Graham Goodwin the guest on the bench with Mick and Gary
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SportsTranscript
00:00 Good afternoon and welcome to this week's segment of On The Bench.
00:05 A bit of royalty on the bench this afternoon.
00:08 We have two life members of Tari Touch Association, two life members of Group 3 Rugby League and
00:14 one Group 3 Hall of Famer.
00:16 Graham Goodwin from the Tari City Bulls is also the president of Tari Touch Association
00:20 as our guest and of course Gary Bits, Gary Bits, Gary Bidge, our regular.
00:25 Thanks Michael.
00:26 So we have two life members of Tari Touch and Group 3 Rugby League, Goody and myself
00:31 and Bidgey's a life member so we've smashed the salary cap today.
00:35 That's good, that's good.
00:37 I'm back off the bench too.
00:39 Back on the bench.
00:41 Big round of Group 3 Rugby League this weekend, probably the best of the season so far.
00:45 We have two games tomorrow.
00:47 Wiggum hosts Port Sharks, obviously the Wiggum Sporting Complex on the regional bank Australia
00:52 as it's called now, stadium as it's called now.
00:55 Tari City plays Warhope at the Chackneal Oval and on Sunday the Ulbar Pirates host the McLea
01:00 Valley Mustangs at Ulbar and Port City plays Foster-Toncurry at the regional stadium at
01:07 Port Macquarie.
01:08 A couple of big games Gary.
01:09 Yeah, very big games mate.
01:10 It's a great weekend of footy in the local area.
01:13 Looking forward to the game at Wiggum because obviously Port Sharks are one of the favourites
01:19 alongside of Ulbar but Wiggum, they're going along nicely.
01:24 We probably thought they might not have been as strong but they are and a lot of talk there
01:28 and it's good to see.
01:29 I'll get another packed crowd, a good crowd up there.
01:30 They've had good crowds all this year.
01:31 They've only played one game to be honest.
01:32 It was a good crowd that day.
01:33 It was a good crowd up there on the Friday night when I took my grandkids up to play.
01:39 It was a good crowd there.
01:41 And the other game, it'll be interesting to see, Tari's been in every game as I've said
01:44 before, in every game this year except half-time then they go.
01:49 So now they're playing Warhope where we thought, well what Warhope did last year, we thought
01:53 that'll probably be another.
01:54 Also around the side, this should be the night.
01:55 They've lost their first game and haven't got beat since.
01:56 So that'll be another cracking game to have a look at and obviously I'll buy up to see
02:03 how they're going against what team Kempsey turn up with on Sunday.
02:07 Pretty important game goody for the Bulls isn't it?
02:09 I mean if they get beaten this week, I think they're 74 chances.
02:13 Them, Port City and Foster are in real danger of dropping off the five aren't they?
02:18 I agree with Gary too.
02:19 We're dropping away the last part of the half.
02:22 It's something that we've tried to work on over the last couple of years because we've
02:25 always struggled in that part of the game.
02:27 But look, we've probably got our strongest side in this week so hopefully we do well.
02:32 Yeah, calling on Tash Abbott for the under-18 play.
02:35 He'll play the full-back on the wing so Christian, how's that at the moment?
02:38 Yeah, yeah, he goes really well.
02:39 He's one of the young boys that come down from Darwin and he's playing 18s as well and
02:45 he's come on at the first grade a couple of times but he's starting this week.
02:48 Look, he's got a lot of enthusiasm and a lot of skill so we'll see how he goes this week
02:53 in the four games.
02:54 Yeah, Christian said he thinks he could provide a bit of an X-factor which is...
02:57 Yeah, yeah I agree.
02:58 He runs well, he's got good defence and yeah look, I'm really keen to see him go.
03:04 Unfortunately we won't be there this week, Gary and I, but hopefully we do well.
03:08 Christian, Christian, how's that playing?
03:10 He's getting over the rib injury?
03:11 Yeah, Christian's fine.
03:12 He actually played the week after his rib injury.
03:16 We padded him up and he got through it but he probably wasn't 100% but having that week,
03:20 couple of weeks off again, I think he'll be fine.
