September 4, 2024 • 13 mins
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Well, he's actually caught up with Tony Crowe from NRL
here in the Northern Territory and heard more about the players,
the coaches, the officials that were recognized at the annual
awards night on Monday. And there was also three longtime
territorians who were recognized with life membership. Now those three
Territorians were Greg Hanson from the Palmerston Raiders, Tanya Hazel
(00:24):
from the Palmerston Raiders, and well life membership to Jackie
Edwards from the Nightcliff Dragons and she joins me on
the line.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Good morning, Jackie, Good morning Katie. How are you.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
I'm very good.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Congratulations on your life membership.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Thank you, thank you, thank you. It was an absolutely
wonderful night. Now I am a wonderful night to be
a volunteer.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
I bet it was.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Now I understand that there actually haven't been life memberships
awarded since twenty fourteen, so it must have been bit
of a surprise.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
It was a big surprise. I think it was a
big surprise for the three of us, actually, both Kenya
and Greg, who have served the Rugby league community for many,
many many years in many ways.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Now tell me, I mean you dedicate so much of
your time to the Nightcliff Dragons, but also to rugby
league and the history of league here in the Northern Territory.
Tell me why you volunteer in the way that you do.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Well, It becomes part of your life, I think, Katie,
you know when I first came to Darwin in nineteen
sixty nine a marriage Jim, who was an avid rugby
league player back in the day. And you get involved,
you get involved in the rugby league community like most
people get involved in a sporting community. You get involved
and then you get entrenched, and then you become a tragic.
(01:55):
So I guess I'm a tragic.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
Not at all.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
You know.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
People need clubs need people like you.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Well, there always is people like me around, you know,
she said. I've been around for probably longer than most
of them, you know. So if it does become your passion,
and of course then it becomes your family, you then
everyone you know is involved in a sports and in
particular rugby league, it's a very close, tight knit community.
(02:31):
While we're competitors on the field, we're also very close
knit group off the field. I feel anyway, That's the
way I look at it, and most of our friends
and some of our lifelong friends have been made through
the sport of rugby.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
League and you know, the mighty Nightcliff Dragons.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
If you know, you've had so much well to do
with the club, You've been involved in the club for
such a long period of time. Jackie, what's been some
of the highlights for you over the years.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Well, getting life membership for Night Dragons was a highlight,
getting to know all the players, winning premierships, being involved
with junior kids right from I can remember when we
used to play at Anular Oval and honestly, Katie, the
kids had run and the dust had fly up under
(03:24):
their feet, you know, like so and all those kids
that were playing then are now of course adults. Some
of them don't play anymore, but and some are still
involved in the club. But the highlights felt, I guess,
is the friendships that you make. There's been some amazing
women come through Night because I believe we've had some
(03:46):
juty Gate lead bearst to mind more in Britain, Selena Petrelli.
The list goes on and on and on. You and
so I've been one of the fortunate ones where I've
been there for a long time and I've been awarded
LAFE membership to the club and to the league.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
Yeah, it's such like it's a wonderful thing.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
And I think it's really great that, you know that
the three of you were recognized, and I was surprised
that it's something that hasn't happened since twenty fourteen. And
you know, that was what Tony had said, you know
that it is it is a bit of a shame,
and you know, he felt as though he probably should
have reintroduced it back sooner. But no doubt the three
of you were pretty toughed on Monday night.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Yeah, it was a special night. It really was a
special night. I've had some funny things have happened over
the years, you know, And I think I reiterated it
on the night they set us all down and interviewed,
did an interview, you know, and they asked me. I
said to them that I did play rugby league in
the seventies. Ye, and I also played again in the nineties,
(04:51):
but only because back then women in league and rugby
league for women was sort of fledgling and there weren't
a lot of girls playing. And we were at night
this had enough girls to put on the field, but
they needed one more, so I said, all right, I'll
put my hand up, but I'm just going on the
(05:12):
wing because I was and I was old girl by then,
you know, and we didn't want to pay the fine.
So I took the field and Arthur bowl and took
one look at me. So he was our senior referee
in the day. He took one look at me and
he said, Jackie, what are you doing? I said, Arthur,
I'm just on here so we don't get a fine,
(05:33):
so can you please protect me? He said, all right,
but there will be conditions. So we played sisters, you know,
and they were the gun as they still are today,
you know. And so they chipped the ball and I thought,
I have to go and pick this up now. I
ran down and Arpa said that she's tackled, and and
(05:57):
they blew up. No, no, we haven't got her yet.
