Waratahs Reunion DVD & Caps

Now available, a DVD record of the fabulous Waratahs Reunion Weekend. The slide show records moments and characters from the cricket match, the dinner and the golf.

Cost is only $5 including postage & packaging. Given the small cost, please send your $5 to Peter Langston, 19 McRae St, Tamworth 2340 and the DVD will be sent to you by return post.

Caps can still be ordered at a cost of $25 - the extra $5 is for postage. Please note there is at least a four week turn around between ordering and delivery.

Armidale Express Story

Click on the following for the story about the Reunion in the

Armidale Express

Waratahs Reunion Media Grabs

Waratahs Reunion preview by 2AD's Steve McMillan, interviewing Peter Langston

Waratahs Names Their Best

At a well attended 60th Anniversary Reunion Dinner, former players of the Waratahs Cricket Club represented all eras of the club's life, except the most recent. Among the guests were champion bowler Tom Cooke, batting tyro of the sixties Bill Thompson and Milton Milligan, a member of the 1952-53 side which was the first Waratahs team to win a premiership. Milton relived that epic final in which Waratahs were dismissed for a second innings 27 but still won the game outright thanks to a remarkable bowling performance from midium pacer Don Paul, who too 13-38 on the second day to spearhead the win.

Brian Connolly (1970-71 to early 1980's) spoke warmly of his memories of mates and larikans he had played with and Andrew Davis delivered the keynote address on the right of passage to manhood being so brilliantly catered for under the stewardship of the men of Waratahs.

Life Members Syd Philp and Graham Johnson presented commemorative club caps to all players presented.

A culmination of the evening was the anouncement of the Waratahs First XI - the best of the best - which had been determined through the voting of thirty players, iccluding opposition players.

The Waratahs First XI is, in batting order: 1. Alan Gray, 2. Bill Thompson, 3. Michael Connolly, 4. Graham Johnson (Capt), 5. Bede Ryan, 6. Graham Frost, 7. Terry Betts, 8. Brian Joice, 9. Andrew McNeill, 10. Tom Cooke (vc), 11. Joe Harrison, 12. Tim Muldoon.

Throughout the evening, players records were displayed on the screen, as well as photographs from the past and photographs from the cricket match played earlier that day against The Golden Oldies.

It was a magnificent evening and the highlight of several events held over the weekend of celebration,

Waratahs Champions - The Best of The Best

As part of the Waratahs Reunion weekend, we will be naming the best Waratahs team of all time. Anyone who has played for Waratahs between 1950-51 and 2000 is elligible to vote on their best twelve. Like all teams, it has to have a balance of batsmen and bowlers and for the sake of the argument, the best gloveman.

Voting is now closed.

The Champion Team will be announced at the Reunion Dinner on the 25th September.

Waratahs Reunion - Armidale Express Article

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Waratahs NQS Tour to Lismore 2007

When the light has almost dimmed from the eyes of a champion and he has only a finite and measurable number of heart beats left to pound in his once proud chest …. they say it is in these times he rises up for one last heroic effort to win the day and savour glory that last time.
Well, that didn’t happen in Lismore.
However, sixteen blokes – predominately of Waratahs heritage – gathered for three gruelling days of cricket and socialising. It was a time of discovering who your mates are and clearly, mates are blokes who can laugh in the face of adversity … that is, laugh in the face of your adversity!

Thursday
The gathering began from about lunchtime Thursday. The planned visit to the racetrack was abandoned as a few of the nags had a bad cough. The early arrivals decided to act as quality control for the team and spent the afternoon taste-testing beer at one of the local distributors. The majority slowly gathered in the rooms of our accommodation and confined ourselves to quietly lubricating old and new friendships. The “official” team dinner was held without Tim Bindley – still gathering himself – and much merriment was punctuated by speeches for those who have left the wicket. Garry Holloway and Tony Bennett spoke warmly of Harry Deiderick and Bob Hughes respectively. The official colours were handed to each player in the form of their playing shirt and caps commemorating every player’s membership of Waratahs were handed out. In the case of Kevin Pike, David Nosworthy and Peter Quirk, caps were paid for by team members, as they would debut for the club in this tournament. The night raced on and gradually wound its way through local pubs, clubs and glasses of port back at the accommodation.