03:22 You know, with him and his brother in the halves pairing, I think they'll do well.
03:27 Yeah, because they've all...
03:28 I've only seen Warhop play once this year as I said but they absolutely thrashed Wingham
03:32 at Warhop on that occasion and big strong pack of forwards.
03:35 How's your forwards line up?
03:37 Our forwards are pretty well.
03:39 We should have Mark Faye back in this weekend, he's had a bit of a hamstring injury.
03:45 I think our forward pack's been pretty good over the last four or five years but we just
03:50 seem to lack in the back so I think a lot of times our forwards do handle it with other
03:54 teams but as I say, our back line's always struggled so I think we'll be fine.
04:00 Ethan Ferguson plays his first game for the Wingham Tigers on Saturday against Port Macquarie,
04:04 big first up test.
04:05 He partners your nephew Tim in the centres and Matt's playing on the wing.
04:09 Yeah, to a third, but Tim's first game back.
04:11 Yeah, he played against Warhop.
04:12 Oh did he?
04:13 Yeah, yeah.
04:14 That must have hurt the Bulls a bit though, seeing Ethan playing up there.
04:19 He's got family connections with the Bulls and he's played all his junior football with
04:24 the Panthers which is usually the feeder club for the Bulls.
04:29 Look, most of us probably would be disappointed.
04:33 I think with Ethan playing in Sydney, it's disappointing they left Sydney because I think
04:38 they were a fair bit ahead of him.
04:40 But it is disappointing to see him play for another club but that's the way it is these
04:44 days and I think he's got a bit of a tie up there at Wingham.
04:47 He'd be handy for the Bulls though, wouldn't he?
04:50 Oh, he'd be real handy for the Bulls.
04:51 Look, we don't know how his headspace is going to be since leaving Sydney but hopefully he
04:56 goes well.
04:57 You don't wish that upon anybody that leaves your club but yeah, look, he'll do pretty
05:03 well.
05:04 Training, the Bulls haven't had much training in all this wet weather?
05:07 Not fully.
05:08 We've been, did a lot of work in the school gymnasium but the jackknife has been pretty
05:15 well.
05:16 It's been drying out pretty well, pretty good.
05:17 So we try to get on there as much as we can and alternate the training sessions.
05:23 So yeah, look, we haven't really missed out but it hasn't been ideal and most clubs have
05:27 been the same.
05:28 Yeah, I was talking to Mitch Collins during the week from Wingham, the Wingham captain
05:31 coach and they haven't trained on their main field, or they've trained once on their main
05:35 field since the first ring.
05:36 Yeah, yeah.
05:37 And he said they've been doing rave runs of all things and hill sprints and all just trying
05:40 to keep them.
05:41 And then they've got a mod field there, a mod league field there with a three grades
05:44 training so obviously there's not a whole lot of ground around there to play with.
05:48 And he said much more rain, you know, back to where they start.
05:51 Look at it today.
05:52 I mean, if we get some rain tonight and a little bit of rain tomorrow they reckon, it's
05:57 not going to take much to make it very soft again, is it?
06:00 Well no, he said it'd be a soft five for the best tomorrow so a bit of rain over, better
06:03 say a bit of rain tonight and she'll go back to a heavy K to home.
06:06 Yeah, it'll be nine.
06:07 Yeah, it'll be nine.
06:08 Look, I know when our game was cancelled a couple of weeks ago against Wingham, they
06:12 marked the field on Friday afternoon.
06:13 They played Friday night.
06:14 They played Friday night and went out there Saturday morning, it was underwater and all
06:17 the lines were washed away.
06:18 Yeah, yeah.
06:19 So it's just, it's unfortunate.
06:20 But Foster-Toncurry, a big game for them this weekend.
06:21 And Port City, one of them all up in their account for the year, you'd think.
06:22 I think the Bulls play the Hawks next week, don't they?
06:23 I'm pretty sure.
06:24 We play the Hawks next week, yeah.
06:25 So it's not a bad end of the season draw for the Bulls.
