Keeping your eye on the ball

THERE’S nothing better than when your role at work is a success.
As most know I work at Palmer Coolum Resort.
My main drive is to bring people into the resort to enjoy the facilities, and in particular the outstanding golf course.
Let me assure you, despite what the grapevine says, there is only one dinosaur on the 18-hole layout. Plus it is situated between two holes and in no-way hampers your game.
(“Jeff” the dinosaur was burned in an electrical fire on Tuesday night.)
The greens are not overgrown and the fairways look terrific after two weeks of renovations.
More so, last Friday the Sunshine Coast Cricket Association joined forces with the Bulls Masters Group to raise funds for local cricket and charity Sunny Kids.
Seventy players tackled the competition with gusto and enjoyed the challenge of nearest-the-pins and longest or straightest drives.
The Bulls Group has been around for a while and is run and organised by ex-cricketers just basically wanting to put something back into the game.
Our day was blessed with four former state and national players – Stuart Law, Jimmy Maher, Greg Ritchie and Caloundra’s own Ashley Noffke.
Law and Maher sit proudly perched among the state’s five best ever run getters.
The most interesting part of the day for me was during the presentations and the speech made by former Test batsmen Ritchie.
Fat Cat made an impassioned pledge to the crowd, that while cricket was dying in the country he and the Bulls would do all they could to take cricket back to the country.
He emotionally told of his early days in Ipswich, watching and then playing with and against some of the country’s best players.
He went on to say “that locals would get the chance to see Chappell, Thompson, Mclean in his time” or “Miller, Lindwall, Benaud and others in earlier times”.
This isn’t happening today and officials need to react and take the game back to the country.
It’s a shame that some of the present World Cup games couldn’t been played in country centres like Cairns, Townsville, Darwin, Emerald or Geelong.
No doubt the crowd would be massive and the atmosphere out of this world.
Sure the TV, ground safety and team comfort play a role but most country centres offer far more up-to-date facilities than the old days.
Greg got his point across well, and he’s not far wrong.
Sadly rugby league is also dying in the country for exactly the same reasons, too much emphasis on the big time and not on the grassroots of the code.
In most country areas the once dominating winter sport was rugby league. In fact some towns lived off the back of the greatest game of all.
I can remember when Gympie had four competitive A Grade clubs – Bundaberg, Marybourgh, Kingaroy the same.
I suppose it all comes down to money.
NRL boss Dave Smith boasted how they have $50 million in the bank. Which is great, certainly will cover his wage but as Greg Richie said “what about the grassroots”.
Until next time.