Friday
It was a gentle start – the first game being after lunch – so players took advantage of sleep-ins, breakfast at all times and places and some sight seeing.
The first game began in sunshine which was still too bright and casting a nasty reflection off the Skipper’s roll-on-deodorant-like head. We batted badly, with Frost and Connolly gone early which left Sattler and Langston to mount a recovery. This stalled when Lango discovered he could still middle the ball but had forgotten how to run. At least we weren’t all out in the sixteen overs … but nearly. The opposition racked up a 96 run win and only Connolly and McNeill could hold their head as bowlers.
Waratahs 8-62 (Wally 20, Lango 15x) lost to Legends 5-158 (Conno 2-20, Radar 1-11,
Quirk 1-19)
The second game for the day started immediately the first flogging finished and wholesale changes swept through the side with the Skipper looking for some good news to trot around town that night on the Captain‘s Tour. Two hours later, he was still looking. The others batted first and looked to have posted a reachable target for a side which possessed such a rich batting lineup as ours. Armanath’s first appearance yielded a hostile one over spell of 1-1 and Radar and Quirky again dined out on the scraps. Mention should be made of Davo’s first stumping for the club but it won't be. Sattler and Frost made plans for a long stay and thrilling late order victory when they returned after retirement … didn’t happen! Frost left in the second over and was followed by McNeill soon after. Armanath Campbell upped the pace for a while but once Sattler played over one it was another debacle and we barely beat our first game total.
Worker’s Wobblies 3-134 (Armanath 1-1, Radar 1-19, Quirky 1-24) defeated Waratahs 7-68 (Armanath 17, Wally 15)

A reasonable post mortem was called for so we retreated to the accommodation and nursed our wounds with a few cold VB and Extra-Drys as there was no ice available. It seemed the only reasonable thing to do. After much thought, the tour selectors wrung the changes again and even the Skipper stood aside, Denness-like, to allow other tourists the chance to play in the 9:00 am Saturday game. Wally was always a man to face sacrifice stoically. Teams decided, showers and best rags on, we filled a few taxis and headed for Mary Gillhouly’s Irish Pub and dinner. Here we stayed until the punk/thrash/crap band next door drove us out and the lads scattered to a variety of venues, not to be seen until their pale appearance the next morning.

Saturday
Change of venue and change of Skipper for the first game. Veteran of the ’03 campaign, Davo slipped comfortably into the Big Hat. It was a similar start, despite the change in personnel and Armanath, Bino and Holloway were all gone with 17 on the board. Frost and Connolly dominated the rest of the innings, batting in two stints before and after retiring. There were touches of vintage Frosty, with one flick over the square leg boundary being right from the Frost scrapbook. Lango managed to hang about for a few, including a rare all run two. Our bowling started well with Bindley picking up two wickets opening the bowling. Davo’s man-management was brilliant, as was the bowling of the last three of Davo, Barwick and Campbell, who took 3-17 to secure our first win and give Davo his second win as Skipper. The novice Sattler sat quietly on the boundary’s edge, bemused by events but still able to laugh, as he had just watched Frosty secure a rare stumping in a long career which had included many of those years behind the stumps. It was fitting he deftly remove the off and middle stumps from the ground at the third attempt.
Waratahs 9-105 (Frosty 41x, Conno 40, Lango 11) defeated West Of the Range 9-102 (Conno 2-3, Armanath 2-9, Bino 2-13, Davis 1-3)

We changed venues again for the second game of the day and volunteers were sought to stand aside for this game, as everyone except Frosty (who would be absent on the last day) had stood aside. There was a consistency to our batting on both days as we scored about the same in each game on each day. Sattler and Davis opened superbly and tamed the demons in the synthetic over concrete pitch. Armanath, promoted to three, batted strongly and with much of the flair of his youth and Bindley swung lustily in the dying deliveries. For the next ten overs at least, we stuck out our chests at what we had achieved but because we had had so much practice, we easily accepted the eventual 46 run pasting. Bindley and Sattler were seriously competitive with the ball but our out-cricket looked like old men on tired legs which is pretty much what it was.
Waratahs 3-107 (Wally 25x, Davo 24, Armanath 21x, Bino 13) lost to Profile Pools 5-153 (Conno, 1-1, Wally 1-3, Bino 1-10, Radar 1-13,
Pikey 1-17)
We left to lick our wounds but imagining what this might look like, we toughed it out and had a few beers instead. We needed to reassess our strategy, revamp our selections, revitalise the enthusiasm in our team mates – oh, to hell with that. A few beers back at the digs, we polished up and went into town for our last team dinner. It was raining so hard that hamstrings and thighs had started to relax at the thought of the final day being unsavoury. A lot of good stuff happened during the evening which reminded us of why we were there and we laughed and sang and stirred and embraced each other in our manliness. If you think that’s odd or want to giggle about it, then you’ve missed the point. We sat about and watched the footie and Wally led the way as the inspiring bloke he is. AJ McNeill was the clown of this particular circus but oh how we missed Tim Muldoon. The singing was good but short-lived as they closed the bar on us! Only bad moment of the trip.