06:26 Yeah, it's good.
06:27 If they can knock over Warhead tomorrow, they're probably not in a bad position.
06:37 If they can knock over the Hawks next week, but then they've got to do that.
06:43 That's the problem.
06:44 Yeah, we had a tough start.
06:45 Like we had the two grand finals the first two weeks.
06:47 So that was really, really difficult for us.
06:49 And as I say, they played, the Bulls played the Sharks in the first round and it was only
06:53 four-all half-time.
06:54 So it was only the last 10, 15 minutes that they lost the game.
06:58 As you said earlier, it was 10-6, wasn't it, when they played Hobart?
07:01 Yeah, it was 10-6.
07:02 And Christian got hurt and it was all over then.
07:03 That was it, yeah.
07:04 The Bulls, it's their Indigenous round.
07:05 They're wearing jerseys and that this weekend for the Indigenous round.
07:06 So another inspiring because we have a lot of the Indigenous players playing.
07:07 And yeah, I think most of the clubs are in favour for that.
07:08 And I see they've called the Indigenous round off.
07:09 Better say that, yeah.
07:10 Yeah, they've called that off this year and they're probably going to do it as a pre-season
07:29 thing.
07:30 That's a good idea.
07:31 That was what it was going to be this year.
07:32 But of course, it got washed out and it was going to be on one of these spare weekends.
07:39 Of course, they're all required now for the washed out game.
07:41 It's going to be interesting if we have any more wet weekends, what they do because we've
07:46 got no more spare weekends.
07:47 Well, Mel Drew said a fortnight ago that if that does happen, they'll put the comp back
07:52 to week.
07:53 The grand final will be the 28th of September.
07:54 But I mean, it's only so far you can go back, isn't it?
07:55 That's true.
07:56 You can't be still playing at Christmas time.
07:57 I mean, what's it, was it El Nino?
07:58 What's this one, Scott?
07:59 La Nina.
08:00 La Nina, whatever it is.
08:01 This is the wet one, apparently.
08:02 Yeah.
08:03 Scott Calvin, our photographer, knows all about weather.
08:04 He's a weather freak.
08:05 He knows all about it.
08:06 Well, he's always going away, isn't he?
08:07 Yeah, well, I met him when he first started working here many, many years ago.
08:08 We went out to cover a football game and he said, "Oh, that football man, I don't know,
08:09 people, they're crazy to play that game.
08:10 It's too dangerous."
08:11 I said, "What do you do for a sport, mate?"
08:12 "Oh," I said, "I jump off cliffs."
08:13 That's right, yeah.
08:14 And he said, "Oh, you jump off cliffs."
08:15 And I said, "Oh, I'm a football player."
08:16 He said, "Oh, you're a football player."
08:17 I said, "Yeah, I'm a football player."
08:18 And he said, "Oh, you're a football player."
08:39 And I said, "Yeah, I'm a football player."
09:01 And he said, "Oh, you're a football player."
09:29 And I said, "Yeah, I'm a football player."
09:36 And he said, "Oh, you're a football player."
09:47 And I said, "Yeah, I'm a football player."
10:11 And he said, "Oh, you're a football player."
10:40 And I said, "Yeah, I'm a football player."
10:47 And he said, "Oh, you're a football player."
10:56 And I said, "Yeah, I'm a football player."
10:59 And he said, "Oh, you're a football player."
11:04 And I said, "Yeah, I'm a football player."
11:33 And he said, "Oh, you're a football player."
11:35 And I said, "Yeah, I'm a football player."
11:36 And he said, "Oh, you're a football player."
11:37 And I said, "Yeah, I'm a football player."
11:38 And he said, "Oh, you're a football player."
11:39 And I said, "Yeah, I'm a football player."
11:40 And he said, "Oh, you're a football player."
11:41 And I said, "Yeah, I'm a football player."
11:42 And he said, "Oh, you're a football player."
11:43 And I said, "Yeah, I'm a football player."
11:44 And he said, "Oh, you're a football player."
11:45 And I said, "Yeah, I'm a football player."
