“Come on, Mike! It’ll be enjoyable. We put collectively sporting loudmouths with a floating array of specialists and precise champions, and chew over the sporting problems with the day! We’ll shoot on a Monday arvo, put it to air that evening, and Robert might be your uncle. Mike, you host, and direct visitors, we’ll shout at one another. Billy Birmingham will make jokes, and do good mimicry!”
To the amazement of each Saul and myself, Mike agreed – and so it started. The stalwarts have been Mike, Billy, myself, Ray Chesterton, Peter “Chippy” Frilingos, Tracey Holmes, Liz Ellis, Jon Anderson and Brian Taylor. Mike Colman got here alongside close to the top of my time there. It was produced by the good Australian netballer and now TV skilled, Keeley Devery.
And it was successful from the primary. At one level we have been getting over 100,000 viewers each Monday evening, a staggering determine for pay TV. And the center of it was how a lot all of us actually did love working collectively.
One other digital medium dictum I really like comes from the founding father of Triple M, Rod Muir: “If it ain’t taking place within the corridors, it don’t go up the stick.” The concept being that in case you can’t be comfortable chappies and up-vibe when the cameras are switched off, it received’t work whenever you truly put the present collectively.
With us, it was not solely taking place within the corridors beforehand however regularly continued for an hour afterwards within the carpark. All of us grieved, alas, once we misplaced Frilingos and David Hookes in fast succession, early within the new century – Chippy from a horrible coronary heart assault, and David from a surprising episode on a Saturday evening.
For essentially the most half, nevertheless, the present was a pleasure from first to final. The 2 most penetrating of their feedback, repeatedly, have been Holmes and Ellis. Earlier than The Again Web page, in fact there had been girls discussing sports activities problems with the day – however these two have been phenomenal in dissecting these points, and lots of occasions setting the sporting agenda for the week.
By late within the first decade, issues began to come back aside for us, if not the present itself. A chilly wind began to blow for Tracey from the ABC and me from Fairfax. Tracey resigned in 2008, and I adopted her the next yr. (The problem for me was, I believed I used to be going for Greatest Actor, they thought I needs to be content material with Greatest Supporting Actor – right down to only one look a month. Nah, bugger it.)
My word to my cherished colleagues on departure, which I regarded out this week, incorporates one thing of the vibe of that first decade. I wrote:
“Now, within the wake of Tracy Holmes’ supremely stylish resignation letter at the moment final yr, I hesitate to notice down my very own ideas – for worry of it showing pale by comparability – however I believed I’d give it a go.
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“Most significantly permit me to file, severely for as soon as, how a lot I’ve loved working with you all around the years – not that it ever actually felt like work. I’ve been on numerous totally different exhibits, however Again Web page will at all times stand out for the standard of the present we produced, and the good friendships we’ve fashioned.
“I’ll eternally treasure the reminiscence of so many comfortable clashes with ‘Chippy’ Frilingos – ‘That’ll do me!’ – and at all times be glad I bought to type nice bonds with him and David Hookes earlier than each blokes met their tragic ends.
“During the last 500 exhibits, the funniest second, eternally, will at all times be Billy Birmingham’s response after seeing Thomas Keneally’s NRL advert, ‘Blow that whistle, ref, blow that whistle’.
“Cue Billy: ‘Ah, blow it out your arse, Tom!’”
Oh, how we laughed. Billy didn’t imply it in a imply style. It was near what sport was at all times meant to be: enjoyable. However then we may do critical evaluation too, with Mike at all times expertly judging when to modify gears and which route to move. The ultimate traces of my resignation letter additionally match right here:
“In brief, Members of the Academy, right here’s to Chippy, right here’s to Hookesy, and right here’s to us.
“Love yers all and – can I say it for as soon as, Chippy? – ‘That’ll do me …’”
Vale, the Again Web page. You have been enjoyable, and we have been proud to sail on you.
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