Sunday
It hadn’t rained enough! We started our last game reluctantly, aware that we were only a win away from having to play in the C grade final – go figure. Our form was good enough to suggest a loss was an inevitability and Wally had the look of a man who knew the result before it happened. The most disconcerting element in this particular pre-match brew, was that the opposition only had four players until five minutes before the start. Things were looking decidedly black. We batted first and the Skipper pulled a master stroke by having Lango open. Batting slower than Geoffrey Boycott will when he’s dead, Lango compiled his runs in stealthily taken singles. To enhance the position he ran Radar out by the length of the pitch in the first over. The only danger occurred when Snorkel went berserk but a low total was obtained regardless. The opposition somehow managed to pass our total and we bid them happily to the final. Our first injuries of tour finally surfaced with Conno (leg somewhere) and Bennett (a shoulder too far) having their complaints taken seriously. Our previous days of good health had seen the St John’s people abandon us as low risk.
Waratahs 3-81 (Snorkle 26, Lango 21) lost to Station 3-99 (Gazza 1-3, Radar 1-4, Bino 1-20)
So from there, we left in stages, some reassembling at Grafton to have lunch at a pub on the riverbank. Frosty had left the day before and Davo that morning. I think we would all call the four days a great success.

Thanks
Thanks to all the players who were really co-operative in the planning of the event. Thanks to Davo for his constant input when I needed it. Thanks especially to Wally who was so enthusiastic throughout every stage of the project. In the end, this event worked because all sixteen who were there made it work through their good humour and sense of camaraderie. As many have said, it was so great to be lost with your mates again. Stay in touch fellas, as though your lives depend on it.

Lango

Waratahs Reunion Tour to Lismore 2003

As the eyes dry and the hamstrings mend, thirteen men of Waratahs reflect on four magnificent days of September 2003, during which legends were discussed and made. For the record, the players were: Graham Frost, Tim Muldoon, Roger Sattler, Steve Reading, Tony Bennett, Brian Rhodes, David Tilbury, Andrew McNeill, Mike Muldoon, Garry Holloway, Mike Connolly, Andrew Davis & Peter Langston. As much as can be remembered, here’s what happened.

Thursday
The early starters arrived in time to go to the Lismore Cup (Muldoons x2, Frost & Holloway) and drink all the free beer they could consume. Early injuries were recorded as heads whipped from side to side spotting the local attractions. In late afternoon, Reading and Rhodes let themselves into Lango’s room, got comfortable and helped themselves to the beer he had left for them. The Skipper, Davo, arrived soon after. Dinner was taken at the Civic Hotel and Dozer was in sparkling form telling jokes - who will forget that over-sexed camel - without peer, despite a good effort by Rhodsey early on. Tills joined us as the evening wore on, after spending as long at Lismore airport waiting for a cab as the flight up from Sydney. We wandered to several pubs - Lango having a close call in the Gents of one - finishing in one where the serving girls didn’t feel the cold... an assessment based on the amount of clothing they were not wearing. AJ arrived but called from the motel and despite urging, he wimped out. He was to make up for it subsequently.

Friday
Conno arrived early, fresh and keen and somewhat surprised at the level of consciousness of the boys - he had expected worse ! We caught our first glimpse of the Angry Man. The other AyJay arrived - Bennett - and our numbers for the day were complete. Lango went to have his stitches removed and had to rule himself out of playing ... not that it stopped him from fielding in three games ! Before the first game at 1:00 pm, we had a team photo taken. Handsome bunch ! Game one ... we was robbed on account of 31 sundries which were questioned by officialdom later. Mick Muldoon and Conno got the wickets but Gazza Holloway was the best with 0-1 from his over. Klink suffered a hamstring tear - some things never change! Also of note was Frosty’s great effort to snare a screamer only to see it drop from the gloves. Perhaps he hurt his neck watching it go straight up or maybe he lost his balance because he didn’t have to move his feet ? We tried hard, but went down by six. Conno, Timmy and Rhodsey all retired and Angry Man and Davo tried hard. We sank a carton at the ground discussing the outcome. Groups of blokes did their own thing for the afternoon until we gathered for the official function for the Games. Summary ... food was crap, music was crap, company (apart from ourselves) was so-so. Wally turned up when we had the feed bags on. We toured pubs following. By this, Wally’s allergy to beer had kicked in and he was snorting like bull on heat. He snuck of at some stage for another feed, concerned that he was fading away ! Late night which involved an Irish pub. In his senility Bennett got confused and was offered a lift home in a taxi with one blue and one red light. The two drivers were happy and helpful as AyJay had forgotten the name of his hotel ! Boom Boom Davis and Rhodsey were by reputation the last to bed.

