Sport
Play-offs loom for hot and cold Devils after derby victory John Campbell
With thirty seconds remaining in Sunday’s NRRRL clash between Byron Bay and Mullumbimby, the PA announced that the Red Devils’ prop, Michael Lambert, could return to the field. He’d been binned for giving the ref lip. To nobody’s surprise, Lambert declined the invitation. Like the rest of us, he just wanted to go home. It was that sort of game. As local derbies go, the anticipated blood and thunder was minimal. Neither was the outcome at any time in serious doubt. Despite the urgings from the disgruntled mob on the eastern hill, it ended not with a bang but a whimper. Under a cloudy sky and before an estimated 4,411 partisans, Byron ran out winners by 34–10, leaving them precariousl perched on the edge of the top five, but with their
The Giants’ robust young centre, Jack Govett, with the Byron cover using his body as a sofa, dives on the loose ball to rack up Mullum’s second try at Red Devil Park on Sunday. Photo Tree Faerie.
fate in their own hands. Mullum’s season was gone before kick-off and their performance, though never disinterested, betrayed a creeping futility. Neither side was at full strength, which also detracted from the occasion. The Red Devils looked as sharp as a tack to begin with. Chris ‘BB’ King nailed a 40/20 in the first set and
not longer after he put second-rower Joseph Gordon away on a 50-metre sprint to the line. Half-back Jared De Thierry scored an easy try and Byron were ahead 10–0 in as many minutes. It looked a question of ‘by how far?’, but the Giants’ doughty secondrower, Jake ‘Cobar’ Francisco, pulled one back by bullocking his way through flimsy
Behind the scenes with the Titans Michael McCormack
On Saturday July 7, Elise met us at gate B at Skilled Park and we walked under the stadium through the corridors to one of the function rooms. I met a lady called Danny. She works as the event coordinator. She has to manage how much food they have to provide for the 90 corporate boxes, 600 people in the function rooms, 26 suites, the public as well as the football players, and the other staff. The food provided for the public is estimated from last year’s ticket sales and the tickets sold for this game. Did you know that there were only two groundsmen cutting the grass and marking the lines out on the field? They take away the lines that are on the field after a game but they leave the lines if there is a back-to-back game. There are about 100 people working in the stadium including National Youth Competition (NYC) players and coaching staff. But there were
20,392 people at the stadium on Saturday night, which was a great crowd! Elise said the club gets supporters by making TV ads, radio broadcasts and by running competitions to give away free tickets. But they go on Facebook to get the message around as well and get heaps of supporters to go for the Gold Coast Titans’ games. Can you imagine how long it would take to clean the stadium after each game? With all those packages and chip containers and bottles they would have to pick up all that rubbish, it would take ages to clean.
I got to meet Preston Campbell; he is a retired Titans player. He was a great fullback. Preston played his didgeridoo with other Aboriginal children and Dhinawan from the Bundjalung nation. I was grateful that I had the opportunity to meet people involved with the Titans ranging from Elise and Danny to the current players and old players. I had the privilege of getting Greg Bird’s, Kevin Gordon’s and Nate Myles’s signatures and photos. Thanks to The Echo and the Titans. – GO THE TITANS! Q Last weekend, junior Mullum Giant Michael McCormack, pictured far right with Titan Nate Myles and buddy Aiden Martin, travelled up to Skilled Park as our cadet reporter. Michael’s brief was to report on the game-day operations and what goes into putting on a Titans home game.
defence to put the visitors on the board. Led by old hands Francisco, captain Dan Molenaar and Robbie ‘Crazy’ Goodacre, the Giants were direct and conventional but not very threatening. The Devils, thinking they might have a cakewalk awaiting them, started playing like the crazy gang. Intensity dropped and when Gordon put ‘Toothless’ Simon Kelly in the writing was most assuredly on the wall. A highlight of the first forty came when winger Bill ‘the Lawman’ Lowrie took an intercept to defuse a Mullum raid. He unleashed the backburners and headed north for the line. Only trouble was
the cover was quicker and by the time they caught up with him Lowrie was treading water like a banana in pyjamas. Whatever pace he’d lost, though, has been made up for with nous and his return was a welcome positive for the Bay. Byron adjourned to oranges with a 20–4 lead after hooker Tim Foster, another strong performer, charged from dummy-half to carry three with him over the line. An injured Kelly did not resume hostilities, De Thierry was lost soon after the resumption with a bung leg, and Mullum’s Jack Govett, in the unfamiliar position of centre, swooped on a loose
ball in goal to make it 20–10. But any thought of a comeback was dispelled when the Devils produced the try of the match. Chris ‘the Soul Man’ Coleman charged into the ruck like a man who knows he has only one burst left in him before he calls for the nurse. King was on his shoulder to take an exquisite off-load and take the cross-country route to the distant corner. He got there with brilliant speed and evasiveness. Young winger Rex Sheavils was rewarded with a fourpointer before King grubbered and re-gathered to close the book on a game of only sporadic hostilities.
