Hey Footy Fans, Welcome to episode 5 of ‘Back in the Day’ where I was lucky enough to sit down with Canterbury Coaching Legend Bruce ‘Bertie’ Milne.
When no one turned up to soccer training in 1970, Bertie joined the Linwood Keas league club as a Hooker, managing to climb the grades, whilst playing, coaching and managing all at the same time, winning a few comps along the way!
Bertie has an amazing CV, full of stories from his time as the victorious Canterbury Bulls manager, New Zealand A side that featured Warriros and Kiwis Legend Simon Mannering, as well as picking up a World Cup victory with the New Zealand University team.
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Chapters
0:00 – intro
1:00 – Linwood
9:00 – managing, coaching, playing
20:50 – Canterbury Bulldogs
23:42 – Canterbury Selector
30:24 – final competition game
32:00 – Canterbury Bulls Manager
40:20 – South Island & Masters
45:30 – New Zealand A
48:10 – New Zealand University
#linwood #linwoodkeas #canterbury #canterburybulls #newzealand #kiwis #nrl #rugbyleague #coaching #sportspodcast #sports #rugbyleaguepodcast #podcast #winfieldcup #canterburybulldogs #worldcup #leagueworldcup #rugbyleagueworldcup #nationalrugbyleague #winfieldcup #optuscup #superleague
Hey 4 fans welcome to the point of difference rugby league podcast I’m your host Dave and today I have a very well-known face of caner rugby league joining me on the couch it’s the lywood legend Bruce birdie Mill how you going buddy good mate yeah really good you
Have a good Christmas yeah yeah really good with the grandkids and all that oh you can’t argue with that it sounds like a good day I’m surprised you managed to fit it in because you’re a pretty busy chap aren’t you oh keep keep keep yourself busy yeah what do you get up to
These days I do a bit of mountain B still still working still working still doing 40 hours a week uh what alleged yeah so down away CU my wife died a couple years ago so I’m sorry to hear that had to go do my house work
Myself and all that got my to- in-law come over and give me a hand every week for a couple hours but yeah yeah so you so you’re tracking along all right then yeah yeah yeah nice so so what did you do so you you started your own business
Years ago didn’t you yeah 44 years ago 44 years ago unbelievable and so you’re still working in that business yeah yeah yeah I brought a guy out uh me and a partner brought a guy out uh for $25,000 I think it was but yeah 44 years ago my partner only
Lasted he only lasted 15 months and so then I went and carried on by myself I kept the two names still but wow all right so that’s keeping you busy as but let’s wind the clock back we’re going all the way back to I believe 1970 you know when you arrived at
Lynwood so how did you get into rugby league oh first of all where were you from where didd you grow up I grew up in dington and in a state house in alberg Street yeah we were yeah we brought up with good parents and um in a good area
And the neighbors next door invited me to come along to Lumber league and yeah and then back as I saying before in 1970 I went back and started playing 19s um and and I don’t I think I might have only had one year off since then not doing anything with r leue that’s
Unbelievable so did you uh play it when you were so like a lot younger yeah I did play I played when I was about 10 or 12 something like that then I went and played soccer then I went to go back to soccer but no one turned up to say so that’s
When I went back to rugby league and I’ve enjoyed it ever since I played one year rugby didn’t like it y um that’s it really right so uh what position did you play and like did you fall in love with the game like pretty much straight away
Yeah I yeah I played Hawker uh mainly because of the shortness of myself yeah and I don’t like standing out getting cold so uh good place to be I was fa good at Hooker and I fa good at uh tackling and and all that I wasn’t too
Good at taking the ball up but okay so were you one of those um uh pass it from dummy half or did you like to run no pass it from dummy half right run the all time from dummy half but yeah so how did you deal with the contact you like
It you’re only a small fell so did you like the contact with all the big boys running at you well I knew to get to them first and T 11 they don’t hurt you so much you’re a brave man far braver than I um so you arrived in lywood uh in the
19s as you said and you actually won the competition yeah yeah yeah yeah we won the competition I was I was only a reserver game but we did run won the competition and uh then we went to a with a with a trip and uhuh so what was
The feeling like amongst the the team in for yourself like you know it really really good I still get on with oh half a dozen of of those guys are still my mat wow wow that’s amazing um so do you reckon it came easily to you like you know weling straight into a
Team and did rugby league come naturally or did you have to work quite hard for it no no come quite naturally you know like wow what I was never a brilliant player I was just an average player but um I enjoyed it and I coached and
Managed and played and yep one year had done the whole lot you know did you do um a lot of extra training or anything or did you just went with the standard bulk standard back then um no I used to do go and run around the block or then
Run around the hills and all that we it um I grew up with that’s when I was fairly cro when I was younger and I knew that you had to do something to keep fitting yep and that’s what I done and that and trouble is I smoked at the same
Time but well that was the rage back then yeah yeah hav’t smoked for 30 OD years near 40 years now good job yeah okay so you had a bit of early success in that 19s team did that make you want to like progress and get up to
Premier and even further yeah I did I carried on and played um you I really enjoyed playing and I only played a couple of games of Premier but most of the time was on the reserve grade and then I played um okay did um did you have any
Ambitions for other sports like cuz I think you were doing some rowing as well at the same time yeah I done rowing when I was 19 and I was doing rowing in the in the summer and in league in the winter u i only r with one year and
Got uh Ro of the year for the novice class that’s amazing so you just Bowl on in there just pick up the old novice of the Year award yeah yeah it’s incredible so is that a natural uh Talent as well like no hard I’ve got nothing really I’ve got
No heights yeah like how on Earth you know did you manage to pull that off you know I was very light and white but yeah well with the lium league and a Ryan Club they were fly had a close knit to each other so that’s how that come about