11:46 And he said, "Oh, you're a football player."
11:47 And I said, "Yeah, I'm a football player."
11:48 And he said, "Oh, you're a football player."
12:09 And I said, "Yeah, I'm a football player."
12:31 And he said, "Oh, you're a football player."
12:59 And I said, "Oh, you're a football player."
13:28 the Pirates go? As you said before, if no Jordan, I don't think the Forest Road suddenly
13:34 becomes a lot tougher, doesn't it? No. Who are the Pirates playing? MacLeight. Right.
13:39 Another game where I suppose Jordan should be just picking and choosing which games he
13:44 plays now because as I said he's the dominant player in that team. He directs them around
13:48 the park. He might, ok, he'll probably start, depending on where the game is at, then he
13:54 might come off and just not go back on again. But yeah, well, he must be, you know, getting
13:58 up. He's looking after his injuries but he's just playing each game. One wick at a time
14:05 as the coaches say. Yeah, I agree with Jordan. He's by far the most dominant player, captain
14:12 coach around here. If he's not on the park, they struggle. They lose direction so he's
14:17 got to be on there. And they haven't got a lot of depth in that position either. No.
14:21 If they lose him, you can't really replace players like that. At least you can put reasonably
14:26 experienced players in there. They're looking. Well, Ian Blake from New Zealand, Eli, who's
14:30 tried to crack at his surname. That's a little bit much for me at the moment. But he was
14:36 apparently very good against Port City but I think MacLeight Valley's going to be a little
14:39 bit tougher than Port City. Yeah, Port City. Yeah. Looking forward to watching MacLeight.
14:44 I watched them play against Foster in the very first round and they were outstanding
14:49 in the first half of the game. I think they were earning 34 points in the first half and
14:52 then sixth and second half they've been a bit of a slump but they've certainly probably
14:57 reached their potential. Yep, it's early days yet of course. You don't want to be peeking
15:01 in June. But how did they look against you guys, MacLeight Valley? Yeah, well, again,
15:07 Tauri were leading so we were 8-0. Huh? Yeah, we were leading. And then all of a sudden
15:14 by half time, in like five minutes to go to half time, they'd end up being 10-8 down.
15:18 Yeah, and they just got a bit of a run on. They get a roll on. When they get a roll on
15:24 you've got to... You've got to keep the ball away from MacLeight because Renown are not
15:29 great defenders but if they got the ball, they can do anything with it and that's what
15:33 they're rolling over us. You've been there 26 years, Goody, as you said, thoughts of
15:37 retiring or are you going to keep going for it? Oh, look, I keep saying that every year
15:41 but what am I going to do on the weekends? I could play golf I suppose but... You can't
15:46 play golf on Saturdays. If they play Sundays, you do that. Yeah, yeah. Look, both Des and
15:52 I have been there the same amount of time and we really enjoy what we do. You know,
15:57 it's just something that's probably in our blood. I think we went back in 1999 was my
16:03 first year with them and I'd been away from footy for 10 years before that and I don't
16:08 know what I'd do. I don't know. I keep saying it but I'm going to keep going. Of course,
16:12 you got on the old Country Rugby League gravy training too, didn't you? Oh, yeah. Where
16:16 have you been to as a trainer with Country Rugby League representative sides? Well, yeah,
16:21 well somebody has to do that. Yeah, where have you been to? Well, I've been to Samoa,
16:25 Fiji, Hawaii. Hawaii. Rugby League Heartland. Rugby League Heartland, Hawaii. Yes, it is,
16:30 yeah. And they played on a synthetic... We played on a synthetic pitch. Didn't you have
16:35 to train to suit the team you're playing against beforehand because they didn't know how to
16:38 play rugby league? One of the teams were... Our coach was Jamie Feeney and he got together
16:45 with a few of our players and went and did a coaching session with them. With a side
16:48 you're playing against. Yeah, and that's correct. But I think they were going over there to
16:55 try and boost their rugby league. Oh, yeah, hasn't it worked? Hasn't it worked? Well,
16:59 they've just gone into America now, haven't they? Yeah, the game's gone gangbusters over
17:03 now. I mean, actually I was in Hawaii earlier this year after going to the first round at
17:07 Las Vegas and we got to Honolulu and everybody was talking rugby league. There was photos
17:12 of this country place everywhere around the place. It was an outstanding success. How
17:17 did you miss out on that, Bridget? Yeah, they didn't take any of the 16s over there. Richard
17:21 the young ones did. Well, you go to Cootabarabran or something. Yeah, Cootabarabran. That's
17:25 the middle of Queensland apparently. No, I did 16s for a number of years. Gary was the
17:30 coach for a few of those and the year I went to Hawaii was the first year I went up the
17:34 first grade. He said, "Any chance of me getting up into the first grade?" to me brother.
