Knockout memories of rugby great FITZPHILE Lawrence Maher has been feeling a certain sense of sanguine nostalgia this week, first remembering that day in 1963, when he was captaining the Stockton under-14s rugby team in the first match of the season against Waratah in the Newcastle competition. Knowing this team to be red-hot, coached by the late and great Cyril Burke, as they run on, Maher tells his forwards to watch out for their little roly-poly halfback, as Burke will have probably taught him a few things. Translation: "Get him!" Sure enough, Stockton kicks off and the halfback catches the ball. And, oh look, he is charging straight towards Maher! "When he was about a metre from me," Maher recalls, "at full speed, he put his head down and rammed me in the stomach. When I came to ... I remember thinking the last thing that flashed before my eyes before he steamrolled me was that ... he seemed to have the features of a man ... encased in a child's body ... 5 o'clock shadow and all! Several tries by the halfback later, with the game over, Maher bothered to learn his name, and he would remember it ever afterwards, as he followed his career: John Hipwell, who went on to be one of Australia's three greatest halfbacks, and also Wallabies captain. Hipwell, sadly, died on Monday after what appeared to be a heart attack. Vale, John. Ah, but for Lawrence Maher it got more interesting still. The day after his side got the thrashing from Hipwell's team, Maher was back home, licking his wounds, and decided to go to a suburban shopping centre with a mate, when they came across a singing trio performing on a makeshift stage. They were three skinny, toothy, funny-looking brothers singing in squeaky, high-pitched tones. Look at those no-talent bums! Maher said to his mate. As it turned out, just like Hipwell, the Bee Gees turned out to be pretty good, too! There was an interesting quote from sailing legend Ben Lexcen's biographer, Bruce Stannard, this week, recalling his emotions as he covered the America's Cup victory for Fairfax Media. "My memories of that bright September day in 1983 remain vivid in my mind's eye," he recounted. Weird, isn't it? But also very human, and something I have long noted seems present in moments of great triumph. The great German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche called it the melancholy of all things completed. How very appropriate. Roy and HG are back on ABC NewsRadio on Saturday, from 2pm for their Festival of the Boot, and this year's banner for the Boot is ... A Shot in the Arm. And Festival of the Boot Part Two, to hear the NRL grand final, from 7pm on Sunday, October 6. Too long for "What They Said," but too good to leave out, the rugby league writer I most admire, Fairfax Media's Steve Mascord, appears to have reprised Peter Finch's famous blow-up in the film Network this week, in response to the NRL's ongoing obfuscation over the Ben Barba domestic assault allegations: "I can no longer see any point in ringing people to ask them questions for a living when they can either provide a less-than-forthright answer with tacit approval from the NRL or be sanctioned by their club for being forthright. The choice is either to become a bitter, angry, ageing crusader or to focus on what is still satisfying and I choose the latter. Chasing rugby league news over the phone seems a pointless charade under current circumstances. You can read the rest of it here. Mascord, mercifully, is not retiring, just not doing the news gathering stuff. The main thing is he will still be writing overviews on league, which is great as, in a very strong career overall, that is where he is at his strongest. My apologies. Having had fun for the past fortnight with great nicknames, I forgot to mention the greatest Australian sporting nickname of all, by a country mile, first told to me many years ago by Mike Carlton. The ABC cricket broadcaster Neville Oliver was affectionately known by his colleagues as "Fart-in-the-bath." Well, try saying his name quickly, over and over. I also forgot the great Newtown fullback Phil Sigsworth being known as "Whatsapacketa" and I am advised that a reader once taught a student, Tony Hancock, who was known to other students as "Partsy." Not telling why - you'll have to work it out. Tangentially, it is time to revisit once more great sporting headlines. A reader talks of Stefan Effenberg, a hard and tough German footballer who some called "wild" due to his ferocious tackling. The headline after one game: "Stefan's an effen nutter!" My favourite, however, remains the effort after the French soccer player Eric Cantona, playing for Manchester United, had an explosion of temper as a fan kept abusing him - launching a flying kung fu kick that connected, as he left the field after being sent off. The next day, the News of the World unleashed the epic headline: "THE SHIT HITS THE FAN!" The Lloyd McDermott National Indigenous under-17 