Saturday
A rude shock to the system was the 9:00 am start and two games on the trot. Two nights in camp had confirmed that Tim still snores enough to wake the dead and Frosty can still devastate a sewerage system . Klink left for Sydney at 4:30 am (a conference) and Lango was out (not necessarily a weakness), so all in the remaining eleven had to fire. Game two ... we was flogged ! We made 6-128, with Conno 27, Dozer 29 and a svelte Wally Sattler 21 making strong contributions. Enough runs ? Not against the might of Duck Creek Mountain Men ! They knocked up the small matter of 2-177. Tills took the only wicket to fall to a bowler. Rhodsey was struggling with a groin ... surprisingly, his own. Worse was to come. Game three ... we was injured ! We all came apart at our bulging seems in this game. The Skipper cagily sent Bennett out to open. He saw off Wally (badly torn hamstring which ended his tournament) running a quick single that wasn’t on and Frost, run out, running a quick single that wasn’t on. Bennett was eventually out running a quick single that wasn’t on. The Skipper banned all such action henceforth and confined Bennett to his stanzas. The ever reliable Dozer Muldoon scored 29, Conno 25, Angry McNeill a fiery 26 (what else would you expect), Mick Muldoon 19 and the Skipper another useful contribution of 15. Total of 5-148. The danger of victory was confirmed when we kept them six runs short through a combination of crap and luck, although the first ball of the innings catch by Rhodsey off Angry Man turned back the clock and Boom Boom’s 2-5 cameo was the turning point. Wally’s screams of pain from the boundary urged us on until we realised they were screams of laughter. Bennett did a calf and a groin so he’d have an excuse to sit beside Wally and commiserate and Gazza Holloway secured a leaking ear after using the side of his head to stop an exochet in the outfield. Lango ran 40 metres in the outfield and beat Mick Muldoon to a ball. By this stage, Mick was running like Peter Garrett dances. Our only compensation was we beat a team called Easts Evergreens. No sacrifice is too much for a victory over any team called Easts ! The afternoon was spent watching the AFL grand final or punting, both with varying degrees of success. It was back to the Civic Hotel for dinner and some wonderful moments reminiscing about the old Waratahs. Each was asked his best Waratahs moment and many were funny, some poignant, but none better that AJ McNeill’s. When his turn came he said simply, “right now.” It was a sentiment we all echoed. After our feed, we migrated inside and sang up a storm in true Waratahs fashion. Sattler, Davis and Bennett were never in finer voice and it was a night to remember. So good were we that we took requests from the dinning room - and none of them were to shut up ! Some drifted off to other late night venues, some went home to bed, some just lived in dread of the pain killers and grog wearing off.

Sunday
No day of rest for us ! Game four ... we rose the white flag ! The C Grade semi final and whilst the opposition did warm ups and shouted far too loudly and enthusiastically, our position was best summed up by the fact that the StJohns Zambucks set up HQ at our game because they figured that’s where they’d be needed most ! With more strapping than occurs most afternoons in a boys school, we took the field in the hope that 16 overs would somehow take less than 20 minutes to bowl. Despite our dilemma, we managed to pull off some remarkable run outs. It must be said, Bennett bowled superbly. He always knew someone would say it about him one day. Deserved on this occasion. The other AJ was also excellent. As they had done throughout the four days, Dozer, Conno and Angry Man were superb in the field. They got 6-127. We looked really tired in the chase and managed only 7-104. Timmy again top scored with 27, retiring in every innings for the tournament. AJ made a desperate 25 and went down swinging. Rhodsey looked sweet getting 15, until he had to run. Davo and Frosty both got 11 with the tail (themselves) and it was done. We limped off to the Workers Club for a final lunch together, before bidding farewells and making promises to keep in touch.

Thanks to Davo for his leadership on behalf of all the boys and for said fella and Conno for their input in the planning. Thanks Conno for the idea ... it proved to be a beaut ! See you all in 2 years.

Lango