The official South Sydney Rabbitohs Podcast. Grant ‘Chaps’ Chappell & former players Steve Mavin & Darren Brown dig deep into all things South Sydney & interview special guests each week.
We are taking orders for our special edition Rabbitohs Radio Podcast glasses now. Glasses are hand made by a small Aussie business RBG Stickers so the price is the same whether you buy one or more.
$30 per glass – Bank Transfer – PayPal – Local pickup or delivery is preferred but if postage is required add $13.60 for 1 glass (total $43.60) or $15 for 2 glasses (total $75)
To order send us an email to organise pickup or delivery to – rabbitohsradio@gmail.com
On the podcast this week we celebrate Women In League round by speaking to Katie Brown & Alexis Mavrantonis from the Rabbitohs Womens team, our Remembering A Rabbitoh is Phil Blake & we preview the upcoming Bulldogs clash.
We also had a chat to South Sydney Rabbitohs Womens team player #63 Alexis Mavrantonis. Lex is also the Rabbitohs match day manager & does a fabulous job presenting all the entertainment at Souths home games.
Alexis & Katie
Alexis (right) organising another match day experience with the Rabbitohs team
Perry Keyes has given us permission to use his songs on the podcast & Bek-Jean Stewart sings on some of those tracks. We feature Beks vocals on this weeks podcast.
All three of us are Rabbitohs members. Chaps is a ticketed member #12433 with seats directly opposite the tunnel at ANZ Stadium. Mavo member #2217679 & Browny #1434904 are supporter members of the club. Membership starts at just $99 per year & it’s a fantastic & important way to support our club. We don’t have a rich leagues club providing us with revenue streams but we do have a huge fan base. If you’re not a member click the image below to join today.
Albert Clift, George Treweek & Eddie Root (image courtesy of Col Whelan)
On Friday 26th June 2020 an image was posted in our newly created Facebook group ‘Rabbitohs Radio Podcast Listeners’ by legendary photographer Col Whelan.
Beneath the photo Col asked the question “Any idea who these blokes are”?
The next day we had our answer thanks to Chris Isouard. In the picture stood three Rabbitohs legends Albert Clift, George Treweek & Eddie Root.
“Albert mentioned this day in a couple of his interviews over the years” said Chris. “Treweek and Root visited him in the early 80s and presented him with some of their playing memorabilia. Like many, Albert was a hero of mine and inspired me as a kid to collect everything Souths”.
Albert Clift
Albert Clift was a former player for South Sydney, former official and director, was the Club’s first mascot back in 1968, held an amazing collection of Rabbitohs memorabilia including the famed timekeeper’s bell from the first game in 1908 & is a Life Member of the Football Club.
Albert CliftAlbert Clift & Russell Crowe ring the famous timekeepers bell in 2002Russell Crowe purchased the bell for $42000 to ensure it stayed in red & green hands
Eddie Root
Eddie Root (first grade player #139) 109 games & 34 tries was a starting forward in the Rabbitohs golden era of 7 premiership wins between 1925-32. Root had a brilliant career & is rightly regarded as one of the greatest ever Rabbitohs.
Eddie Root
The 1931 Rabbitohs
The 1931 South Sydney Rabbitohs defeated the Eastern Suburbs Roosters 12-7 in the NSWRL grand final. Eddie Root was the hooker & George Treweek played second row.
Second row: Eddie Root, Jack Morrison, Frank O’Connor, George Treweeke (vc), Frank Curran, Harry Eyers, Benny Wearing. Front row: Jack Why, Jim Tait, Carl Eggen, Paddy Maher (capt), Albert Spillane, Jim Deeley, Perce Williams. (Picture courtesy of SSR Almanac)
George Treweek
George Treweek (first grade player #153) 119 games & 40 tries was a starting forward in the Rabbitohs golden era of 7 premiership wins between 1925-32. He is a legendary attacking player who was rated as the finest second row forward the game has produced.
George Treweek was once described as “all arms & legs”George Treweek played 7 tests for the Kangaroos George & Eddie visit Albert
On this weeks show we bask in the glory of our 40-12 win over the Warriors, chat to our special guest Souths fan Jeremy Muir, preview the monster clash with the Panthers, Roy Asotasi is our Remembering A Rabbitoh & we talk about Cowboys legendary jouno Doug Kingston.
