Football Code Rivalry

Mr COLLINS (Willoughby - Leader of the Opposition) [11.32]: I move:

That this House:

(1) Applauds the festival of the boot that occurred over the weekend, in particular the stunning performance of the Sydney Swans, the St George Dragons and the Manly Sea Eagles;

(2) Acknowledges the dominance of the rugby league competition by Sydney-based teams, at a time when Victoria's AFL competition is under siege from outsiders; and

(3) Expresses the hope that the cross-border raid to be undertaken by the Sydney Swans on Saturday meets with more success than those of the Government.

It is a delight to be able to move a motion when there are so many young Australians from Dubbo in the gallery to hear this important debate on sport. It is good to see the Minister for Sport and Recreation in the Chamber. I look forward to her comments, given the paucity of comments from Government members on rugby league, which is a matter of real concern. I trust that honourable members will witness some recommitment by Government members to the great game of rugby league after all the good things that have been said about Australian Rules, for obvious reasons, over the past couple of
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weeks. I am sure that the students in the gallery understand that this important motion recognises the outstanding performance of the Sydney Swans, the Manly Sea Eagles and the St George Dragons in reaching the grand final in their respective codes

The motion acknowledges that, while the Swans have had a magnificent season, rugby league has been able to deliver for its fans in one of the most difficult of years. Opposition members understand that it has been a tough year for rugby league, but it has come through in great fighting form. Sydney will have a contest - one that I will certainly be attending but I do not know whether the Premier will be able to make it, and I look forward to hearing from the Minister for Sport and Recreation whether the Premier will attend the rugby league grand final on Sunday - between two of its most enduring league teams: Manly, a picture of formidable consistency throughout the year, and St George, which has come back from the brink in a reminder of its former glory.

I have to declare my interest. I am a financial member of the Bears. For 75 consecutive years North Sydney has not won a grand final, but the Bears have put in a good year. It would be remiss of me, on behalf of fellow members of North Sydney Leagues Club, not to mention the great effort of the Bears this year. Alas, they have not made it to another grand final. However, all of that is lost on the Carr Government. To hear the words of the Premier and various Ministers in recent weeks one would not even know that a game such as rugby league was played in New South Wales. The only person in history to attend an Olympic Games and never see a sporting event is the New South Wales Premier. Last week in this House he admitted that he could not name a single sporting event that he attended in Atlanta.

The Premier has decided that he will try to make up for this less-than-average interest in sport by getting behind the Swans. As I said yesterday, the Premier has written references for Tony Lockett and got down on his knees and prayed for Plugger's groin. The Premier is desperate to catch up with the Swans. Opposition members have heard - and I do not know whether this is true or whether it is an urban myth - that the Premier applied to become the official team mascot of the Swans, but they knocked him back. They said, "When we need an albatross we will let you know." Even the Premier's enthusiasm for the Swans is hollow. He has already said that he will probably take a book to Saturday's grand final.

Mr Iemma: Who said that?

Mr COLLINS: The Premier. I hope that he comes into the Chamber to repeat it. He said publicly that he might take a book to the grand final. He would, would he not? He took a book to the opening of the Olympic Games.

Mrs Chikarovski: He needs the rule book to work out what is going on.

Mr COLLINS: What book will the Premier take? It could be the rule book; it could be a James Ellroy novel; it could be A Guide to European Cafes; or it could be How to Sack a Public Servant Without Being Sent to the Independent Commission Against Corruption. I do not think he will be taking anything that racy. I think he is going to take -

Mr Iemma: A history of St George club?

Mr COLLINS: No. I am coming to that. The Premier will take a book about the New South Wales economy under the Carr Government. It is a pretty brief volume which I think is still being written. The first page has just about been finished. I can see it now: 100,000 fans packed into the Melbourne Cricket Ground, all doing the Mexican wave, except for one solitary soul with his nose - a well-profiled and well-chiselled nose - tucked into a book doing a crash course in consolidated revenue. Better late than never! Sydney scores a goal but the Premier is looking up the definition of deficit reduction strategy. Sydney staves off a North Melbourne onslaught but the Premier is absorbed in a chapter on cross-border leasing. The Premier said that he would take a book on the New South Wales economy. The way he runs the budget I think he would be better off reading a book about Laurie Connell.