You know right and would you say there was any transfer of skills from one to the other in ter it could be Fitness or cardio or just Fitness and running yeah yeah and I suppose even strength like it would help your shoulders and yeah you know all that sort of thing with was
Really good yeah so you didn’t uh pursue rowing at all no no cuz Ryan was training every night of the week so except for Friday night I think it was we didn’t the any day we didn’t train so okay when you meet a lady that that sort
Of stuff everything up it does a little bit Yeah priorities change when you meet a lady so um 1972 to 1974 you stepped up to the lywood first team well did you find it um much harder playing a grade up no it was it was like
The reserve grade the liw first um yeah it was good you know you kept trying and trying H you make the break for Premier but you have much success in that team yeah can’t remember too much about it but yeah but yeah one of my things was I
Never got out hooked as a hooker so that’s the way and those days it was open slander or but yeah so were you still playing um unlimited tackles back then yeah and was it like um like yeah it was such a different era like head highs all of that stuff like
Pretty rough yeah I used to go out at night sometimes after the game and it feel like You’ been wearing sunglasses been dropped on your head a couple oh cuz me being short and light I was quite that would quite enjoyed Tipp me upside down and Dro me on the poor little fell
Oh my goodness um so I think uh between 1975 and 1979 so you played your two premier year games during that season like that sort of era and you actually won a player of the air in there somewhere yeah I W player of the year for the
Premier reserves or same you know that’s pretty impressive yeah um so so that give you like confidence when you went up to Premier yeah yeah yeah yeah what held me back with the height held me back that’s what I got told by a couple of coaches you know there been some
Pretty small players though over the years you they worried about me getting hurt and they didn’t R you know okay cuz like guys like Terry lamb and all those back in the day they’re pretty short little fellas and they seem to handle it you know it sounds like you handled
Yourself all right though especially playing in the middle that’s like one of the toughest positions when you got these big buffers running at you yeah yeah well sort of like I spit a few eyes and spent a few fingers oh my goodness and uh is there any players you
Can remember in particular that used to like make a be line for you to try squash you no not really no no everyone’s treated me re well oh that’s good they’ve got respect for you then um so 198y old and you mve into a manager’s role with the lywood thirds and you also
Went on to play manage and coach and you took out the Grand Final how on Earth did you juggle all of that and then still be successful I don’t know that’s a fair answer to be honest so how did the manager come about then we couldn’t
Find the manager so he had to do do that job and at the same time you know yeah so like did you just like nominate yourself or you just like you felt compelled to do it basically wow so um like I remember in the third grade
When I I had a captain I pointed a captain and then I end up playing then I was telling them what to do out in the field and he said well you’re not the captain down here so oh really told me to shut up so that’s all
Right so I shut up so the next game I was a captain yeah I was going to ask I was going to ask you what were the challenges managing a team like cuz with the playing and coaching you know obviously things like that must have happened like did you find there was
Much animosity between yourself and other players no no lot of com ship you know we got to like everyone and it’s football’s Chang rug League changed a lot since now since as commitment for people you know the commitment is not there to what it used to be there like right we would always
Have big numbers at training yeah and well I guess it’s such a different time because now we’ve got technology we’ve got Netflix we’ve got Wi-Fi back then you had Sport and you know there wasn’t even much TV going on around then you know yeah well I remember like way back
Then we go back to the LI leag Club after the game and you had to be there early to get a sleep yeah near the end when I when they stopped being long to there didn’t they didn’t even go back there no one went there that’s unreal
Right so what would you say was your style of coaching when you got into coaching I tried to play um as a team everyone to be as a team and and also trying to keep the I teach the people correctly how to tackle and all that
Okay so would you say uh you were more of a man manager or were you just the sort of like Craig bellam Stars where everyone is the same there’s no you know you give everyone a spray or or you’re you’re Kinder with some players or you
Put an arm around some that need a bit of a hand I tried to put an arm around some people I tried to make everyone equal um yep like I was as as far as training goes his player doesn’t turn up the training well he didn’t normally Play If I Had
Numbers uh it could be the best player on the of the team and he still wouldn’t I still wouldn’t play him see I think that’s good because it sits standard correct yeah and that keeps everyone up at a high level we used to like I would
Never name the team until the day yeah and then if we had a 1:00 game they had to be there at s A4 12 and and at quter 12 they weren’t there well those people sort of missed out too so well fair enough too I mean you’ve got
Standards you need to you know make sure everyone’s taking it seriously so that you earn your place yeah and play to your best is that the whole theory behind that yeah I I enjoyed doing it myself otherwise I would have done it either you know yeah and it took took a
Break away from my business and uhuh where and took one home life I had my wife my two kids yep so um it give me a break of what football sort of enjoyed it in the middle nice oh that’s cool so um what sort of culture did you set up
In your side work hard play hard like you know if you’re you put in the work off to the pub afterwards have a good good pess up sort of thing yeah I used to have a few parties around my place for the boys and yeah not heaps of them
Just y one or two a year but yeah but and we all had a fair bit of com ship you know a lot of my mates are still guys that I coaching the 90 engineer nice I like that so um what was some of the non-negotiables like you
Expected of your players like you know so you might be a little you might make allowances for certain things here and there but I didn’t try to make lances I tried to make biggest thing was making sure they turned up the training okay so that’s your big thing yeah that was a