Remembering A Rabbitoh – Roy Asotasi First Grade Player No #1047
Roy Asotasi is an Auckland junior who became an interchange forward with the Bulldogs in 2003, appeared in all 28 matches for the club in the premiership-winning 2004 season. Although 23 of these games (including the grand final) were from the interchange bench, Asotasi used his mobility and size to good effect at the club. In October that year he made his Test debut in the 16-all draw with Australia before making two more Test appearances for the Kiwis in England during the Tri Nations competition. Asotasi matured as a Test class forward and played in NZ’s victory in the Tri-Nations final in 2005. The following year he became a key signing for the battling Souths club for the 2007 season. – ALAN WHITICKER
Rabbitoh Of The Week – Jasmin Mavin & Tony Kingston
Jasmin & Tony relax at home
Our co Rabbitohs Of The Week are Mavos daughter Jas & her boyfriend Tony.
Jasmin went to South Sydney High like her dad, represented Souths in several Oztag State Cups & also in netball. Jas had the word Mavo printed across the back of her year 12 red & green school footy jersey.
Doug was a journalist at the Townsville Bulletin & in 1989 there was a Panasonic Cup game between the Broncos & Eels scheduled to be played in Townsville. Locals formed long lines to buy tickets & Doug seized the opportunity to promote the idea that North Queenland should have their own footy team by writing an article in the paper, meetings were held, committees were formed, the public was consulted & the rest is history.
In an article written in 2015 for the Cowbys 20th anniversary Doug talks about the day he arrived at the NSWRL headquarters with Kerry Boustead;
“The application (for the Cowboys to be included in the competition) was supported by a petition signed by almost 30,000 North Queenslanders, and letters of support from 20 major companies, 11 public sector organisations and 14 politicians.
It was delivered to NSWRL headquarters in Sydney by stagecoach, with Boustead riding up front with a shotgun, and me sitting on the back firing blanks from a starter’s pistol to simulate gunfire and attract attention.
The stagecoach had the desired effect because for the first time, the Cowboys were in the Sydney newspapers and on national television. We would never get away with that sort of trick today. Bowey and I would probably be arrested on suspicion of being terrorists”.
Tony is also a great young DJ & loves his music, when speaking about his dad he said “Besides rugby league my dad was also involved in the sport of basketball in North Queensland. Dad also helped to get Elton John to Townsville & when I once told him about the lack of live music in our home town he managed to help persuade the Groovin The Moo music festival to come to Townsville & that is now a regular event in the town”
Crowds in Townsville formed long queues to buy tickets to a rugby league game in 1989
The story of the first meeting to form the Cowboys has similarities to the famous meeting to form the South Sydney Rabbitohs. The Rabbitohs officially began on the 17th January 1908 at Redfern Town Hall when administrator J J Giltinan, cricketer Victor Trumper and politician Henry Hoyle gathered together in front of a large crowd of supporters.
The South Sydney Rabbitohs broke their 3 game losing streak on Saturday afternoon 13th June 2020 at Bankwest Stadium, Sydney with a 32-12 victory over the Gold Coast Titans.
This victory song has traditionally been sung by the team for decades dating back to the Bunnies glory days. We can’t give you the exact date it began to be used but perhaps there’s a Bunnies historian reading this now that could enlighten us. Mavo & Browny love singing the tune because it brings back memories of wins with their mates.
The songs lyrics are-
“Now that we’re all around the bar And the captains declared it a quorum We’re drinking our way through the night And we’re having the time of our lives Throw the empties away start again, start again For the boys of South of South Sydney are together And we’ll drink til the dawn breaks again May the sessions of South Sydney last forever Up the Rabbitohs!”
On this weeks podcast we speak to 2014 premiership winning Rabbitoh Jason Clark, our Remembering A Rabbitoh is Darrell ‘Number 9’ Bampton, we examine the big win over the Titans, look forward to the Warriors clash, name our Rabbitoh Of The Week & much more.
Remembering A Rabbitoh – Darrell Bampton (first grade player number 559)
Darrell Maxwell Bampton, captain in 1978, had a distinguished career as a player and administrator. Born on 20 June 1949, he was a junior with the Alexandria Rovers, Waterloo and Zetland clubs, was captain of the President’s Cup premiership winning team in 1969 and a member of the third grade premiership winning team the same year.