The Premier of New South Wales is better suited as a mascot for his local rugby league team, that is, a bunny. We know it is hard for the Premier being a loyal, long-suffering supporter of the South Sydney Rabbitohs; we understand his predicament. There is no question that the Swans have had an outstanding season and should be congratulated. But what about the league? We just cannot turn our backs on rugby league. Perhaps later the honourable member for Londonderry will speak to this motion. He knows that we cannot turn our backs on the league. However, not all of his colleagues understand that. The Premier does not understand that; neither does the Minister for Transport, and Minister for Tourism. He turned his back on the league. He dumped his own team. He leapt to his feet in this Chamber and moved a motion supporting the Sydney Swans, but he did not say a word about the St George Dragons, his local team, playing in a grand final this Sunday.

The Minister thinks that all those in Kogarah who are wearing red and white are Swans supporters. He might have forgotten that he is the member for Kogarah. That would be easy. His constituents have certainly forgotten that he is. He is about as popular in Kogarah as the Minister for the Olympics, and Minister for Roads is in Campbelltown. A few months ago the Minister for Transport wanted to change the name of St George Hospital. The Opposition has a better idea: change the name of the member. The honourable member has a football team that has clawed its way back from near extinction, yet he did not think to mention them. He tried to scratch his way out of trouble yesterday by saying that he had singled out the
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Swans for special mention because their achievement was historic. Honourable members know it is historic to have a Sydney team playing in a grand final in Victoria for the first time in a century of Australian football, but it will be double history because the Swans will win convincingly.

The rugby league team in the Minister's electorate - St George - started the season with no coach, no sponsors, players departing in droves and with little prospect of surviving the year. St George is now in the grand final. For all young people in the gallery today it is a wonderful story of achievement, of fight back, of seeing through the tough times to make it to the good times. I am sure that everybody in the public gallery, including the young people who have joined us today, will watch that grand final on Sunday. I commend the motion to the House. [Time expired.]

Ms HARRISON (Parramatta - Minister for Sport and Recreation) [11.42]: I, too, welcome our visitors from the great city of Dubbo, which has been a nursery for some of our greatest rugby league players. I acknowledge that we may have a star amongst the students in the gallery today. I am most disappointed in the Leader of the Opposition because he has shown today his total lack of understanding of sport in this State by seeking to politicise the great efforts of New South Wales sportsmen and sportswomen. It is clear that sportsmen and sportswomen want support from both sides of the House and do not like the politicisation of sport. Yesterday during debate on an urgent motion that received bipartisan support I had the pleasure of congratulating the Swans on their great effort. Members who spoke in that debate were very proud of the Swans.

Mr ACTING-SPEAKER (Mr Gaudry): Order! The Leader of the Opposition had adequate time to present his case in the debate. He should listen to the Minister for Sport and Recreation in silence.

Ms HARRISON: I was also disappointed to hear the Leader of the Opposition say that members of the Opposition were great sportspeople. One of the lowest acts in this House is to refuse a pair for a Minister for Sport and Recreation who wishes to acknowledge the junior and rising sports stars in this State. I asked for a pair to attend the Norwich Union rising star award, which recognises an up-and-coming rugby league player but the Opposition saw fit to refuse me. I also asked for a pair to attend a State reception for the New Zealand netball team, and again that pair was refused. I was late in arriving at the reception. Yesterday the Carbine Club had a lunch in honour of rugby league, and once again I was refused a pair to allow me to attend the lunch.

Mr Collins: Get the numbers!

Ms HARRISON: Members of the Opposition are anti-sport and bad sports to boot. Yesterday I took the opportunity to praise the efforts of the Swans' coaching staff, the administrators and a number of the legendary figures from their past who helped put them in a position this year to win the premiership flag. Yesterday I mentioned people such as Ron Barassi, Ron Joseph and club chairman Richard Colless, whose work should be remembered for years to come no matter the result on Saturday, although we all hope for a magnificent victory.

Mr Schultz: Not me, I am a Norths supporter.

Ms HARRISON: I am talking about the Swans. Last Saturday's final victory highlighted the brilliance of the team's key players.

Mr ACTING-SPEAKER: Order! The honourable member for Burrinjuck will have an opportunity to participate in the debate at the appropriate time.

