TA: An interesting yarn has surfaced after a few Warrnambool district businessmen headed to England to watch golf’s British Open. Gary “Bozzo” Johnson was already in England and met up with Ian “Bull” Bolden and Gerard Lynch at the airport after they had been at the soccer in South Africa. Bozzo was driving the hire car and when they came out of the airport he was supposed to be heading to their motel. After a while Bozzo said to his mates he was in unfamiliar territory.
AT: Sounds like he was lost Tim.
TA: Yes. Lynchy and Bull told Bozzo to pull over into a service station and ask for directions. They walked in and a bloke in the queue with a sausage roll told them they were heading the wrong direction but if they followed his truck he would get them back on track. Ever generous Lynchy told the bloke he would pay for his fuel and sausage roll to thank him for his assistance — about $70.
AT: Sounds like expensive advice, hope it was better than your race tips.
TA: The three Warrnambool identities got into the hire car, saw two trucks in front of them and started to follow one of the trucks. After about 30 minutes the truck they were following pulled over and a burly truckie got out and asked what the hell they were up to. The Warrnambool men realised they had been following the wrong truck, apologised to the truckie and then had to ask him for directions to their motel. The motel wasn’t far from the airport but it took the boys a few hours to find it.
AT: Talking of being in a foreign environment, Wilde racing stable supporter Paul Daffy has been having a dry run. It’s been a couple of years between winners for Daffy but he and some mates broke through with Reel’emin at Coleraine recently. Daff was ready to celebrate long and hard and headed to the committee room where he was stunned to just be offered tea or coffee. The meeting had been moved and Coleraine didn’t have a liquor licence for the day.
TA: Got a bit of news from up north about your old mate Neil Bourke.
AT: Bourkie had been involved with a lot of footy clubs in this area including Warrnambool, Port Fairy, Koroit, South Rovers and Deakin University. What’s he been up to?
TA: He’s coaching the Broome Saints, which are on top of the ladder but before that he coached Queensland clubs Mayne and Maroochydore. He also coached the Sunshine Coast Power representative under 18 side for two years. Bourkie is one of a handful of luminaries who are inaugural inductees to the Sunshine Coast AFL Hall of Fame. He coached Maroochydore to three premierships and four grand finals in the 1990s. Bourkie is described in the Hall of Fame notes “as a well organised, thinking coach who worked hard to assemble quality lists, as well as coaching the Suncoast Power under 18 representative side for two years”. Speaking of footy people it was interesting to see former Port Fairy coach and Collingwood legend Ronnie Wearmouth celebrated his 60th birthday last weekend with a surprise party.
AT: Caramut brothers and footballers Joss and Isaac Goldsmith have been in the wars after a name mix-up. It seems after a bit of a slump Joss was relegated to the reserves last weekend. Isaac remained in the seniors. Joss had a pretty handy game in the ressies with quite a few possessions. Sadly for Joss it was Isaac who got listed among the best players in the reserves and he wasn’t even in the team. Having turned around his form slump Joss is filthy that even when he plays well his brother gets the credit.
TA: I noticed that the Brown family suffered an old-man injury this week. Not Brisbane star Jonathan but his father Brian who tweaked a calf when he took training at South Rovers. The other query I had was why the first quarter between Russells Creek and Merrivale went for 38 minutes.
AT: It was nothing to do with Billy Skene having a snooze. The AFL, in its wisdom, decided before last year that country leagues would go from 25 minutes and time-on for goals to 20 minutes and time-on for everything. There are quite regularly quarters getting towards 40 minutes. Until next week, hooroo.
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