Big thing they didn’t do out the training well if you let one away with it then you’re going to get two going to escalate Y and so you’re quite Hardline on that I like that um so who who are the types of players who are a nightmare
To coach did you have any of those during your very vast career oh no not really you get some of the ones I suppose they call it add now but yeah had the odd one of those but I think if you talk to them nicely and I
Know and um they knew that where you stood you know I went a real disciplined person but we just had goals you know and might try to make everyone enjoy what they’re doing well I guess that’s the change now I guess in leag now to then we know more about you know
Personality types and and and conditions people have like learning disabilities and things like that so I guess you can be more sympathetic to people these days coaches are I think um so were we just quite aware of that anyway yeah yeah well I mean I’ve taken I’ve taken teams
That well one one team I took over like uh a li 16-year-old team they they had a bit of a uh discrepancy with the coach and like second game in or something so I said all okay I’ll go and do it so I took over and I met them all at the park
On the game they as they arrived I said what position you play and I handed them their Jersey and played and we got done with 100 Mil and oh my god what have I got myself in for but we turned around beat that team and then two years later you know well
So small strides and made you know B gains you know like and nothing too flash just have something simple keep it simple yeah so you sure cuz I know like the likes of Wayne Bennett he doesn’t over complicate things it’s like he teaches Basics and fundamentals you know
Sometimes for hours with his elite players it’s about how to pass a ball correctly how to catch a ball just little things like that was that like those details big part of training yeah play the ball people M even now when you see NL stuff Mountain players that
Bugger up the play the ball yeah they don’t play it properly I sort of was very consistent on that and also running for gaps you know yeah and also thinking the guy outside you so yeah so you you Fitness comes in when it comes to those details of the game like having that
Mental strength to get up properly play the ball properly to not concede that penalty or not knock on or and then having guys pushing into holes you know and being decoys and things like that yeah well you we had some moves and some of the people struggled to understand
Exactly what they were but then they slowly learned what they were and they learned the Gams that we and know some of the moves I’ve done all the time everywhere you know but oh nice um okay so do you have any uh Lans in your team like you know Jokers there
Must be a few that must come to you’ll find that the more talented the player is the more harder he is to control oh really you know like he he’ll mck around we more cuz it’s easy for him not and the person that doesn’t who’s
Not that good is they will listen a lot a lot more so it’s trying to nail the the cocky ones down a we it yeah so what was some of your techniques on nailing them down well one of one be making do some 400s nothing like a good CIT of 400s oh I
Love it yeah what were some of the the horrible things you got them to do in training I’m very curious more tackling and and uh like tackling on when they’re running if someone’s running hard at them you know learning that was a bit blond Boger you
Know we didn’t get had a couple of people broke ankles and all that but yeah but that’s right what about um like dishing out punishments or anything like that you know making them do something we used to do that like we bring the 400 into again like they mck
Around right say you you and you got to do a four so many 400s before the end of the at the end of training so that that sort of brought people into line right and so for anyone who doesn’t know what a 400 is just what’s a 400 wow we class
Was not really a full 400 that’s round right around the outside of the field you know yep and just that flat TCH yeah you well yeah and if you didn’t keep up with rough the other ones that were doing it we have to do some more you know but I
Had the other one walk home in a Crump move they come back stronger the next day yeah so so you did uh go into more of a coaching managerial side but did you feel like you achieved everything you set out to as a player not as a player
Succeed in where I wanted to be in playing Premier but that was but you did get there yeah and then I wanted to I coached Premier M for a couple years for another club but that’s right um you went through to I went to easn one oh
Lum dropped me one year I had to bring up for I had him in the first year 18s or 0 I forget which one it was now but and they dropped me for someone else as a coach I went and played went met coach for Eastern yes and uh the biggest Joy
Was we beat that limit side that I got oh that has got to be so sweet that has to be sweet um so there after that I went to coach for Addington right and uh they offered to pay me I think it was three grand to go and coach for them
Nice so I said oh yeah I agreed but in the end it was me that paid them three grand to keep them keep the camp float I got nothing oh but I enjoyed it and I learned a lot from there it’s the tough thing of local League there’s just not
That money you need to rely on Raffles and fundraisers and all that stuff right yeah yeah I I don’t really get involved in football for for money lws very much a passion I think it’s cost me more money would have cost me a lot more
Money than I really got out of it but I’ve got a lot of enjoyment out of it which doesn’t equate the money you know and a lifetime of memories and friends and yeah yeah yeah that’s amazing um so you in uh 1988 and ’89 you got a level
One and two coaching like certificate certificate so is that like a qualification that you had to get or something you wanted you had to do that to get involved with can rular League or and so I went and done that I done everything I could do to get as high as
I could uh nice okay and was that quite tough or did you find that okay yeah okay they done level two plus and I failed them out but I really think that was about Mickey Mouse the way they were doing them up up there they had
Selected who want who were going to get them and who wasn’t going to get them so you would say there’s definitely some politics behind the scenes and yeah cuz I went up and done managers won and uh they did talk about we know who’s getting through one part of it and
You’re thinking well that maybe happened when I okay okay cuz you actually went also a little bit further on I’m probably skipping ahead here but you went over to uh can Bulldogs uh to do like a bit of a coaching development over there yeah well there’s a guy from madington want