Ms HARRISON: If the key players can reproduce their top form next Saturday the flag should be ours. Players of the calibre of Tony Lockett, Paul Kelly and Paul Roos will hold the key to a victory on Saturday. Yesterday I outlined to the House some of the great honours that Plugger has won during his career, but I would like to add to those today. As I mentioned yesterday in this Chamber, Plugger is only the fourth player in history to pass 1,000 career goals. However, it is worth mentioning also that he holds the goal scoring record for the Swans at the Sydney Cricket Ground having kicked 16 six-pointers in a match against Fitzroy in 1995. This season Plugger has kicked more than 100 goals and obviously will be one of the Swans main players on Saturday. Perhaps his most important kick came last Saturday night under incredible pressure after the siren when he piloted a 60-metre kick between the posts for a point, which put him and his team mates on the plane south this week.

What else can be said about Swans captain Paul Kelly that has not already been said? Paul Kelly is one of the most inspirational players in the modern game and the 1995 Brownlow medallist. Kelly has been the driving force behind the Swans' march to the grand final. Sportspeople everywhere would do well to watch this amazing athlete as he goes about his work. He sets a great example to the youth of our State to follow. Paul Kelly's contribution on Saturday will be an integral part of the success of the team, and I am sure that his leadership and boundless energy will put the Swans on the right side of the ledger at the game's end. Paul Roos, who is mainly used as a free-running defender and has a string of playing honours to his name including wearing the No. 1 guernsey more than any other player in Australian Football League history, will also have a major impact on the game.

Mrs Skinner: What about the rugby?

Ms HARRISON: I am getting to the rugby. And I will be at the game on Sunday, as I was last weekend.

Mr Richardson: Who are you barracking for?

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Ms HARRISON: I, like the rest of the members of this House, am delighted that Sydney teams and not Canberra and Brisbane are in the grand final. I have great difficulty in deciding which team to support on Sunday because my team is out of the competition. If Parramatta were playing it would be easy for me. I will have a fair bet each way. Manly was the in-form team last weekend. But the past does not matter; it is only the game on the day that counts. St George, one of the most well-known rugby league clubs in the world, will once again contest the grand final. The red and white phenomenon has been in evidence in more than one code this year. The mighty St George club has battled through a difficult season, which started without a coach and uncertainty over which players would eventually turn out for the club. Despite the problems, the team has come from the lower end of the finals contenders and has had some thrilling performances to claim a place in the season's finale.

I join with all members of the House in wishing coach David Waite and his players the best after what has been a very difficult season: they deserve all the plaudits they are receiving. Their opponent, Manly, has been consistent throughout the season, and most impartial followers of the game would agree that Manly has every right to take its place on the field on Sunday. I also wish coach Bob Fulton and his team the best. The success of the two Sydney teams in reaching Sunday's grand final highlights the strength of the game in Sydney. Their success has come at the expense of the clubs from Canberra, Newcastle, Brisbane and New Zealand.

Indeed, Sydney-based clubs have been so dominant this year that four teams from Sydney fought for two places in the grand final. St George and Manly will face one another on Sunday and another Sydney team will do battle 1,000 kilometres to the south. That is a tremendous sign that football in all codes is alive and thriving well in this great city. Aussie rules devotees in Victoria must be wondering they will do when a team from the rugby league capital of the world removes the flag from their State in the same way that Western Australia has already done. I support any expression of hope that states that the cross-border raid to be undertaken by the Swans will meet with success, but I have problems with the motion before the House today. The Government recognises the strength of rugby league across this great State. I do not feel that only Sydney-based teams should be recognised. I move:

That the motion be amended by leaving out all words after the words "Manly Sea Eagles".

Mr HAZZARD (Wakehurst) [11.50]: One has only to see the behaviour of Government members to realise their ignorance. They are leaping out of their seats. They would not know the first thing about sport. They followed their captain onto the backbenches, and that is where they will all soon be. I am pleased that they are so exuberant; they are usually not awake at this time on a Thursday. It is my privilege to support the Leader of the Opposition on this motion. Wonderful things are happening in all codes of Sydney football, and honourable members who live on the peninsula, the northern beaches - an area that coalition members refer to in derogatory terms - have the best rugby league team and two of the best rugby union teams, Manly and Warringah.

Mr MacCarthy: Les Boyd.

