Origin Welcome to Country deserves bouquets not brickbats, but as for the anthem ...

They’re kidding, surely.

There has been the usual social media criticism this week of the Welcome to Country at State of Origin I. In fact, while both the Welcome to Country and the rendition of the national anthem were worthy of note, it was the former – done superbly by Savannah Fynn – which saved the day.

Of all the sporting codes, it is the NRL which is the most deserving of commendation for the progressive way they have embraced First Nations matters, and this was no exception.

Eloquent, moving, warm and Fynn moved the dial on the uniquely Australian concept that is the Welcome to Country and made most of us, I believe, take pause long enough reflect on how blessed we are to be in this country – and to finally be moving towards some kind of reconciliation between our black and white history, so long at war with each other.

The national anthem rendition, by the winner of Australian Idol Dylan Wright? Not so much. It may well be a generational thing, and my fault for being over 60, but I cringed. It’s a dud anthem to begin with – and should have been changed to I am, you are, we are Australian long ago – but when sung in an experimental way with very nearly a Nashville twang, it was the exemplar of the rising damp of Coca-Colonisation on the Australian national spirit.

Dylan Wright.Credit: Getty Images

The Welcome to Country fitted the occasion – perfect for a uniquely Australian sporting event. The spirit of that anthem rendition could have fitted into a baseball game in Buttlick, Idaho, and they wouldn’t have blinked.

Tale of the century

Why were so many people streaming into the Lindfield Rollers Bowling Club last Wednesday arvo?

Shhhhh! It is the big day. The club is celebrating the 100th birthday of the most popular member of the club, WWII veteran, Ron Gee Kee. You know the one. He’s the old bloke who’s been bowling here for the last 10 yonks, with his beloved wife of 76 years, Betty.

They play here twice a week, for well over three hours a game. But today is special, so they have turned up in droves: 100 members for Ron’s 100th.

Ron and Betty Gee Kee.Credit: John Shakespeare

But first, some bowls. For the occasion, there are 13 teams competing, and Ron moves among them, taking the lead on all 13. Bowled the lights out! He might not be quite as good as Betty, but he’s close. Everyone wants to play with either of them.

By 3.30 pm they are all back in the clubhouse. The tradition is that members are given a bottle of wine for birthdays that end in zero, so for this one Ron is given two bottles!

But, shhh, I said! For now out comes the birthday cake that looks like a bushfire when it’s lit. As an uproarious Happy Birthday to You is sung, Ron stands there proudly with Betty by his side. Ron makes a witty speech in reply thanking everyone, starting with Betty, while noting that when he was 82, he’d bought a car, thinking it would be his last, but he’s now feeling so strong he’s about to buy another one, that will go for years. Then he and Betty drive home, she and Ronnie Gee Kee.

Ah, sing it, my people!

Gotta love this city.

Swede taste of victory

Ain’t sport grand, at least on a good day?

Last Saturday arvo, the Swedish professional golfer Linnea Strom needed a birdie just to make the cut at the 54-hole Shoprite Classic in Galloway, New Jersey. The ball wobbles, bobbles and hobbles around the lip of the cup but . . . goes in! On Sunday morning she’s seven shots from the leaders in joint 52nd position, bottom of the ninth, with bases loaded, but feeling good!

Comeback queen Linnea Strom.Credit: Getty Images

According to the statistical wonk from KPMG Golf, from this point she is a one-in-100,000 chance of winning. But what the hell?

Starting 30 minutes before the lead group, from the moment of driving from the first hole, the balls start dropping. And keep dropping. And dropping some more. Birdie, birdie, birdie, EAGLE, birdie, birdie.

She not only birdies the last hole, but four of the last five, finishing with an 11-under-par round of 60 to register a final 14 under and – after waiting four hours for the others to finish – her first LPGA Tour title! It was just one off the lowest round ever in women’s golf, and the biggest comeback since 1984. One of those days!

A date with Michael Hooper

Friends, you will recall the shockingly shabby way that the long-time Wallaby captain Michael Hooper was treated at the end of his Australian career last year. As if being dropped for the World Cup was not enough after 118 Tests, he didn’t even get a phone call from coach Eddie Jones to break the news gently. And then, Eddie publicly slagged him and said he had been dropped because he was “a bad role model” for the younger players.

Michael Hooper was controversially left out of the Wallabies’ squad for last year’s World Cup.Credit: Getty

This, for a player of his heart, of his record, who had served the Wallabies so well, even through the toughest of times, for more than a decade? He deserved a better finish, and how funny I should say that. For at The Cauliflower Club, which I chair, we will be having lunch at the Fullerton Hotel on August 30, The Captain’s Run, A Salute to Michael Hooper and want you to come.