She's tackled. Play the bull, Jackie. So I played the bull.
The game went on. I never got tackled the entire
game of one minute. At the end of the game,
he said, Edward, come here, So I walked over. I said, yes, sir.
He said you're off, and he said you're off for
(06:18):
the cent and I said, oh, I used to get off,
and so I walked off. And the reason behind it
was that he had said steam off on multiple occasions.
He said all my boys off on multiple occasions, and
so he wanted to get the families he had five,
(06:39):
not just in his belt. But that's one of many,
many fabulous things that have happened in rugby league aground.
And I guess if I could say that the support
you get from a rugby league community as the most
sporting communities in Darwin, that if anything happens to you
(07:02):
or your family, like when Stem broke his neck, the
support was amazing and it continues to today, a kat
you know, so everything like that makes it all worthwhile.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
Yeah, I truly would.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
And you know, and when you go through those hardships
as a family as well, to then have your sporting
club that, like you said, becomes your family, it makes
such a huge difference to your life to have that
network of support. So I just think it's a beautiful thing.
It's a thing I love about sport more generally.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Absolutely, And you know what, I've been absolutely blessed, Katie.
I think I've probably watched fifteen hundred to two thousand
games of I believeue over fifty years and every one
of those kids from the bull boy to the under
sevens right through to the seniors, I've watched them develop
all that way and they are all still my friends
(07:56):
from every club. You know. So privileged am I to
have that happen to me?
Speaker 1 (08:02):
How beautiful? Well, Jackie, I do want to ask you
as well. I mean in terms of you do a
lot too when it comes to the history of rugby
league in the Northern Territory. I know that you've got
the Facebook page that really shares a lot of those
memories when it comes to the Northern Territori's history with
rugby league. How important is it do you think for
(08:23):
you know, for some of the older blokes that you
know that used to play footy here in the Northern Territory,
that you're able to do that, Katie.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
I get boxes of programmed photos, people ringing me up saying,
you know, look, I've got this photo. Can you put
this up? So yes, send it to me. I'm more
than happy. It's my absolute passion is the history of
rugby league in the Northern Territory. I created that site
when Richardson Park was doomed yeah, and a lot of
(08:53):
the history was disposed of, not all of it, a
lot they've kept some at the NRL key, but a
lot of it was disposed of and I was absolutely hearttaken.
I was diligent when I worked there. I had files
and files from nineteen sixty five right through till when
I left, and they were all thrown out. And then,
(09:16):
of course, you know it's well documented my passion to
save Richton Park I wasn't successful. So I actually started
it off as the men A League in the Northern
Territory and it was running along smoothly and I got
a phone call from my it's called family a League
now and they said that I was illegally using their
(09:37):
name and that I needed to close the page down.
So I said, well, I'm not closing the page down, sorry, mate,
but I am going to change the name. So I
changed the name to the History of Rugby League in
the Norton Territory. And it had been so successful. There's
about five thousand members on there and they love it.
(09:58):
I get messages all the time. Is this page we
love it?
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Yeah, that's so good. I think it's a great thing
to do. And you know, like as as a person
who's grown up in a real rugby league family, I
know it is so important, you know, and and you know,
especially for the older generation to be able to look
back at some of those photos and things that we
you know, we take for granted a bit now, I think,
given the fact we've all got our phones and we
(10:22):
can take photos so easily, but it really wasn't the case,
and some of those old team photos and that kind
of thing. It's lovely for people to be able to
go and have a look at. Well.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
I've been a bit tied up over the last few months,
him not being well, and you know, I sort of haven't.
But now now our seasons is almost over, so I'll
be I'll be approaching Tiny Crow now to perhaps use
some of the photos that they've kept there, some of
the old team photos. But it's also good for the
(10:52):
young ones, you know. They need to know where our
history is at, yeah, totally, and where it started, you know,
so if it's on somewhere, at least it's there.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
Yeah, I agree.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
Now, Jackie, before I let you go this morning, I
ran into you and Stem of course, on the weekend
at the shops at Casarina and Stemm had given me
a little heads up that you were going to that
you were going to be receiving your life membership. How
hard do you think he found it to keep this secret?
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Well, he doesn't keep many secrets. Would be hard.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
I kept it though, we both kept it.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
He did a really good job.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
He must have been proud, was he?
Speaker 2 (11:38):
He was very proud. And I've got to say he's
been my main stay behind all this. He encourages me
to keep the history page going. He's always on the
scout looking for photos and all that sort of thing.