Part of going to Addington he said I’ll jet you up with something over the Bulldogs I had to pay for myself but I went over the Bulldogs I spent a week and the hotel I stayed in was be the worst hotel I’ve ever been in my life
Well just Sydney it was an old kitchen I in the hotel yeah and I had to make me own Beed with I got there and uh oh well and but and they had a smoke detector going beep every air but I put up with
It I just wanted to do and it was quite good because the game I went over there I went to the game they were there and they they lost and then I thought this would be good the next day we had to go back to the meeting with them I went to
Go into the meeting room with them all but they kicked me out they wouldn’t let me in oh really so that’s with all the players and yeah the players and the coaches but some of the guys come out with tears in their eyes and you think Jesus they must have already got got
Tuned up yeah yeah but the good thing about that when I went there to the game to watch that game they when I was in the the they drew out they give you something when and they drew out a winner and I got a trip to the Grand Final nice but I had
To fly to Sydney then from Sydney to Brisbane that’s when they had it in Brisbane it was absolutely Magic game to watch and jets flying over the top all that they had but wow um okay so in 1992 you appointed as coach as the canary 19 rep side so you’re starting to
Um go up the ranks a bit but then it turned a bit sour and you got sacked what what happened there um well the the manager of the team I mean I like to do anything like know everything’s done properly you know as far as managerial
Side of it and I was ringing up kenry League finding out more stuff and I got set because I didn’t go through my manager to go to kenry rugby league but and plus the guy who was the manager his friend had come back from overseas and he from pepu and he got the
Job he he took over my place right I’m not sure what it was what it was okay did that knock your confidence at all or set you back a little bit sent me back a away bit and sort of like way bit pissed off away bit but
Um like you fall off a horse you get back on again so that’s the attitude I like that um so you went that’s when you went over to Easton as you mentioned yeah yep and you actually became a canary selector for the 17s yeah yep so
What were some of the things that you looked for in players when it came to selecting a repite I personally like looking for players I can tackle players that aren’t lazy and and players are more team person and some got plus their natural skills actually nice nice so um we I know uh
Because I had a sem foro on the the couch a while back um you said you coach of at one point yeah I coached of about three years I think it was was that um in which which rep side was that in no this was in for Li back in the lwood
Days yeah right yeah he was I had him as a him his his brother Alex and his father a sen was my oh sen was my manager and that was really good yeah really really good amazing sen was really good um his father was really good good to them because if they
Weren’t they didn’t behave themselves they weren’t allowed to to go out that night y yeah that he was basically their coach at home you know yeah he was they used to be petrified of him yeah I remember when I S to see the other cou I said how did you get into R
He goes my dad you know yeah yeah he was really good at well he didn’t play well they w’t there to come down the club yeah that reminds me when he’s his dad used to ring him after watching him on TV you know so why are you walking at
The B you know used to get in trouble was quite funny oh funny stuff um so as you said uh 96 997 you coached the Addington prims what so for you was it um pressure coaching Premiership teams for you well it was around the same time when the Cardinals and the shers took
Over MH and L had put a blanket on their players couldn’t play for the for them so Edon got sucked in a whole lot of players and I struggled really struggled to keep the club going and all that I end up coming and playing Premier Reserve to give a reserve really to keep
The Reserve side because you had to have a Reserve side to have a premier yep so I started playing in it then remember one game against play against lber it was all my all the guys that I’d coached and all that too you know so they I
Thought I’d just hide out in the wing but they kicked everywhere I went to they kicked part of the enjoyment of the game really I guess so bit of better and all of that yeah yeah and no one come out to malice me but oh that’s good yeah they
Come out to give me a hard time but that was about it funny you that’s life you take it yeah and becomes a highlight now Edington still going not sure I think they still got a couple of school teams but right they’re not up in the prims anymore are they no
No I tried to get them when I was there them and syam Y to join together and call them spraying and all I suggested they name need to change the name because then you don’t have amonos of one yeah I’m not playing for them I’m not playing for them you know
But it never evu yeah I mean andem merges can be tricky because like you look at the NRL you had the northern Eagles for a while that that was not a good marriage at all didn’t work that that ended and you got the West Tigers which have had moderate success but you
Still it’s everyone knows them as the Tigers and that’s right Magpie are like magpie’s who you know like yeah so I guess you’ve always got that comt that’s why I suggested they change the name you know yeah probably a good idea and then you’re all fighting for something you
Know nice okay so let’s have a look um did you ever struggle in your coaching when it came to dropping players or delivering bad news not really I just W I think they realized that they went for their end so they knew they had to but you know but I
Didn’t really have any real bad hatred with anyone or any anyone with me but but there’s no feelings of like a crap I have to tell this player is not playing for whatever reason you didn’t you didn’t struggle with that at all know cuz I normally had made sure I
Had an excuse why was doing it tell him why mhm oh well that’s fair enough that’s all part of coaching isn’t it it’s yeah like do that one training with the what about um did you have like say if a player had to leave the club do you
Have any issues like that like booting players out of a club or anything I had nothing to booting players no no I’m I’m not a person that tried to steer people away or try to either correct them and yeah getting them back okay um so what
You know we mentioned uh before you went over to Canary Bulldogs what were some of the things you actually brought back with you from from that coaching development um nothing too much just just trying to keep things flowing and training and that’s about about what