At last, the perks of being a sports hack John Campbell
Of a winter weekend, I’m usually working as the sideline eye at Red Devil Park or Les Donnelly Field, reporting on the local teams’ progress in the NRRRL. Road-trips to venues such as Kyogle and Casino I take with the wonder of Columbus in the New World. When a couple of comps came my way for the Gold Coast Titans v Rabbitohs NRL game at Skilled Park I was over the moon. Entry into the Chairman’s Club buffet was included, so I got onto my mate the Big Fella (another Bunnies tragic) and we fanged it up the Pacific Highway with you-beaut enthusiasm, talking League all the way. We ignored the stoned steward in a flouro jacket who wanted us to park at Mudgeeraba and catch the bus back (‘is he kidding?’), and left the car within walking distance of the stadium (‘the smell of liniment, the roar of the crowd’). After joining the fans’ pilgrimage to the floodlights, we found our seats and checked out the smorgasbord. Not exactly Maxim’s, but better than a cup of chips with t’marta sauce. Big Fella and I were both
worried, not so much about using the proper utensils to hoe into the gratis canapes (‘what are canapes, anyway, mate?’), as we were about how the Bunnies might go without Greg Inglis. Following a lacklustre 22–18 loss to the hopeless Dragons, every running-dog with a by-line in the media was spruiking that minus GI Souths were mere pretenders to the crown. There was also a nagging, unspoken anxiety that Dave Taylor, having spectacularly not set the world alight since leaving Redfern, would brain it against his former teammates. As it turned out, Nathan Merritt was as safe as a bank in the number one jersey while the Coal Train contributed a few cameos that were notable only for their oafishness. The Bunnies gained the ascendency early. Centre Bryson Goodwin (‘Remember Lord Ted, mate?’ ‘Shit, yeah’) charged full-tilt into his opposite. Thump! Hear the collision. See the Titan knocked off his feet. Big Fella grunts in appreciation – there’s no point in discussing John Donne if you are not into the metaphysical poets, just as there is no point in going to the footy with somebody who doesn’t ‘get it’.
Better was to come. Gorgeous George Burgess (or was it Tom? The twins are like the two dudes in The Social Network), barrels into the thick of it. He’s the irresistible force, but would-be tacklers are unable to meet him with the immoveable object. He smashes one… two… three… virtually the entire Titans pack, leaving them sprawled on their sorry arses. Power and passion. It’s awesome. We’re out of our seats – you can’t help but not be at such a sight. At the completion of the set, Georgie’s there to collect the final pass and dive over to give Souths a comfortable 14–0 halftime buffer. We couldn’t wait to return to the chairman’s banquet and get stuck into the Camembert, Gorgonzola and Fourex. You wouldn’t be dead for a quid, would you? The final score of 32–4 was a fair reflection of the contest. Souths were a class above and Matty King had successfully re-introduced the Afro into the world of NRL shaved-heads. All we had to do was find our way home from Robina. ‘Where do you reckon we go at this roundabout, mate?’ ‘Don’t ask me, Big Fella. I’m just a Goonengerry hillbilly.’
Blokes set aside a day for the ladies… Byron Red Devils The popping of pink champagne was heard long into the afternoon as the Red Devils celebrated ladies’ day at the club recently. President Damon McCarthy said he was pleased with the day both on and off the field. ‘It was so humbling to see so many
women turn up for the event’, he said. ‘The players wanted to thank their mums, wives, sisters and girlfriends for all their support and the club wanted to celebrate the role women play in our sport. The day was a huge success.’ With generous support the club raised $1,000 for wom-
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en’s cancer research while the U18s and A Grade won their respective games against tough opposition.
Shiners’ Ladies’ Day The Moonshiners will be rolling the red carpet out for the ladies at Brunswick Heads Sports Fields this Saturday. Complimentary red
wine, or bubbly, and chocolates will be the order of the day. The Shiners are raring to go against the Grafton Redmen; kick-off is 2pm. With only three regular games remaining the Shiners are primed for their first finals campaign in six years.
Emily Pettit from the Cancer Council with Devils president Damon McCarthy and treasurer Connor Crichton.
The Byron Shire Echo July 30, 2013 45