So we're not a bad team. So in that sense,
we're now both dual life members in our households for
(11:58):
the Lord Chiuti Rugy League. And I think that's probably
one of the first in where you get a husband
and wife team.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
How cool.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
I know, it's pretty good.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
That's so cool. Yeah, that is so cool.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
There was one in mant Isis and you know this
family too, the Thompsons, was it? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (12:15):
Maybe? Yeah, I would have thought maybe even the Daisies.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
There's a few.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
There is definitely a few rugby leaguing families there in
Mount Isa, There's no doubt about that. And that's what
That's what I always think when you share those photos,
it reminds me, you know, of my dad playing in
the Folly Shield and that kind of history. And I
think that that's why it's so important to the rugby
league community, whether it's here or whether it's in Queensland,
no matter where it is, because it's not just a game, right,
(12:41):
it's party life.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
It is it is and that we still those fan
Daisy very well yep, and I think he said he's
told you that he knew your dad. Yeah, against your
dad and the Thompsons were iconic in man Issa as
Stuey Thompson was here for brothers in Darwin and North
and Geodory. So yeah, it stretches a long way, doesn't
(13:03):
it please?
Speaker 3 (13:03):
Friends you They truly truly do well.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
Jackie, We're gonna have to go. I've got to get
across to the news. It is lovely to talk to
you this morning. A big congratulations to you and also
to Greg Hansen and Tanya Hazel. Wonderful news and I'm
so very happy to see you receive that life membership.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
We were all very happy to be up there together
and I want to congratulate the both of them to
they've done a sterling job in their efforts and their
dedication to rugby league most.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
Definitely wonderful stuff. Well, Jackie, I'll talk to you again
very soon. Thanks so much for joining me this morning.
Speaker 3 (13:42):
Thanks Kate Love, thank you you too. See Bye.
Well, he's actually caught up with Tony Crowe from NRL
here in the Northern Territory and heard more about the players,
the coaches, the officials that were recognized at the annual
awards night on Monday. And there was also three longtime
territorians who were recognized with life membership. Now those three
Territorians were Greg Hanson from the Palmerston Raiders, Tanya Hazel
(00:24):
from the Palmerston Raiders, and well life membership to Jackie
Edwards from the Nightcliff Dragons and she joins me on
the line.
Speaker 2 (00:35):
Good morning, Jackie, Good morning Katie. How are you.
Speaker 3 (00:39):
I'm very good.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
Congratulations on your life membership.
Speaker 2 (00:44):
Thank you, thank you, thank you. It was an absolutely
wonderful night. Now I am a wonderful night to be
a volunteer.
Speaker 3 (00:52):
I bet it was.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
Now I understand that there actually haven't been life memberships
awarded since twenty fourteen, so it must have been bit
of a surprise.
Speaker 2 (01:02):
It was a big surprise. I think it was a
big surprise for the three of us, actually, both Kenya
and Greg, who have served the Rugby league community for many,
many many years in many ways.
Speaker 1 (01:15):
Now tell me, I mean you dedicate so much of
your time to the Nightcliff Dragons, but also to rugby
league and the history of league here in the Northern Territory.
Tell me why you volunteer in the way that you do.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
Well, It becomes part of your life, I think, Katie,
you know when I first came to Darwin in nineteen
sixty nine a marriage Jim, who was an avid rugby
league player back in the day. And you get involved,
you get involved in the rugby league community like most
people get involved in a sporting community. You get involved
and then you get entrenched, and then you become a tragic.
(01:55):
So I guess I'm a tragic.
Speaker 3 (02:02):
Not at all.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
You know.
Speaker 3 (02:04):
People need clubs need people like you.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
Well, there always is people like me around, you know,
she said. I've been around for probably longer than most
of them, you know. So if it does become your passion,
and of course then it becomes your family, you then
everyone you know is involved in a sports and in
particular rugby league, it's a very close, tight knit community.
(02:31):
While we're competitors on the field, we're also very close
knit group off the field. I feel anyway, That's the
way I look at it, and most of our friends
and some of our lifelong friends have been made through
the sport of rugby.
Speaker 3 (02:45):
League and you know, the mighty Nightcliff Dragons.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
If you know, you've had so much well to do
with the club, You've been involved in the club for
such a long period of time. Jackie, what's been some
of the highlights for you over the years.