I did learn and um just was it quite professional over there it was was it was re yeah it was the were funny thing they used to do those well wasn’t funny really before the trained they used to have to walk the Panic uhh check for
Drugs and needles and all that oh really yeah they that’s what they used to do fck it I wouldn’t even thought of that no well that’s what that yeah they had to do that before the train way back then and yeah they were I suppose you don’t
Want to land on a needle do you and I went to one of the U executive meetings and but I said a joke didn’t go down too well so then in 1998 you appointed as the can Bulldogs lia’s manager so so what is that for a what happened they
Kry Bulldogs come to to crushit and they played at kir too when they and I was say their local manager like if they wanted wanted to know where something was what something was right help any anywhere they wanted something that was my job you know awesome okay so it must
Be good they rubbing shoulders with an NRL Club you know yeah well I took took some of them out the nightclub that afterwards that night the car I remember yeah I was sitting on my wife was driving the car and and we had I had two
Or three in the back and I had one on the front and I was sitting on one of the knees just to make get enough people in the car oh that’s brilliant um so you said your last ever competition game was for Edington Premier bees yeah what was the
Thoughts go through your mind I had to for that was trying to make sure thaten didn’t didn’t get relegated CU he didn’t have any Premier Premier Reserve s from defaulting so and what age were you then I think I was about 49 that’s unbelievable so were you thinking oh
This is it this is my playing career like no I was I didn’t know what I thought I’m doing the right thing or not doing the right thing but I went out and done it enjoyed it and another good memory I’ve got in my head you know yeah that’s right we played Limited
So so you you retired at 54 from playing is that right yeah something like that because you had a bit of a mountain biking accident um that potentially derailed things oh yeah I fell off the bike and broke the cheekbone and yeah well there was a cop coming the other
Way on the on the bike mountain bike and I was going the wrong way on the mountain bike but then I se I dve took off and then fell over very over thing and broke the cheekbone and oh no and what was the recovery like so I was
All right it just took a while but I also had shoulder troubles and yeah to from football so that when you pulled stamps or did you still keep playing I carried on playing Masters I played Masters right up so oh four years ago four or five years ago that is incredible I didn’t
Have a break for a while in between oh funny so uh year 1999 2000 that’s when you obtained your level one and two manager certificates and you’re appointed as the can Tob Bull’s manager so you also won the bar card cup that year so you had things huming pretty
Well do you want to tell us a little bit about that season and how it all came about well I got a phone call to say would would you be interested in being a manager and I said oh yeah so I went there and met J Stokes and uh that and I
W sure what with wanted to or didn’t want to but then they said he said to me oh we just want you to be local manager at this stage and uh you won’t go away with the team and all that and so went away all about said rang up said look
I’m not interested being the Christ’s manager I’m either going to be your manager or I’m not going to be your manager and MH so I thought the first time really really put me making foot down you know and uh they said I know you can be the
Manager yeah so yeah so then the first trip away we went away and we’re going to the high biscus Coast M and we made everyone get there and then we we got into a and half a gear arriv no just Stokes getting away upset and I
Had to go said look cuz I had high respect for him and I said that you got to shut up I’m the manager it’s my job you sit down and shut up cuz he was going to make it worse you know because of his arrogancy so I went and talked to
Him and they put him in a t they put all the gear in the taxi and taxi all that yeah so I was a bit of a bit of an interesting experience um so the season went quite well uh were you guys just winning most of your games everything
Was traveling along nicely we were we were struggling a little bit on the way games and so I’d rang up the the kenry um and a talk CU working out what they do in the way and see there something different that they were doing that we
Could be doing it they said I know their players all pretty professional on that so know okay so then I thought why do we win at home why don’t we went away you know then then I realized cuz we were going away the night before yep
And and I you know I asked got put a question at what they done before game themselves when they fighting mhm and someone had to go to work and and you know asked when you had meals and all that someone do have food and that do have this so
I thought oh so we said right here’s the we start we’re going to change everything there mhm when we go away um when we get there you know we have food and that you w’t be getting your breakfast to 10:00 10:00 in the morning mhm and that’s all you’re getting you
Will get no lunch really that’s it because we found CU when you’re in a hotel yeah everything’s free for players and and regularly people everything that’s free they grab so yep I dog thought that the players mostly were eating miles too much and carrying it on the Rugby field yeah and so
We that’s what I take all that part of my part of the fame is that we cut the food down and restricted what they could eat yeah on on the game day and and like we played at 2 o’clock 10 o’cl was so they had basically three and a half
Hours of no eating and we wouldn’t let them take food back to the room cuz that’s what they were doing yeah oh you’d eat loads off a buffet yeah yeah yeah with and like some of the Samar boys were worse than the rest but so we
Made it and we w we T to start winning all the yeah away games and another one when we had when the Earline uh one of the airlines went broke right we were booked on that plane to fly and pay in Orland yeah and I spent three
Hours on the phone with here New Zealand and all that trying to change our flights yeah um and I had so they put us on an international flight to Oakland mhm and I had some of them didn’t have passport so they had to go on a domestic
And it spent three hours to get sorted we’ve got to a we we played them and we beat them yeah cuz they didn’t think we were coming so they thought that were so they weren’t prepared mentally they weren’t there no no so that was sort of some of
