It’s a morning of reflection for myself,” he said.
“Just knowing what we have here today is because of what Gary and three other men did.
“It was their vision of what they wanted the Broncos to be and how they wanted to be perceived.
“He was instrumental in all that and a great friend to us all.
“I went to a function a month ago for him. I knew his time was running out, we had a great afternoon and he will be sadly missed.”
The friendships that Balkin forged in his time with the Broncos lasted until the day he died. Two weeks ago, about 30 former players plus Maranta, Williams and foundation chief executive John Ribot honoured him with a function in the club boardroom.
Last week, Balkin received the last rites from a lifelong friend from his schooldays in Gympie, and on Tuesday he left palliative care at St Vincent’s Hospital to attend a long-standing reunion lunch at Gambaro Seafood Restaurant with Ribot, Allan Langer, Steve Renouf, Glenn Lazarus, John Plath, Chris Johns and Andrew Gee.
In his long and colourful career, Balkin helped introduce touch football to Queensland, gave Wayne Bennett his first coaching job and built and operated the iconic Kookaburra Queen paddle steamers that still ply the Brisbane River.
But Balkin’s greatest legacy will always be his part in the foundation of the Brisbane Broncos 30 years ago.
An old boy of Christian Brothers College Gympie, Balkin came to Brisbane to work in the pub industry and play rugby league for Souths and Brothers.
“I’m reflecting on all the good moments we had with him,” Bennett said.
“We went through a bit of grief to get me here, but they never had any wavering doubt about me and it was the making of a young coach for them to have the confidence in me.
“When I came to Souths to coach, he was putting a lot of money into Souths when they had no money, so he did so much for the game that will never be recognised even before the Broncos came long.
“He used to give money to the leading tryscorer in the BRL competition, so he loved the game and the people.”
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