team left on a tour of France on Friday on a two-week tour playing sides from Racing Metro, Cote d'Argent and Stade Toulousain, while also visiting significant World War I monuments, including the Menin Gate Memorial, Perth Cemetery and the Passchendale and Somme battlefields. A particular visit will be made to the graves of Private Daniel Cooper and William Allan Irwin, the latter of whom received the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his courage under fire. Bravo. On CBS This Morning, Greg Norman was nothing if not forthcoming: "It's amazing being the living icon." Can you believe he said that? Even I can only just believe he said that! An America's Cup commentator during the 15th race: "When there is a shift in the wind speed it tends to come from upwind." Is that as stupid as I, and the reader who sent it to me thinks it is, or are we the dummies? Wallaby captain Ben Mowen, as they prepare to play the Boks: "There's a feeling within this group that we haven't played near our potential yet." It could be worse. He could feel that this is as good as it gets. Joe Tomane, picked to replace James O'Connor on the wing for the Wallabies, on how he feels: "One word: blessed. Gary Ablett jnr on winning the Brownlow Medal. I want to thank God, because without him I couldn't be up here tonight. Shoot me. As @NatalieSouthby noted: "Been a big week for God with the Emmys yesterday. God loves influencing awards. Hunger/human rights not so much. Channel Nine's Brad Fittler chews the fat with the injured Todd Carney, just before the Cronulla/Manly semi-final: "How hard is it having a hamstring injury? Is it mental or physical? Jason Akermanis reminisces about butting heads with his former Brisbane Lions coach Leigh Matthews: "If there was ever an issue, we'd have a coffee. I never drank it before I met Leigh but when I left, I was addicted ... Rabbitoh Roy Asotasi: "We can't play dirty and that's not how we've played our game all year ... You go out there and try and bash each other as much as we can." Now I get it! Newcastle Knights captain, veteran Danny Buderus: "Good things happen to good people and there are a lot of good people in this team and in that shed. The boys are buzzing. Wayne Bennett, on how he felt when his Knights beat Melbourne in Melbourne for the first time in a decade: "Elated ..." The mind boggles! Benn Robinson on being dumped from the Wallabies squad: "It was a massive shock, a massive disappointment. It took me a long time to get over it. The day after I had to play for [my club] Eastwood, so to get up for that game was tough. It hurt, it cut deep, it cut really deep. To be told that you're out of the squad, a squad that I've been involved with for the last nine years, is probably one of the hardest conversations I've ever had. Doug Bollinger on trying to get back to the Test team: "You hear people saying you need to do this and that but what I have realised is you need to get out there, grab the ball and just get on with it." Go well, Doug the Rug, and good luck. Defenders Oracle Team USA. Completed one of the great comebacks in sporting history, by coming back from 8-1 down in the America's Cup against the Kiwis to win it 9-8. Let the record show, however, that the 24-member Team USA had only two American crew members, while our own James Spithill was the star of the show. The Manly-Warringah Wolves AFL team. After winning the Division 1 comp the past two years in a row, they were promoted this year to the premier division of the Sydney AFL club comp. Now they've won that, too! Jude Bolton. After 325 games, the Swans champion hangs up the boots. Bradley and Stephen Hill. These brothers will compete against each other in the AFL decider. Avoca Sharks. Beat arch-rivals Terrigal Trojans to take out the Central Coast Rugby title. Trojans skipper Peter Steele was competing in his 12th straight first-grade grand final and this was his ninth win. Brother Coman Sykes. The beloved teacher at Parramatta Marist who coached league, cricket and athletics for many and many a moon passed away this week. Well done, oh good and faithful servant of the games. Newport Public School Girls. Won the NSW PSSA state knockout netball competition comprising more than 500 public schools from across the state. The final was against a combined Ariah Park-Ardlethan team. Nathan Walker. Signed with the Hershey Bears, as he continues his journey to become the first Australian to play in the National Hockey League. Steve Birnie. Ran in the Sydney Marathon to raise money for the Cerebral Palsy Alliance, and pushed 15-year-old Lia Sintras, who has cerebral palsy, the whole way! Google cerebral palsy marathon run, and donate. Newcastle Knights. Beat Melbourne Storm 18-16 in Melbourne to move another step closer to the NRL grand final. Brothers. Sub-district rugby club secured their third consecutive first grade premiership across three divisions in the past three years.