The highlights that I had you know really so as a manager you it’s your job to deal with all the logistics and all that stuff yeah yeah yeah like when we go to Wellington and used to say I went to Wellington once I said know here’s
The story guys cuz I used to hate saying the night after as a manager because everyone was on the boo you know which is fair but then you wor about so I said well here’s the story if you’re not up not ready to go we were flying I forget what
From be 10:00 in the morning I said If you’re not the airport by 9:00 yeah you be hope you got some money because you got to one you got to pay for your own airf back you know if you don’t come back to your hotel everyone come back
You know was really good you know so at least they have that respect that’s like oh if we don’t get there B’s got to leave us behind it oh that’s good and so uh who did you play in the finals That season I think it was man oh they pretty
Solid team the funny thing about it we got there of the game and uh the other team they were all of wine and beer and all that taking it into their rooms and already for the drinks and all that afterwards so we staffed all that for so do do you enjoy all that
Logistics and problem solving because you’ve got two businesses over the years yeah do you think that’s just like your skill set because you’ve had to run businesses and it just kind of was a natural fit for you I think I’ve always been a away that way like way back in
The early days of Li League I was used to organize all the bottle bottle round collections with make the team and all that I just been that way and organizing and all that you know um yep I saw you down at the Turf Bar the other night um
You know first time I’ve been there I was like oh there’s birie oh great I’m yaking to him next week that’s cool there you are with the raffle board going around like it’s nothing know it’s just organization seems to be your thing yeah yeah yeah I’ve organized HS of
Stuff I mean I’ve been with the Masters east east side Masters which I started up M 20 22 years now and uh we’ve been to England and we’ve been five week toour of UK and you just plan it all that UK one I went through it with the
Travel agent but the other ones and the Gold Coast and what organized all myself you know it’s amazing that is amazing I don’t know how you do that you just get into a pattern of doing it I guess so okay so you also you’re the Le manager for the women’s Great Britain rugby
League side how’d that come about well they oh K ask me what I be le manager I yeah they and I was quite pleased that they were really good to look after and um I got in trouble with them but what happened there well in Brighton they had
Um the bunge that used to oh yes shoot you up in air yep and we went a few of few of them come with me in the car and we went to Bri I show them bright and they went on the bungee and this was the
Day before the game so oh whoops they weren’t very happy about what happened if someone got injured didn’t think about that but it was really really good you know and being a Lea on you go home to your own room at night so it was
Quite good but I I enjoyed it yeah and they were really good to deal with they very polite organizing and what’s the level of um women’s uh rugby league like in the UK is it quite strong I don’t know way back then I didn’t really watch much of the
Game but like compared to now nowadays it’s really come on Le come on it’s you know like years ago woman of Rabia League was wasn’t worth watching you know wasn’t even a thing yeah yeah but now it’s you know it is interesting watching it I think that um the the
Dicksmith NRL 9s has a whole lot to do with a bit of growth in the women’s game because they had the Australian New Zealand women’s playing each other and that actually put them on a big stage for the first time that I can recall and
This was quite a few years ago now and I just remember going oh this is good as you know and the kiwis they got up and you know they actually beat Australia in one of the matches I’m pretty sure and then all of a sudden that the nrlw grew
And like it’s now like you know it’s a pretty big deal there a war the Warriors going for another woman’s team I’m not sure but next year or the year after be good when they finally come back in the comp yeah yeah yeah but yeah it’s going
Well that’s great um so you’ve also managed the South Island team against France in 2001 yeah is that still a team that’s even around now don’t know that no I don’t know um but how did how did you enjoy that experience that was good yeah yeah yeah it’s m m Canary basically
Most of the players yeah but that was really good yeah um just another feather in your c yeah but still playing an international side how did how did you guys go yeah we won there no I’m not sure to be honest yeah it’s way back 2001 long time yeah CU I love that
Provincial side used to play international sides and then you know rep teams and try I want to start a petition and bring it back you know like like bring back tours and provincial sides playing you know International sides I see that a kenry game they just
Been re they just had um yeah you know had a day out to remember about it the other day what 30 years ago right yes remember being in that game watching that game yeah yeah and I had Aaron Whitaker here on the podcast and he was in that match and yeah yeah hopefully
Got Mark Nixon who was his house partner coming on in the New Year oh that’s good yeah yeah yeah so we aome to chat about that with him and as you said you organized a rugby league Masters um is it a competition where there’s 2018 teams from New Zealand and Australia was
It like a one-off tournament or more like a competition well we have every year we run in October we run a tournament at International Tournament and when I went to the Bulldogs and all that then I got and when I was with the um kenry BS I got in
Touch by Phil Campbell from the New Zealand rby league and they were running Masters up in Orland and he asked me well originally I was going to go we were going to go to Australia can take a canaby team to Australia and but I asked everyone who wanted to be in the
Team if they 600 bucks I had first of all I who wanted to go about 60 people not 600 bucks I down about six people you know right but we end up going to or instead and and that’s where we started with Masters and that was in 2001 in
2002 they or when I was here they said well we want to have it in crosses next year so I sort of got droing and the D there so I organized that and we used spray to main then yeah then we’ve been here we were here in
200 five or seven or something like that M another one we had it Raceway yeah and we had something like 28 teams all right in 201 15 I think it was we had one in uh and here we had 52 teams that wow um I organized them at at wgam Museum we Ed
