On the Road to Dirranbandi for Paul Kelly & Friends

This is a rugby blog, but after having such an amazing road trip and weekend away in Dirranbandi I thought I’d share about it here! I’m looking forward to sharing more about the Reds soon...

Repping the Reds 2021 Indigenous Jersey while listening to my favourite singer of all time 

A few years ago, Paul Kelly organised a festival in Dirranbandi (or “Dirran” as the locals call it.) It was going to happen again last year, but got cancelled for obvious reasons. Fortunately things clear just enough for it to go ahead in 2021!

We drove out on Saturday and stayed the night in a little town called “Westmar” We managed to score free accommodation and meals because my two mates Chris and Jake played some live music for them in the evening! The Westmar locals were a nice crowd and the hospitality was top-notch!

Jake and Chris made the locals happy with some live tunes

Outside the Westmar Roadhouse before heading to Dirranbandi

Westmar is in between St George and Dalby... one of the many nice small towns we visited.

The next morning we drove to Dirran and upon arrival, made our way straight to the main stage!

The sound was loud and the music was awesome. Brisbane local Benny Nelson and his band turned me into a new fan! Hope D also entertained the crowd with her loop pedal skills, before the big man arrived...

Troy Cassar-Daley

Troy Cassar-Daley is my favourite artist of all time. That’s saying something because I’m a huge Johnny Cash fan. People often ask me what type of music I like. The answer is all types of music, but mainly country and classic rock. If I had to listen one style of music all day, it would be country!

Troy is my favourite singer for a lot of reasons and many of them were in on full display during this show. His singing, his relatability, his story-telling and amazing musicianship were all on display. Even more impressive was the fact that he played with only two other musicians, a 3 piece band! (Most country singers have another guitarist on stage with them to fill out the sound, but because of Covid restrictions, it was just him, a drummer and a bass player.) His guitar playing was flawless! No doubt, there are not many world-class singers out there that could be the lone guitarist in a band and still pull off a show like the one we witnessed!

He sang my current favourite of his, “Back on Country” and a number of my favourites like “Dream out Loud” and “Trains”. He even pulled out a surprise cover of “The Gambler”, which the crowd loved.

It was pretty exciting meeting Troy for the first time. Hopefully it won't be the last.

After that, it was on with the show. The great Russell Morris was on next with his band! (He’s the guy that sings “The Real Thing”) and then to mix things up, Ian Moss put on a great solo set.

After that, the OTHER big guy got up. Paul Kelly put on a massive show with a huge band. Thanks to someone special helping me out, I got a front row seat. As you can expect, he sang all classic like “How to Make Gravy” and “From Little Things Big Things Grow”.

He even had Troy back on to sing their song “Wish I was a Train”. What a night!

We went back to our camping ground knowing we had witnessed something special. Many of  country folks (and a few city folks) had an amazing time and we felt even better knowing that the money raised from the event was going towards a local Agricultural Studies program and scholarship. It was good to see that Alliance Airlines had sponsored the event, helping out with some free chartered flights. (Alliance are also one of the Queensland Reds great sponsors, in case you didn't know.)

Thanks to Paul Kelly and our mate Danny Sheehan for putting on an awesome event. I'm looking forward to next time already!

I can't wait to get on the road again....

Reds Dominate Wallabies Squad in 2021

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’d know that the Wallabies season is all go for 2021. We are one game into a three test series against France… and what a game we witnessed at Suncorp Stadium on Wednesday night! (Unfortunately for New South Wales residents, game one was moved from Sydney to Brisbane… however, Brisbane rugby fans were happy they could watch an extra match live this year.)

The Wallabies were down 15-0 at one point during the first half, but they showed a lot of character coming back to win 23-21. I know I’m biased, but I’d like to point out that there was a big shift in the game after Taniela Tupou and Tate McDermitt came off the bench.

Game two is on Tuesday 13th July in Melbourne….

Game three is on Saturday 17th July… as planned, back in Brisbane!!! (I can’t wait.)

To celebrate the international rugby season, I thought I’d profile the Reds that are in the current Wallabies squad!! There are many players here that Queenslanders can be proud of. Let’s go Wallabies!!!!

Reds in the Current Wallabies Squad

James O’Connor

James has had a terrific couple of seasons back at the Reds, even stepping up to the Captains role while Liam Wright was injured. He’s been recovering from an injury ever since the end of this years Super Rugby season, but hopefully will be ready for an appearance against France during game 2 or 3! He can fill a range of positions, but personally I’d love to see him in the number 10 jersey this year.

Check out my interview with James from last year here!

Tate McDermott

Tate got a big cheer from the crowd when he came off the bench during game 1 on Wednesday… it’s clear he has the support of rugby fans across Queensland and Australia, myself included! His passion for the game and for the Wallabies jersey has been obvious to me since I first caught up with him in 2018 and I’ve loved watching him get better and better over the years!

Also, you can read my latest interview with him in 2020 here!

Taniela Tupou

Taniela is one of the great props in Australia and I would say world rugby. He’s an awesome guy, often called “Tongan Thor” by fans here in Queensland. He made his mark coming off the bench during Wednesdays game, helping the Wallabies come back. I hope he is in the starting line-up for game two.

I caught up with with Tanielia in 2017 and he shared his fascinating story with me. It’s a must read for Reds fans.

Lukhan Salakaia-Loto

I loved watching Lukhan’s rise in Australian rugby. He’s a beautiful gentle-giant, except when he’s on the rugby field. You can read my interviews with him from 2017 and 2020. Right now, it looks like he’s going to have the Wallabies jersey on lock for a long time to come.

Brandon Paenga-Amosa

Affectionately known as BPA, Brandon has risen to the top spot in Australian rugby during his four seasons at the Reds. He started in the number 2 spot on Wednesday, scoring the Wallabies first try which began their come-back. I’m going to miss him a lot while he’s in France for the next two years, but hopefully he comes back to Queensland when that’s finished!

Check out one of our great chats here.

Harry Wilson

Harry needs no introduction to rugby fans these days. I will mention though that back in 2019 Harry told me he had the Reds number 8 jersey in his sights. It turns out that the Wallabies jersey was calling his name also! Maybe some things are meant to be.

Check out my conversation with him here.

Hunter Paisami

Hunter ripped onto the Super Rugby scene in 2020, claiming his Wallabies jersey also!  Known for barn-storming runs, he’s definitely a player to look out for during the Wallabies games in 2021. (I’ve yet to do an interview with him, but hopefully we’ll be able to do that sometime this year.)

Filipo Daugunu

Reds fans have a lot of love for this guy! To quote Hamish Stewart, he’s an “electric” player with the ball in hand. There’s a lot of competition for the wingers in the Wallabies, but hopefully we’ll see him get some good runs in this year!

Check out my interview with Filipo (alongside Samu) here.

Fraser McCreight

Fraser debuted for the Reds in 2019 and has proven to be huge asset for Queensland. He went on to debut for the Wallabies last year and I’m hoping Dave Rennie gives him a shot this year! I really believe he has so much potential and is one player to watch out for year. I had an awesome chat with him back in 2018 while he was on the rise here.