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Ray Martin joined the Board of South Sydney in April after
decades of supporting the club. He was also one of the many
high profile supporters who were instrumental in Souths bid
for re-instatement to the NRL from 1999 to 2001. He was kind
enough to speak to QforSS about his involvement with, and
love for, South Sydney.
How did you first come to support the Rabbitohs, and what
are some of your initial memories?
My father grew up in Maroubra and I had no choice but to
follow Souths - I was indoctrinated from a young age of the
South Sydney legends. We lived in country NSW, where my father
worked as a fitter-and-turner. The only thing he cared about
were the results from Sydney in the Monday papers. He used
to wear a Souths jersey around the place, I'd always see him
in the back yard with it on. I never lived in the South Sydney
district but I've always been a supporter. It's funny - whenever
I was posted away from Sydney for work, Souths seemed to win
a premiership. In 1989, when Souths were doing so well under
Mario and it looked like we might win another premiership
after long last, my mates said that they'd pay me to go away
again! I spent a lot of time working interstate and overseas
when I was with the ABC in the 1960s, and the Mighties did
especially well then.
My first memories of the team playing was when my father
took me to see Clive Churchill and Jack Rayner play in a semi-final
against Newtown in 1954 or 1955. I can remember that game
clearly, because Ian Moir scored a try that day. Souths won
the premiership fairly often in those years. When you're a
kid, you like to follow a winning team, and I stuck with Souths.
There was no need to change teams, and I've followed them
ever since. My family had a house on one of housing commissions
in Sydney; it was a small place with three bedrooms. My parents
had one room, my sisters had another, and I had the tiniest
bedroom of all. I'd sit up late with one of those old Bakelite
radios - the ones that were around before transistor radios
- on Saturday nights and listen to the Kangaroo tours from
England. The games were played after midnight our time, which
was a pretty late hour for an eight-year-old to be awake.
Mum would come in and find me up at some ungodly hour, and
tell me to go to bed. I used to collect Rugby League Week
and other football magazines and cut out all the pictures
of the Australian players, because two-thirds of them were
from Souths.
Who have been your favourite players down the years?
I loved Jack Rayner but I could never understand how he could
be captain of Souths while Clive Churchill captained Australia
- it seemed bizarre. Rayner was such a powerhouse forward.
Churchill was certainly a favourite of mine too. Then there
were Bob McCarthy and John Sattler. I've got a big photo of
Satts in my office, I'd say he was my favourite. He always
played it so straight and so tough. His game would've easily
transferred to the modern game - you can't say that about
many players. He was just such a brick wall. Jimmy Lisle,
Eric Simms and Kevin Longbottom were great too. Thinking of
them and seeing Hazem El-Masri in the recent game we played
reminds you that a team must have a goal kicker who can get
seven from eight on a regular basis. They are match winners.
Mario Fenech has been brilliant in more recent times. I loved
to see him leading Souths, especially his battles with Benny
Elias. They were always a great confrontation. Craig Coleman
- he was a terrific, tough little roustabout of a player.
Spud Carroll was up there too - he was the last really great
player. Terry Fahey of course. But Mario was the giant of
the modern era. I can understand the reasons for him leaving.
It's sad when local boys have to do that. It makes you cry
sometimes to see Anasta and Wing run around for the opposition.
Please describe the most memorable occasion in your time with
South Sydney as a fan and/or administrator.
First, there was the march prior to the first court case,
when we moved from the Leagues club down to Town Hall. People
were there from every club in the League, showing their colours.
Newcastle sent down 11 busloads of people to rally for Souths.
My wife's family are Sharks fans, and plenty of them came
along to support us too. For me, it was a great display of
the Australian ethos of giving people a fair go. I think we
were badly treated by the powers that be. Another memorable
occasion, one that sticks in the mind, was a game in the early
1980s when we beat Manly at Redfern Oval. I think the score
ended up 19-18, or something like that, to us. Les Davidson
was playing for us at the time, and he dropped the ball on
the line with about five to go. A bunch of old Aboriginal
ladies were sitting along the front of the grandstand, and
they really gave it to him when he ran by a little later,
telling him that he didn¡¯t know how to play. Souths'
heart and spirit got us home that day, against a strong Manly
team and in front of a full house at Redfern.
As a director, what is your current level of involvement
with the club?
I don't claim to have any particular football expertise,
I'm just an amateur and a fan of the club. My life and experience
are in marketing. I¡¯m there to back Nick Pappas
in his efforts to make the club more professional. There's
a lot of P.R. work that needs to be done for Souths. Players
have to speak and dress well. This is a profession now, it's
big business, and sponsors take notice of how the club presents
itself. The Broncos and Easts get that side of things right,
whereas we make mistakes both on and off the field. We don't
have a Leagues club to support us, but we have the best sponsor
base in the NRL despite our losing games. We need to lift
our public image: the players need to be seen as role models,
and to act like winners. I hope to re-forge the relationship
with South Juniors that has waned somewhat over the years.
We also need to embrace the wider South Sydney family. I think
that Souths has the best team brand name in sport - it's better
than even Collingwood's or the Wallabies. We have to capitalise
on it, and act like the Pride of League, not victims. We all
want to be the Pride of the League once again. For that to
happen, Souths needs to get young people involved in the club,
so we've got to look attractive and classy. Recently I hosted
an event in Sydney that raised over $130,000 for South Sydney.
The people there were in the media, banks and major corporations
- the big end of town. So many people have told me that they
want to be involved in the club. We have to earn our way by
using the South Sydney brand, but we can't live off it. We
have to match the other big clubs on that front.
How have you rated the club's performance this year, and
what are your hopes for it in the next twelve months?
Frankly, the team's performance has been ordinary. With a
few exceptions, the players have dropped their bundles. They
have not had much luck, and there are about four games we
really should have won, so there's eight points immediately.
But as Paul Langmack has said, we need to get that winning
spirit back, and that brings you luck. I'd rate the performance
as about three out of ten this year - it looks as though the
wooden spoon is ours. Apart from Bryan Fletcher and maybe
Paul Stringer, no one has really stood out. The surprising
thing for me has been that there have been no bolters who
have impressed. Unlike North Queensland, Penrith or Canberra,
we haven't produced a player who has put his hand and appeared
capable of playing for Australia. No Wing or Coleman has come
through. That young fellow, Brett Kearney, looked fantastic
early in the season - he's a really goer but he's suffering
from serious injury just now. Next year will be a building
year but it'll be tough. The players have to lift their game;
they need to show more heart. But if we don't dramatically
improve, we will face crisis at the end of the season. The
NRL franchise agreements come up for renewal at the end of
2005, and you can't just languish at the bottom of the table
indefinitely.
Interview by David Hundt, QforSS Secretary
The Era of the Biff would like to thank the QforSS, and Ray Martin
for making available a copy of this interview. The Era encourages you, the viewer to visit their webiste by clicking on the link provided.
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