The wigam Y um hanger yep and we’re going to have another one on 2025 and I’m in the plans of trying to sort all that out in the moment so well that must be a headache you know yeah yeah it is because well in 200 uh 21 we had
In like 2022 so we had in queentown organized that and try to get the people from Orland to accept what I was doing cuz re I said well we can’t there’s nothing big enough there to have you know and only have to go to the convention center and use them and I got
People say we must go to the rby club I said they don’t take enough go here they don’t take enough want to B my head to Against The Wall yeah but I finally got got to where I wanted to have it but Co M things a we but we have quite a few
Teams in Orland last year we well this year was we had 36 teams so I’m hoping I bought wgam Museum yep been negotiating trying to get through the prices started out at 51,000 for a week oh wow and then I’ve got it down to about 27 at the moment you done
Good there you know but it’s still too far expensive at the moment but then we’re going to use n pun as a field C going to open up eight fields for oh rugby league on the turn so we I’ve only got I’ve got another what any months too
Or two years too before I have to worry about it so right we just like to get on early and get it sorted and you’re a machine mate I don’t know how you do it honestly okay so you ended up managing the New Zealand a side so how did that
Come about and where did you play who did you play against we played against the New South Wales team in in Orland uh and uh I’m not sure if we won or not I sort of don’t think oh that’s okay but um what was the standard like say compared
To coaching Canary bulls or prims was it a much higher standard it was it was yeah it was you know it was quite High um the guy that died who was who died Dr drown he was playing and and Steve um maning was also on the side
Oh wow way back then wow but it was really good um obviously I got myself on the crap again because because when they come had the return I the next one I w’t involved because what what had happened is I also like stuck up for players I
Stuck up at the same time and we had the game well they give us the Jersey to give the players right there was never ever said or nether ask do I have to get the suies back or they keep them you know so I didn’t ask for them back CU
They didn’t tell me to get them back so and and not all the other Representatives teams are never ever seen anyone give jerseys back you know like okay so I didn’t give them back and then they got the ship so but so so so it’s not but we I think only
Think I did get the next game I didn’t get didn’t get me that was sort of the end of where I made with new gentl mhm in that area because of that situation but I said well you didn’t tell me yes we did I said no you didn’t and and on
To this day they didn’t tell me because yeah cuz I didn’t I was too scared to ask because I thought I don’t ask I don’t know fair enough and I mean a lot of players keep their playing jerseys from tests especially I know it’s not tests but it’s New Zealand like it’s
Been on a tour yeah but you know was a one off game and then another game was going to be later on in the year okay yeah okay and you also were with the New Zealand University team that won the World Cup yeah now for those who don’t
Know what’s the University team and how is it selected because it’s it’s players who are University students is that right yeah they’re all the ones they had to be at University and um we had we have a tournament they had a tournament and they picked the players
From there from the tournament and I was kenary i k I coached kenary for three years in a row wow and then won the thing three years around then they dropped having the national competition after that but that’s right um yeah we went we got selected and I got selected
As and some come from the for the Masters the contacts for Masters they got me involved and we went over there and it was really really good you know I had to I had one of the one of the lawyers who was with rugby league he was
Um he was over there with us and all that but I was a business manager and the funny thing is when we’re going to go to there we we all met in Orland we stayed in the hotel in or we we had a meeting I said we got to have a meeting
And all that and um and the team manager I was a business manager I was the only one in the group that never been to University was there bu true it’s a pretty good record to have there so I went there and and I said I
Said to the the manager he’s he was a professor at the school I said mate we need to have a meeting we need so we can fill out because you used to fill out departure forms right each person said so everyone knows how to F them out yep
He said mate these are University people they know what to do I said they might be but there’s just temp meeting and there well it happen I know I a hard time every saying about fair enough too oh that’s hilarious winning that was like it was really good it was
Like a bigger surprise of a lot you know like really so yeah I guess cuz you just never know what you’re going to come up against or what the skill level of your side’s going to be you know University is a lot different to playing prims every week especially when you’re
Playing Aussie too like in the final in the final and that was just beating aie is like and anything is great yeah we beat the maity weeks we’re happy you it’s so true I know Australia um so were there any like players that progressed further from that team um into prems or
Higher yeah yeah there oh just yeah was quite a few um Andrew amangi he’s fairly high up in can League he he was he was the captain I actually got him made captain for the for the for that thing so there’s no one really I can think of
That made actually made the keepes after that but they’re all still decent players yeah I still get on two or three of them already still awesome awesome so what nations were involved obviously Australia were were there many other big Nations there was England M uh Scotland I think France here yep all the
Traditional League Nations yeah yeah yep nice and then you kept the year off winning overall outstanding winter sport administrator of cbury winter sport award there was Gates of Crusaders and everything I got I don’t know how hell I got it to be honest but it’s so amazing um so so what what
Are the sort of B that on does it just I didn’t really know it just commitment whatever you done I suppose I don’t know but I you’ve done a lot for the game I was got told had to go to the thing I didn’t know I was winning
Anything up against the manager of the the um the Crusaders I got no sh Show yeah and I did mate you got it mate that’s so so cool so um that made made it all worth it though like all the the planning the the problem solving all
