Almanac Rugby League – Granny’s five cents goes a long way (a late sixties boyhood in Sydney)

Sausage roll five cents, (sauce one cent extra); musk sticks, cobbers, freckles, milk bottles, musk sticks, bananas – cent each; bertie beetle, choo-choo-bar, both five cents.

Shiny packet on top of the glass-topped bench: same as a snag roll (minus sauce); forget bertie, forget the black mouthed bar; bargain!

Give over the echidna; Mrs Mineo smiling, handing me treasures.  Excited, anxious – hope I haven’t got any swaps; feeling the wax paper (same as milkshake straws only thinner); chewy aroma wafting; unwrapping gems (I hope!); stick of stiff gum, dusting fingers lightly; eyes brighten; gawww…shiny hero-photos emerging; flick, flick, flick… Fulton!…Langlands…sigh….Artie!…Eric…Bradstreet…Glasgow…Weier…yeah, yeah….pretty good…

“Hey Tim, watcha got?  Wanna swap Langlands?”

 

 

 

 

 

About Adam Muyt

Born into rugby league, found Aussie rules, fell for soccer, flirts a little with union. Author of three books, including 'Clogball' (2023) and 'Maroon & Blue' (2006). Lives in Tasmania and is looking forward to soon yelling out, 'Go Devils!'

Comments

  1. johnharms says

    Arthur is a beautiful man. Just look at him. The boy from Roma.It is amagnificent quirk of tail-end and new generations that I was able to see him at that first state of origin.

    Wonderful vignette for origin week Adam.

  2. Andrew Else says

    I love that Barry Glasgow has the face (and hair) to match the name

  3. Andrew Fithall says

    If you had the complete set Adam, could you turn them over and place them in order to form a picture? For VFL it was often a full-ground picture, potentially including scoreboard, of a grand final.

    And for RL ignoramuses like me, what was a centre-three-quarter and why don’t they exist now?

  4. Adam Muyt says

    Andrew, a centre thre-quarter was not as full as a fullback, but more than a five-eight. Got it?

  5. Greg Mallory says

    The players represented above make a good statement about the reasons State of Origin came about. There are 2 Queenslanders in the above collection – Artie (Redcliffe) & Lloyd Weier. Lloyd was a member of the ‘infamous’ Brisbane Norths pack which won 5 Brisbane Grand Finals in a row, 1960-64.

    Greg Mallory (Queensland by 8)

  6. johnharms says

    Andy

    half back
    five eighth ( a great position to play by any codes standards)
    centre three quarter (inside centre)
    centre three quarter (outside centre)
    wing three quarter (right wing)
    wing three quarter (left wing)
    full back

    centres are now centres, or technically left and right centre, and attacks tend to be constructed with a different mindset which involves a whole new concepts like outballs ( a brilliant idea named, I reckon, by Kevvy and Steve Renouf – now that is a good story of how they discovered it, and A. Johns and Locky took it up and refined it and now it has entered The Book of Common Plays)

  7. Greg Mallory says

    The abovee cards represent the resaons \Sstate of Origin came about. Threr are 2 Queenslanders, Artie (Redcliffe) and lloyd Weier. Lloyd was a member od the infamous; Brisbane Norths pack that won 5 Brisbane Premierships ina row, 1960-64.

    Greg Mallory

  8. Greg Mallory says

    Lloyd Weier – Lloyd represented Brisbane & Qld from Brisbane Norts in 1962, 63 & Australia from North Sydney 1965. He returned to Brisbane in 1970 & played again for Brisbane Norths. He died in 2003

  9. Danielle says

    vintage= uber cute! :)

  10. Rocket Rod Gillett says

    Can’t believe how youthful Bozo Fulton looks with the Hill in the background at the SCG…
    And Eric Simms at Redfern Oval – he made his name at full back – not in the centres
    But for mine, the best card is Changa the Magic Dragon.

    But as the tradie’s sticker on the tool box in the back of the ute in North Sydney proclaims:
    Where’s my team?

  11. Adam Muyt says

    Ah Rod, you poor Bear-soul. Tragedy in so many forms, worse than any other club in league land. What was worse? The Harbour Bridge destroying the working class roots of the suburb or a year of bad weather ruining any chance of the relocation to the Central Coast? Anyways, here’s to the ‘Big Black Bears Are Back on the Road Again’ sometime soon.

  12. George Callum-Jones Kennedy says

    As Roy & HG say aptly put it, Bozo was a clown!

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