Speaker 2 (03:03):
Well, getting life membership for Night Dragons was a highlight,
getting to know all the players, winning premierships, being involved
with junior kids right from I can remember when we
used to play at Anular Oval and honestly, Katie, the
kids had run and the dust had fly up under
(03:24):
their feet, you know, like so and all those kids
that were playing then are now of course adults. Some
of them don't play anymore, but and some are still
involved in the club. But the highlights felt, I guess,
is the friendships that you make. There's been some amazing
women come through Night because I believe we've had some
(03:46):
juty Gate lead bearst to mind more in Britain, Selena Petrelli.
The list goes on and on and on. You and
so I've been one of the fortunate ones where I've
been there for a long time and I've been awarded
LAFE membership to the club and to the league.
Speaker 3 (04:06):
Yeah, it's such like it's a wonderful thing.
Speaker 1 (04:09):
And I think it's really great that, you know that
the three of you were recognized, and I was surprised
that it's something that hasn't happened since twenty fourteen. And
you know, that was what Tony had said, you know
that it is it is a bit of a shame,
and you know, he felt as though he probably should
have reintroduced it back sooner. But no doubt the three
of you were pretty toughed on Monday night.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
Yeah, it was a special night. It really was a
special night. I've had some funny things have happened over
the years, you know, And I think I reiterated it
on the night they set us all down and interviewed,
did an interview, you know, and they asked me. I
said to them that I did play rugby league in
the seventies. Ye, and I also played again in the nineties,
(04:51):
but only because back then women in league and rugby
league for women was sort of fledgling and there weren't
a lot of girls playing. And we were at night
this had enough girls to put on the field, but
they needed one more, so I said, all right, I'll
put my hand up, but I'm just going on the
(05:12):
wing because I was and I was old girl by then,
you know, and we didn't want to pay the fine.
So I took the field and Arthur bowl and took
one look at me. So he was our senior referee
in the day. He took one look at me and
he said, Jackie, what are you doing? I said, Arthur,
I'm just on here so we don't get a fine,
(05:33):
so can you please protect me? He said, all right,
but there will be conditions. So we played sisters, you know,
and they were the gun as they still are today,
you know. And so they chipped the ball and I thought,
I have to go and pick this up now. I
ran down and Arpa said that she's tackled, and and
(05:57):
they blew up. No, no, we haven't got her yet.
She's tackled. Play the bull, Jackie. So I played the bull.
The game went on. I never got tackled the entire
game of one minute. At the end of the game,
he said, Edward, come here, So I walked over. I said, yes, sir.
He said you're off, and he said you're off for
(06:18):
the cent and I said, oh, I used to get off,
and so I walked off. And the reason behind it
was that he had said steam off on multiple occasions.
He said all my boys off on multiple occasions, and
so he wanted to get the families he had five,
(06:39):
not just in his belt. But that's one of many,
many fabulous things that have happened in rugby league aground.
And I guess if I could say that the support
you get from a rugby league community as the most
sporting communities in Darwin, that if anything happens to you
(07:02):
or your family, like when Stem broke his neck, the
support was amazing and it continues to today, a kat
you know, so everything like that makes it all worthwhile.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
Yeah, I truly would.
Speaker 1 (07:16):
And you know, and when you go through those hardships
as a family as well, to then have your sporting
club that, like you said, becomes your family, it makes
such a huge difference to your life to have that
network of support. So I just think it's a beautiful thing.
It's a thing I love about sport more generally.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
Absolutely, And you know what, I've been absolutely blessed, Katie.
I think I've probably watched fifteen hundred to two thousand
games of I believeue over fifty years and every one
of those kids from the bull boy to the under
sevens right through to the seniors, I've watched them develop
all that way and they are all still my friends
(07:56):
from every club. You know. So privileged am I to
have that happen to me?
Speaker 1 (08:02):
How beautiful? Well, Jackie, I do want to ask you
as well. I mean in terms of you do a
lot too when it comes to the history of rugby
league in the Northern Territory. I know that you've got
the Facebook page that really shares a lot of those
memories when it comes to the Northern Territori's history with
rugby league. How important is it do you think for
(08:23):
you know, for some of the older blokes that you
know that used to play footy here in the Northern Territory,
that you're able to do that, Katie.