Mr HAZZARD: Les Boyd. Honourable members may not recognise the emblem I am wearing. It is a sea eagle. The Sea Eagles, the Manly-Warringah Rugby League Football Club, which is located at Brookvale, unfortunately is in the electorate of the honourable member for Davidson. That team has the bipartisan support of all local members. The Minister for Sport and Recreation said that the Opposition was not bipartisan. It has the bipartisan support of the honourable member for Manly and the honourable member for Pittwater. I understand that the honourable member for Pittwater has almost been adopted as a good-luck mascot by the Warringah Rugby Club, the Rats, and attends most of their home games. Both teams are petrified and want to leave when they see the Premier at a match. They think they will end up like the Government 18 months down the gurgler. I have been a supporter of Manly-Warringah for many years.

Mr McBride: How many years?

Mr HAZZARD: I grew up on the peninsula, and I have been a member of the club since I was 18.

Mr ACTING-SPEAKER (Mr Gaudry): Order! The honourable member for Wakehurst will address his remarks through the Chair and will resist replying to interjections.

Mr HAZZARD: It is pathetic to hear members opposite claim to have some understanding of the sporting nature of those who live on the peninsula. My nephew, who played for the Cromer club -

Mr ACTING-SPEAKER: Order! The honourable member for The Entrance will refrain from interjecting.

Mr HAZZARD: He wants to have his say. He knows he will not be here after the next election. He has to get in his two bob's worth. Last year Manly-Warringah came very close to winning, but Canterbury-Bankstown won, and I congratulate them. I congratulate the Sea Eagles on their efforts this year - this will be their year. Bob Fulton has been around for many years. I looked up to him when I was a child; he is now coaching. I congratulate also Frank Stanton, the president of the club; Cliff Lyons, whose magic feet guarantee that good things will happen in any match; Geoff Toovey; John Hopoate, and the list goes on.

This weekend the captain will be playing with a broken cheek bone, and people will see what those on the peninsula can do. Manly-Warringah will win
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decisively this week. I have some sympathy for the Swans. As a child I used to play Australian rules. I follow the Collingwood Magpies, but I am delighted that the Swans are playing in the grand final and that Sydneysiders will show Victorians what it is all about. The peninsula has a festival of football - it has the best Aussie rules team in Australia; the best league team, the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles; the Manly Rugby Union Club and the Warringah Rugby Club. Members opposite must be jealous that football clubs from their areas have not reached the grand final. All members of the Opposition support our teams. [Time expired.]

Mr LANGTON (Kogarah - Minister for Transport, and Minister for Tourism) [11.55]: I support the amendment moved by the Minister for Sport and Recreation. The motion moved by the Leader of the Opposition is an insult to other New South Wales-based teams, particularly those in the Illawarra and Newcastle. The amendment should be supported by the House. Honourable members should wish all three teams well on the weekend - St George and Manly in the rugby league grand final and the Swans in the Australian rules grand final. Yesterday I referred to the magnificent contribution that the success of the Swans has made to tourism in Sydney and the contribution that the Government can make with the introduction of the Swans link.

I congratulate the three teams, and in particular Mark Coyne and David Waite from St George rugby league team, Geoff Toovey and Bob Fulton from Manly, and Rodney Eade and Paul Kelly from the Swans. They have achieved the pinnacle of their career in reaching the grand final this weekend. They are wonderful role models to young sportspeople and show what dedication and commitment can achieve. They all deserve credit. On Sunday I will, as always, support St George, but this House should wish both rugby league teams well. The salient point of the debate is clear. The Leader of the Opposition has shown that he does not know anything about sport. Sport is about sportsmanship, it is not about trying to drag grubby politics into a debate. The contribution of the Leader of the Opposition was pathetic. It will go down as one of the low points of this House.

Mr ACTING-SPEAKER: Order! The Leader of the Opposition will have his chance to reply.

Mr LANGTON: What more need one say? The Government wishes all three teams well on Sunday, but the Opposition's politicisation of this debate is as low as one can get.

Mr DOWNY (Sutherland) [11.58]: It gives me great pleasure to contribute to the debate. I am surprised that the Government should seek to amend the motion; the second part of it simply states a fact. This year - as happened last year, for the first time in many years - two Sydney teams fought for supremacy in rugby league in Australia and New Zealand. Unfortunately, the greatest rugby league team in the world, the mighty Cronulla Sharks, will not play in the first grade, but I take this opportunity to wish the Sharks all the best in the reserve grade grand final. This will be their sixth grand final - a mighty effort!