Though he doesn’t want too much fuss, Michael will be there together with many other Wallaby captains, and we will get him up on stage for a chat. Come! Help raise money to help those injured through sport, with all funds to the Sargood Centre. You can book, by googling, or go straight here.

Mere Immortals

Meantime, still on rugby, TFF has been doing a little light palling around with Gordon Bray about his latest book, The Immortals of Australian Rugby Union. As it says on the can, the idea is for Gordon to select rugby’s answer to the league concept of Immortals – but in this case, the best XV to have worn the Wallaby jersey.

Now, the fact that he has picked in his team, 11 backs – you know, those funny little blokes often seen hanging on the edges of groups of footballers – is a fair clue that it really is a best XV concept, as opposed to first XV. But he does address that in the final pages by indeed picking his best team of all time. It is a great read, looking at the background and career highlights of such players as John Thornett, Tim Horan, John Eales, Trevor Allan and, of course, Campo.

What They Said

Carlos Alcaraz will celebrate his French Open win with a tattoo: “It’s going to be in the left ankle. Wimbledon was the right one. Here is going to be the left one, I think so with the Eiffel Tower with the date of today.” If a tattoo after every major win is his intent, he’d be well advised to make them very small.

Iga Swiatek after winning the French Open: “It was an emotional win, because I felt, you know, a lot of stress yesterday and today in the morning. And I knew if I’m going to just focus on tennis I can kind of fight through it, and at the end it all went how I wanted. So I just felt really proud of myself.”

Iga Swiatek celebrates winning the women’s final of the French Open.Credit: AP

Melbourne Rebels captain Brad Wilkin: “It’s a sad time, just the realisation that the club’s over. A lot of guys, a lot of people, have invested a lot into this club, a lot of hard work has gone into it and I can’t be more proud of the group staying together this season.”

Volleyball Australia chief executive Andrew Dee on the Beach Volleyball World Championships maybe not happening in Australia due to a lack of funding: “This is one of the top five biggest sports in the world. It might not be huge in Australia, but it’s a global sport. [The government is] so fixated on domestic sports, which everyone loves, and I love my footy, too. But cricket, netball, rugby, they just don’t rate in the same size and scale as volleyball internationally and those truly global sports.”

Jonny Bairstow doesn’t want to watch the Ashes doco: “I’ve not seen any of it, to be quite honest with you. I’ve got other things that I watch on TV and what have you. I think I’ve seen enough cricket when you’re involved in it day to day and playing in it, I’m OK. I don’t need to sit and watch it in my hotel room.”

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman on India and Pakistan coming to town:“We don’t know what to expect, but we’re told it’s going to be like the Super Bowl on steroids.” Sort of. And maybe even bigger than the two NRL matches in Las Vegas in March that . . . oh, forget it.

In the lead-up to the Socceroos v Palestine World Cup qualifying match on Tuesday evening Usman Khawaja wades in: “Can’t wait for this. Palestinian flags will be flying everywhere in HBF Park in Perth. And they can’t ban them. Likewise, I’m confused how we are playing a country that our government doesn’t even recognise? Is this Socceroos v Nobody? It’s all very confusing yes.”

Australian swimmer Zac Stubblety-Cook on last year’s Swimming World Championships: “I still remember very vividly looking down the end of the pool in Tokyo and being like, how f---ing cool is this? Literally, that’s what I said to myself.”

George Shea, host and promoter of the annual Fourth of July Hot Dog eating contest at Coney Island, on the defection of Joey Chestnut to Impossible Foods, a rival company that makes vegan hot dogs: “It would be like back in the day Michael Jordan coming to Nike, who made his Air Jordans, and saying, ‘I am just going to rep adidas, too’.”

Roger Federer in his commencement address at Dartmouth last Sunday pointed to the fact that while he had won 80 per cent of his matches, he only won 54 per cent of the points: “In other words, even top-ranked tennis players win barely more than half of the points they play. When you lose every second point on average, you learn not to dwell on every shot. You teach yourself to think . . . ‘It’s only a point’.” I wrote about it.

Team of the Week

Ariarne Titmus and Kaylee McKeown. Both of them blew their opponents away in the pool during the Olympic trials and are shaping up well for Paris!

Carlos Alcaraz. Is the youngest player to have won Wimbledon, the US Open and Roland Garros by his age. He is 21.

Sydney Swans. They have beaten everyone else in the top 13, except for Port Adelaide who they’ve yet to play. But a consensus seems to be building that this year might well be their year. And they’re averaging crowds of 40,000 at the SCG.

Origin. Euro 2024. Wimbledon. Tour De France. And then, the Olympics. All in the next month. Where are you Bill Lawry? It’s all happening!

Boston Celtics. Look to have the NBA title locked up.

Brumbies. Australia’s sole representatives in the Super Rugby semi-finals.