17:39 Desi was there too, wasn't he? Yeah, yeah. He said, "Oh, when are you going in Australia?"
17:43 Oh, no, we did go to New Zealand, didn't we? Yeah, we went to New Zealand. Yeah, we had
17:47 a good team when we went to New Zealand. Looking back, we had Liam Martin, Jack Murchie, the
17:52 winger for Manly that plays on the left wing, the goal kicker. Reuben Gary. Reuben Gary,
17:56 I always forget his name. Yeah, he's a country boy. And then we had, when we went to Cootabarabran,
18:00 I said this, we had Ewan Aitken. Ewan Aitken, he won the game for us. Yeah, he won the game
18:03 for us. Yeah, Ewan Aitken. We've had, oh, I'm just trying to think of other players
18:09 we've had through the years. Elliot, he played up at Bundaberg. Oh, okay. So it hasn't been
18:16 all just free trips. No, no, no. We've developed the young players. In Hawaii, yeah. And of
18:24 course, you've been a long-term president of Turri Touch Football? Yes, 20 years. There's
18:30 only one higher than you, isn't there? No, I'm not. You're the highest now. Yeah. Terry
18:34 Ryan was there for many years. Yeah, Jeff Kempsey was there too. I was a secretary when they
18:39 were in the shop. What will they do if you ever give that away? I'll keep doing that
18:42 too, because I'm refereeing more so now, so I keep that up. While I'm running around,
18:47 I'm going to keep going. And of course this year, you got your Level 6, is it? Level 6
18:51 referee? Level 6 referee badge, which I never thought 10 years ago I'd be doing that. But
18:58 yeah, look, it's been good. It keeps you fit. I lost a few kilos for it, and I got the job
19:04 done. So yeah, really, really good. They gave you a big jacket for doing that? Or did you
19:09 have to buy that yourself? No, no, your jackets you get when you become a state referee. So
19:13 that's, yeah. Did you have to buy that yourself? Yeah. So Level 6 means you can referee international
19:19 games? Yeah, I could, yeah. World Cup's on in about five weeks in Nottingham, England.
19:24 Big task to go over there. A lot of the guys I know that are going. But another four years
19:30 time it's in New Zealand, so that's my aim. I'm going to try and stick around for another
19:34 four years. I'll be 69 then, but I'll just see how I'm going. And you referee over 35s
19:41 plus? Over 30s plus, yeah, yeah. So they class me as a Level 6 senior. So they don't really
19:48 put you on Open games, unless you go to State Cup, I'll probably do an Open game here and
19:52 there, but not too often. Yeah, okay. And I was Secretary when you took over as President
19:55 all those years ago. Yeah, yeah, you were, mate. I used to take you out there with your
19:58 dog. That's exactly right. Yeah, a long time ago. I miss the old touch a bit, but I certainly
20:04 won't be refereeing Level 6 level any time soon. Anyway, things are coming good. But
20:08 before we go, we'll talk a bit of origin. Gary, who do you think will come into the
20:12 New South Wales side? Well, we want one player in the centres, and we've got Latrell. I think
20:18 Latrell adds so much as a centre, because he's big-bodied, strong. And I just think
20:24 they've got to bring Matty Burton into 5'8", put Llewelyd a half, Dylan Edwards as fullback,
20:33 Ozao Yoh as block forward, Crichton and Tahoe. They've got that Penrith connection. I know
20:39 they're not playing together now, but an Apicor Sales hooker, that's that connection you want
20:44 to have. But I think the big thing now that we've lost Suali, I think Latrell's got to
20:49 be in the centres. Provided he plays a big game this weekend, like he did last weekend,
20:55 you've got to put him in there. Because there aren't that many. I know they're looking at
20:58 Bradman Best and... Ketani Stagg plays tonight. Ketani Stagg, is he playing against Latrell
21:04 tonight? Yeah. I think that's... they can't go in with four forwards on the bench again.