I pay tribute to both St George and Manly. Manly has come a long way in the past few years; the team seems to have been rehabilitated. In yesterday's Sydney Morning Herald Roy Masters said how much he likes Manly these days. He claimed they were more like fibros than silvertails; he could actually have a beer with them in their dressing room. I found that a bit hard to believe.

The great Roy Masters - former St George coach, former Western Suburbs coach - said what a great team Manly was. In the past 30 years Manly has made the finals 25 times, which is an indication of the success Manly has enjoyed. When one considers Sunday's grand final, one must pay tribute to St George: a team which was almost split at the beginning of the year. There was talk of amalgamation with Eastern Suburbs, talk of some players defecting to Super League and of others staying with the Australian Rugby League. St George was in a sorry state. It did not have a coach. But then along came David Waite, who has performed wonders this year with the St George team. It does not matter whether one supports Cronulla, Parramatta, Norths, Manly or the Swans -

Mr Iemma: He played for Cronulla.

Mr DOWNY: The honourable member is quite right, he did play for Cronulla. For St George to reach the grand final this year is a phenomenal achievement. This year St George have shown all those old-fashioned values of team mates, sportsmanship and competing against the odds in order to achieve what they have. I congratulate the St George club on its success. I have already complimented Manly, but when I am at the Sydney Football Stadium on Sunday I will support the Sutherland Shire's second team, the mighty St George. I congratulate the Dragons and the Sea Eagles on making the Sydney rugby league grand final. I also congratulate the Swans on making the Aussie rules grand final. Everyone in this House hopes that the Swans win the Aussie rules grand final on Saturday. As the honourable member for Davidson is trying to remind me, Warringah has made the rugby union grand final, but I am fairly sure that Randwick will beat them.

Mr GIBSON (Londonderry) [12.02]: I had not intended to participate in the debate, but after hearing some pretenders on the other side who tell us about their interest in rugby league, I will take five minutes to tell honourable members a little bit about what I know.

Mrs Chikarovski: It will only take five minutes, too.

Mr GIBSON: I know that, because the retentive rate of the honourable member is no longer than five minutes. I congratulate the Swans on their
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success. In a short time they have done a fabulous job to come from second last in the competition to grand finalists. I do not fully understand the game, and I am not really rapt in the game, but I am rapt in such a remarkable effort. Any sport that is played, whether it is Aussie rules, rugby league or marbles, is good for the community and good for everyone overall. I wish the Swans and North Melbourne all the very best of luck on Saturday. The honourable member for Burrinjuck has been a supporter of North Melbourne for 40 years. He will have a different allegiance on the weekend.

I know a little about rugby league. I was fortunate enough to play rugby league in Sydney for 13 years. For the benefit of honourable members opposite, I can say that I have a fairly good background in sport, having competed at a New South Wales level in basketball, athletics and swimming. In 1965 I had the privilege of being signed up by Kenny Arthurson to play with Manly. In those days he was secretary of Manly. At the time Manly was endeavouring to build up a premiership-winning team.

Mr Hazzard: Did you play rugby league for Manly?

Mr GIBSON: I did not play marbles like you, mate, and I did not look after wills, either. The three players signed up by Manly in those days, apart from me, were Bobby Fulton, Mick Vivers, and Ken Day. The first season I spent with Manly was 1966. We went from nearly wooden spooners to finalists in the first year - we made the rugby league final. Some great players played for Manly in those days, players of the calibre of Frankie Stanton, Pogo Morgan, Billy Bradstreet and Freddie Jones. Who could forget such a personality in rugby league as Freddie Jones? Anyone who knows anything about rugby league would immediately identify with these names. Another prominent player was Bobby Batty. He was described as the two-iron with ears. He was a great goal kicker, a great competitor and a great person. We also had the calibre of people such as Nick and Fred Yakich on the wing. Manly had a very good side.