The headaches you deal with is it quite nice when you win something like that at the end of it it turns us surprise but yeah yeah it’s pretty incredible I think that’s amazing yeah um and you know so all you know there’s a lot of obviously periods of time we’re involved with
Multiple uh organizations you know like we’re talking Masters East Side Canterbury chairman lywood Canterbury 18s I think you’re doing them all roughly around the same time and running your business yeah all at the same time I don’t how do you do it I don’t know I struggle now I don’t do hardly anything
Oh that’s crazy another big thing I saw in your resume was 2018 you the tour manager for the New Zealand physical disability rugby rugby league team yeah and mean that must have been a completely new experience um going over to Sydney with the team it was it was
You know like trying to to learn what each individual physical disable and there’s a big range because they physically disabled some of them haven’t got money and some of them have got and me getting used to that yeah and some can’t have eat this and some can’t eat
That well yeah I was going to ask you what were some of the the the extra problem solving things you had to do like must to be so different to just oh yeah yeah you know just yeah but you got used to it and you just just become
Natural with the people you know it would be more of an incredible experience more than anything I would imagine yeah it was really good it was really really good yeah oh that’s cool and so how did they go like what what’s the competition a sh again either that was
It we we should have won it really but was that the team Gary indicot played in correct aha yes it’s good I knew that one um so how often does that even come around is that like a a a permanent competition or PDL they have it every three or four
Years I and it’s the local comps is it a a big thing that around no no there there’s a crisis toam and the funny thing is I think A’s come down twice and been beaten twice by can take that Orland mean I’m from the W but we still
Hate Orland so that’s great you know the big man small man syndrome stuff um so this year you kept off your enormous career by receiving the distinguished service award from the New Zealand rugby league how did that feel yeah really good I yeah really surprised you know Ray havon had nominated me and
Uh I’m not surprised at all I think what you’ve done for the game is absolutely incredible you don’t think about that yeah but as a fan and you know obviously a lot of players out there you know to see someone just giving their time and like the Mad Butcher always says super
Um the time is the the most best gift you can give anyone correct and you know cuz you can’t get time back um so I think it’s pretty incredible what you’ve given like you’ve literally given your life to rugby league in a service I think it’s a I have but then I’ve
Enjoyed it otherwise I wouldn’t be doing it you know yeah and I think that’s the biggest thing if you’re not don’t enjoy it don’t do it but yeah if you do enjoy it you will have bad times and you will have good really good times yeah you know is there anything in particular
That stands out from your career like is there anyone moment that you think yeah that was that was amazing not really it’s all been G oh that’s good um okay so we’re going to start finish with a few fun questions uh my wife wants to
Know if you had to pick one coach from any sport who do you think is the best coach of all time well Webster’s making his way there but up until then I think Frank indot was one of the better ones yeah he’s a pretty good coach isn’t he yeah yeah um
You know he was he was the coach in charge of the Warriors when I sort of started getting into rugby league and Kiwis and all that so yes love some Frank um so what NL team do you support the Warriors yep um what about back in the day I still like their
Bulldogs it yeah well they’ve had plenty of kiwis over the years yeah there it’s surprising now like way back when I playing if you had not come over here and played for your Club he was only really good good now it seems to be the kiwi’s going over
To yeah that’s right and the NRL there are the good ones now yeah yeah I think that’s only been good for New Zealand um test footy like hopefully in the future will be always able to compete with Australia like every match and not just get the oddwin you know I think obiously
Like playing with how much in case we do get we get that stage where we keep beating them all I think well there is a part of me that thinks that that’s why they don’t promote the international game enough and there’s not enough matches like it just isn’t yeah you know
I mean there’s a good they had tried it way back Sly where they had like a try yes they had New Zealand and they had Queens Queensland I remember that yep and that was a good I thought it was all right mean you’d never see it again now
But I thought because of Super League there’s so many new Innovations to the game and that’s what they were trying to do is modernize the game yeah the money people getting there Asal it’s crazy isn’t it I think is it like back in the the early ’90s know the salary cap was
Something like 1.2 million now that’s your halfback you know what I mean you know it’s crazy um so uh you’re the treasur of the turf bar is that correct H yeah we just finished that up now but right I’m just curious to know what are
The ribs like on the menu you know I haven’t had the ribs I’m pretty Keen to go find out um so what is your favorite TV show I like watching documentary and all that oh nice yeah anyone in particular no like 60 minutes and all
That you know cool okay um and if you were on death row what would your final meal be mer State Dirty Old State got to love it okay thank you so much Bernie for coming on the show it’s honestly a real privilege uh to hear about your
Career you’ve done so much for the game um your service to rugby league is second T that I think it’s incredible so I’m sure many people over the years owe you a bear for everything you’ve done done and all the players you’ve coached and you know I’m sure lots of people
Have relied on you at certain times over your lifetime and career oh yeah but there fun of the enjoyment of it and that’s what you enjoy you get back out of it with what you put in it get back what you put in that’s right well there
People like you that make the game of rugby league what it is the greatest game of all so uh thank you to everyone for watching another episode of back in the day the amazing birdie Bruce Mill uh don’t forget to hit the Subscribe button on YouTube Follow the Instagram
Podor rugby league and make sure you get on the Facebook group it’s growing like wildfire uh point of difference rugby league and uh I’ve been your host Dave this has been birdie Bruce Millan and we’ll see you next time for kickoff full time