Speaker 2 (08:33):
I get boxes of programmed photos, people ringing me up saying,
you know, look, I've got this photo. Can you put
this up? So yes, send it to me. I'm more
than happy. It's my absolute passion is the history of
rugby league in the Northern Territory. I created that site
when Richardson Park was doomed yeah, and a lot of
(08:53):
the history was disposed of, not all of it, a
lot they've kept some at the NRL key, but a
lot of it was disposed of and I was absolutely hearttaken.
I was diligent when I worked there. I had files
and files from nineteen sixty five right through till when
I left, and they were all thrown out. And then,
(09:16):
of course, you know it's well documented my passion to
save Richton Park I wasn't successful. So I actually started
it off as the men A League in the Northern
Territory and it was running along smoothly and I got
a phone call from my it's called family a League
now and they said that I was illegally using their
(09:37):
name and that I needed to close the page down.
So I said, well, I'm not closing the page down, sorry, mate,
but I am going to change the name. So I
changed the name to the History of Rugby League in
the Norton Territory. And it had been so successful. There's
about five thousand members on there and they love it.
(09:58):
I get messages all the time. Is this page we
love it?
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Yeah, that's so good. I think it's a great thing
to do. And you know, like as as a person
who's grown up in a real rugby league family, I
know it is so important, you know, and and you know,
especially for the older generation to be able to look
back at some of those photos and things that we
you know, we take for granted a bit now, I think,
given the fact we've all got our phones and we
(10:22):
can take photos so easily, but it really wasn't the case,
and some of those old team photos and that kind
of thing. It's lovely for people to be able to
go and have a look at. Well.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
I've been a bit tied up over the last few months,
him not being well, and you know, I sort of haven't.
But now now our seasons is almost over, so I'll
be I'll be approaching Tiny Crow now to perhaps use
some of the photos that they've kept there, some of
the old team photos. But it's also good for the
(10:52):
young ones, you know. They need to know where our
history is at, yeah, totally, and where it started, you know,
so if it's on somewhere, at least it's there.
Speaker 3 (11:01):
Yeah, I agree.
Speaker 1 (11:03):
Now, Jackie, before I let you go this morning, I
ran into you and Stem of course, on the weekend
at the shops at Casarina and Stemm had given me
a little heads up that you were going to that
you were going to be receiving your life membership. How
hard do you think he found it to keep this secret?
Speaker 2 (11:24):
Well, he doesn't keep many secrets. Would be hard.
Speaker 3 (11:29):
I kept it though, we both kept it.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
He did a really good job.
Speaker 1 (11:34):
He must have been proud, was he?
Speaker 2 (11:38):
He was very proud. And I've got to say he's
been my main stay behind all this. He encourages me
to keep the history page going. He's always on the
scout looking for photos and all that sort of thing.
So we're not a bad team. So in that sense,
we're now both dual life members in our households for
(11:58):
the Lord Chiuti Rugy League. And I think that's probably
one of the first in where you get a husband
and wife team.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
How cool.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
I know, it's pretty good.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
That's so cool. Yeah, that is so cool.
Speaker 2 (12:10):
There was one in mant Isis and you know this
family too, the Thompsons, was it? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (12:15):
Maybe? Yeah, I would have thought maybe even the Daisies.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
There's a few.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
There is definitely a few rugby leaguing families there in
Mount Isa, There's no doubt about that. And that's what
That's what I always think when you share those photos,
it reminds me, you know, of my dad playing in
the Folly Shield and that kind of history. And I
think that that's why it's so important to the rugby
league community, whether it's here or whether it's in Queensland,
no matter where it is, because it's not just a game, right,
(12:41):
it's party life.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
It is it is and that we still those fan
Daisy very well yep, and I think he said he's
told you that he knew your dad. Yeah, against your
dad and the Thompsons were iconic in man Issa as
Stuey Thompson was here for brothers in Darwin and North
and Geodory. So yeah, it stretches a long way, doesn't
(13:03):
it please?
Speaker 3 (13:03):
Friends you They truly truly do well.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
Jackie, We're gonna have to go. I've got to get
across to the news. It is lovely to talk to
you this morning. A big congratulations to you and also
to Greg Hansen and Tanya Hazel. Wonderful news and I'm
so very happy to see you receive that life membership.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
We were all very happy to be up there together
and I want to congratulate the both of them to
they've done a sterling job in their efforts and their
dedication to rugby league most.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
Definitely wonderful stuff. Well, Jackie, I'll talk to you again
very soon. Thanks so much for joining me this morning.
Speaker 3 (13:42):
Thanks Kate Love, thank you you too. See Bye.
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If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
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Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
3. Crime Junkie
If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people.