During those years I had the privilege of playing rugby league against some very good St George players. At the end of my time at Manly I spent three or four years at Parramatta. At the end of that time Johnny Raper took over the coaching of St George. He and Frank Facer offered me a contract with St George. They had some wonderful players. When one talks about rugby league and grand finals one must reflect on the players of that era. It could be argued that rugby league has never experienced a stronger time. There were the great players such as Norm Provan and Billy Wilson. People might forget them, but who could forget Puff the Magic Dragon, who is still regarded as one of the greatest players. Two of the best rugby players I ever saw associated with the two clubs competing in the grand final on Sunday are Bobby Fulton, who played with Manly, and Puff the Magic Dragon, Reg Gasnier.

The association of such players with the clubs in the grand final encourages people to think a little and reflect on previous years. Sunday's competition will be wonderful. I might be a little unique in my relationship with some teams, particularly Manly, because I had the privilege of playing first grade with Manly. My son Greg Gibson also played first grade rugby league with Manly. The Gibsons have some pedigree and background so far as rugby league is concerned. It gives me great pleasure to be able to say a few words in that regard today, not to blow my own trumpet or to push anybody else's barrow, but to say that rugby league is a great game. It does not matter what sort of sport one supports, as long as one supports sport for sport's sake. If we can teach our kids to have a love of sport rather than have them sit in front of the television we will have done a wonderful job.

Mr COLLINS (Willoughby - Leader of the Opposition) [12.07], in reply: We have just heard a thoughtful contribution from the honourable member for Londonderry. We have waited a long time for it, but we have finally heard a thoughtful and constructive contribution from a Government member in this debate.

Mr Debnam: He should be the sports Minister.

Mr COLLINS: As the honourable member for Vaucluse just said, it shows that it is the honourable member for Londonderry who should be the sports Minister, not the Minister at the table - the Minister for Sport and Recreation. The honourable member for Londonderry knows something about sport, he has passion for and commitment to rugby league. He has the sort of commitment to rugby league that we on this side of the House have. The points made by the honourable member for Londonderry are appropriate. It was a telling contribution, given the pathetic contribution by the Minister for Sport and Recreation. What did we get from the Minister, but petulant outbursts because she missed out on lunch the other day. A number of us were invited to that lunch the other day, but we had to be here, that is why she did not get a pair.

I draw the attention of the House to a little point of subtlety that the Minister has probably missed: she can leave the House any time she likes, but if it comes to a vote it will remind the people of New South Wales how close the numbers are in this House. I invite the Minister to go to all the lunches she wants to go to. Take my car! The Opposition rejects the amendment proposed by the Minister for Sport and Recreation. The Opposition is pro-sport, but it is anti-Labor. The Opposition wants to change the Government as soon as possible. Any contribution the Minister for Sport and Recreation can make to that change will be welcomed by the Opposition. She should go ahead and do it.

Returning to the remarks of the honourable member for Londonderry - and this is important - the Carr Government could learn a lot from the
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Manly team because it is widely known as the best defensive team in the competition and coached by one of the best attacking players that rugby league has ever seen, that is, Bob Fulton, a great man and a great player. Having taken out the minor premiership, the team is now battling injuries to some of its key players. Its fullback was knocked unconscious last weekend and is champing at the bit to take to the paddock on Sunday. Its captain, Geoff Toovey, who was practically blinded last weekend, will play in three days with a fractured eye socket. These people are great sportsmen and are battling on. It is going to be a great encounter on Sunday.

I am equally confident the Swans team will have more success with its cross-border raid than the Carr Government had with its attempts to steal business from Melbourne. This is why we are rejecting the amendment. Members will remember when the Premier and the Treasurer went to Melbourne last year just after they were elected and said that they were going on a cross-border raid to Melbourne and would come back with saddlebags full of gold. Remember that? The Minister for Public Works remembers that: he is looking stunned. Why? Because they came back with nothing.

The Government has lost the Eastern Creek motorcycle grand prix to Melbourne and it looks like losing the Bledisloe Cup to Melbourne. It has lost Foxtel and Westpac. It has lost project after project after project. If the Minister for Sport and Recreation is not careful she will see the State lose the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. That is how much of a handle she has on sport. This is a very important motion and should be passed intact. Again I acknowledge the significant contributions made by Opposition speakers to the debate. I thank them for their thoughtful contributions and also acknowledge the very constructive comments made by the honourable member for Londonderry who obviously should be the sports Minister in the Carr Government. I commend the motion.

Amendment agreed to.

Motion as amended agreed to.