21:11 They can't do that. They've got to have a... if Burton's not starting, he's got to go in
21:16 the 17 men, not 18. I'd be putting Latrell in the centres because he's big-bodied and
21:24 strong. He had his best game last week. Yeah. What about you, Goodie? Who would you put
21:28 in there? Yeah, I'd put Latrell in. As I said, I thought he had his best game last week.
21:32 If he plays to his potential, he's probably the best centre. Best player... I always class
21:39 him as a centre. I don't think he's as good a full-back as he is centre. That's my opinion.
21:44 But I think Burton's got to come in for his kicking game. Our halves kicking game was
21:48 pretty poor last game. I watched Parramatta and Bulldogs on Monday and he just caused
21:55 havoc to Parramatta. I think he's got to come in. Cameron Murray from South, he plays tonight.
21:59 He plays? Nah, mate. I don't know. Not enough footy? Not enough. What he does, he would have
22:05 been the first player picked if he wasn't injured. But I think he's got to give him
22:08 a bit more time. It is another level, isn't it? The speed of the game is much quicker.
22:14 He's off the bench too, Gary. Yeah, so I wouldn't... I think they've got enough forwards there
22:19 that they're picked. I don't think Reece Robson did anything wrong with Hook. Do they do Reece
22:26 Robson, Abbey Corrisi is what they do with Hunt and... Yeah, they're different. I mean
22:32 like Harry Grant coming off the bench gives a whole new dimension. I don't think the other
22:36 two are... Nah, it's probably right. You might as well have one or the other, but I don't
22:40 think having both of these really solves any problems. What do you think of Sendoff? Could
22:43 he have caused a bit of trouble in your field with Gary this season? And actually I was
22:46 here when that happened too. Look, technically, yes, it's a sendoff because he did hit him
22:51 high, but I know it was an accident because as he was coming into the tackle he was aiming
22:56 for the mid-section and the bloke slipped. He's hit him in the head every day, the NRL.
23:02 He's hit him in the head. That's gotta happen. He didn't play the rest of the game. Now he's
23:08 out, he's missed the next game and this weekend because of the head knock. So, subsequently
23:15 he's missed two games of footy. If they hadn't have sent him off, then he's not getting penalised
23:19 at all for hitting him in the head. So, it is a sendoff every day of the week and I said
23:23 that to my brother. Your family PD, I've got to guarantee. I think the worst part was that
23:30 as he went to hit him, he turned his head away and he missed the target. It was an accident.
23:35 But, sendoff it is. Sendoff it is. Right, gentlemen, well you're off to Sydney. This
23:41 is being shown on the Minimum Times Facebook page and others. You'll be on the way I would
23:47 imagine, so enjoy your time. People are going to footy this weekend, a couple of good games,
23:51 so make sure you get along and we'll see you next week for On The Bench, which of course
23:55 is sponsored by Classic Design Jewellers. Next week they will be in Port Macquarie.
23:58 Gary, you've got the day off next week. We're off to Port Macquarie. We'll be talking to
24:01 Marty Borg from the Port News and whoever she's lined up from up there.
24:04 I like the thing, 'Hope she gets Bo Champion'.
24:07 The idea is to get Bo Champion. The idea is to speak to all the northern coaches.
24:12 We're under control, Gary. We're under control.
24:15 So, we'll say farewell today from the Tanya Bridge studio and we'll see you next week
24:20 from the Port Macquarie studio.
24:22 [no audio]