Darrell played 116 games for Souths in seasons 1969-73 and 1978-79, including 51 in first grade, scoring one try. Bampton was awarded Life Membership of SSDRLFC in 1994, and on Monday 9 June 2009, his talents were recognised by the Australian Government when he was awarded the Order Of Australia Medal (OAM) for services to Rugby League.
Latrell Mitchell stars in 32-12 win over the Titans
Latrell Mitchell put on a masterclass for the Bunnies in the big 32-12 win over the Titans at Bankwest Stadium on Saturdat 13th June.
Charlie Rabbit flies the flag at Bankwest Stadium on Saturday 13th June 2020
#ChapsFromRabbitohsRadio
We have started a new hashtag for our co-host Grant Chappell, just type in #ChapsFromRabbitohsRadio on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram & all of Chaps interviews will be there for you to watch.
The South Sydney Rabbitohs victory song has been around a long time, we wonder if anyone reading this might know more about the songs history? Where did it come from, who wrote it & what year did the team team adopt it? If not all good we just love hearing the boys singing it loud & proud ❤️💚
Mavo & Browny love singing the tune because it brings back memories of wins with their mates. We’ve included a photo with the songs lyrics but much like the national anthem the second verse is not sung by the team. We’ve also included some old pics that concern the famous Glory Glory song & its origins.
Marco Sivis from SSR Almanac writes-
Talking to former players, you quickly find out that it pre-dates the modern era and goes before the 70’s era as players from the 1950’s would sing it with the young players of the 60’s. The tune and original words pre-date World War II and also predate World War I.
The tune gives us a guide to the age of the origins of the song. The melody was a popular melody in British pubs at the turn of 18th-century. It was based upon a tune from Anacreonicty Society, a 18th-century club of amateur musicians in London. That society was dedicated to ancient Greek poet Anacreon, who was renowned for his drinking songs and odes to love. This society would meet and combine musical appreciation with eating and drinking.
The melody came to Australia with the early settlers and convicts and sung on many occassions at the bars around Sydney. With the famous drinking melody being picked up by many it was no surprise to see the South Sydney club also pick up this melody for its song during the celebration of a win.
The melody became famous when the tune was also picked up and used by Francis Scott Key in his famous 1776 poem “Defence of Fort McHenry”. It is then ironic that a British pub melody and the words by Key became known as the “The Star-Spangled Banner” and were adopted as the national anthem of the United States in 1931.
Welcome Back!
During the show this week we played some of the song “Welcome Back The Juniors’ that was created by the Robertson Brothers. The Robertson Brothers are well known for their parody songs for Ray Hadley on 2GB & also for the Continous Call Team .
“Welcome Back” is a popular record that was the theme song of the 1970s American television sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter. Written and recorded by former Lovin’ Spoonful frontman John Sebastian, it reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for one week in May 1976 after only five weeks on the chart (the show itself had become an instant ratings success upon its premiere the previous fall).
A young John Travolta played Vinnie Barbarino in the show
NRL coaches successfully argued against an obstruction rule overhaul 18 months ago, admitting they would flood the game with block plays if the “inside shoulder” interpretation was relaxed.
On this weeks show we talk to our newest Rabbitoh, first grade player number 1157 Keaon Koloamatangi & welcome back Cody Walker & James ‘Jimmy The Jet’ Roberts. We also look forward to the debut of another rising star in our forward ranks Patrick ‘Pati’ Mago.
Mikey Siciliano nominated his mate Matthew Cheesman (Cheese) “without this guy I wouldn’t be the mad Rabbitohs fan I am to this day. I met Matt by chance as I was walking my dog down the street and he was walking his. We went to the same school together back in the day but were never really close. Anyway, as I started to chat with him it turns out we had something in common, we were both massive Rabbitohs fans. He told me that he made it to pretty much every Rabbitohs game each year with his family and invited me to join. Ever since then we’ve become best mates and haven’t missed a home game in Sydney since, even traveling to the Central Coast for home games and Mudgee for the Charity Shield. I owe Matthew my passion for NRL and the Mighty South Sydney Rabbitohs to him”. Mikey also credits Cheese for making him a Rabbitohs Radio podcast listener so thanks for that Cheese!
