What Wests Tigers players have you bumped into in public?

The most random (excluding leagues club or rugby league events) ARL/NRL player sighting that I can currently recall are:

Garry Jack with his missus post-midnight at the Rocks on NYE 1988/89.

He ignored all the exiting randoms calling out "Garry" - but stopped for a chat and a photo when I said "g'day Jimmy"...

Junior Pearce - Chris Anderson - Mark McGaw 1990 Easter Show

Ellery Hanley walked straight into me at the corner of Victoria Road/Chatham Road at West Ryde outside the old Video Ezy store (now some bubble tea bullshit) - he was staying with Blocker during his 1988 Tigers stint - and again Ellery with Martin Offiah at the Burdekin in 1992

Benny Elias at the old Ron's Pizza joint on Viccy Road West Ryde in 1991

Siro in his police uniform on the opposite escalator at Birkenhead Point 1987

John Muggleton chasing a car from doing donuts on the St Pats Dundas Oval

Blocker with his personal trainer walking in Wenworth Park Glebe in 1998

Tyran Smith running the Glebe Point stairs in 2000

Mark O'Halloran at North Annandale shops 2007

Solomon Haumono at The Friend in Hand Hotel Glebe in 1998 and West Ryde station in 2005

Gordon Tallis in his Dragons days with the curly hair on King St Newtown 1992

Olsen Filipaina - Wes Patten - and John Elias many times and random places over multiple suburbs

Arthur Beetson skulling a 2 litre apple juice at the counter of the fruit shop on Bourke Street Surry Hills 1992

David Gillespie in a Roosters polo playing the pokies at the Red Tomato Inn Kingsford at 1130 am on a weekday 2006

Richard Villasanti playing pokies at the West Ryde Hotel - Royal Hotel in Ryde and Town Hall Hotel in Balmain in 2001

Nathan Wood at the Unity Hall Hotel in 2000

Mick Neil driving through Cleveland Street Redfern 1995

Mark Coyne in a suit on Kent Street Sydney 1994

Brett Kenny at Balmain Leagues club in 1991

Billy Smith Oatley Hotel - a few times

Ricky Stuart drunk as a skunk and shucking a sack of oysters at the bar unnamed southern suburbs bar 1998

Steve Edmed and Matt Parrish visiting their accountant at Birkenhead Point 1992

Sam McIntyre at the self-checkout at Coles West Ryde in 2020

Kerry Hemsley at the old Top Ryde Shopping Centre several times 1984-88

David Nofoaluma and Corey Norman at the new Top Ryde Shopping centre 2017-2018

Johny Raper at David Jones Sydney CBD 1991

Jeremy Marshall-King with Tyler Cassel at Blacktown bus interchange 2016

Ava Seumanufagai and Joel Luani leaving West Ryde Medical Centre with scans in 2015

SBW at the Criterion Hotel Sydney and at domestic Qantas baggage check-in at Sydney Airport 2006-2007

Cliff Lyons playing darts at Harbord Diggers club 1991

Jason Smith managing a pub in Toowoomba 2007

Manoa Thompson - Tricky Trindall and Steve Benkic doing the garbo run in Redfern/Surry Hills 1991-1993

Gary Freeman running water for juniors at Morry Breen Oval Wyong 1999

Dean Pay running the Beach House Hotel in Hervey Bay 2004

....
You’re like Rainman for random footy player meeting recollections
Impressive recall 😁
 
Regularly run into Jason Stafford- former Wests Magpies & Balmain Tigers winger/centre.

Mad. Absolutely bonkers guy. Wife is ALSO stunning. Football pays off.

He tells the absolute best Ellery Hanley stories that are NSFW. Had my boss in front of him struggling for breath as the story unfolded.
 
Jeff Hardy St George lock in 1993 in Bali. Shouted us beers as the club had $500 a day bar tab. Great bloke but pissed off losing to Broncos twice in a row. Really nice bloke and solidly built. Went to school with Tim Brasher. He was a year below at Grantham High School Seven Hills. Was a super athlete but not very smart. Had groupies at school.
 
Jeff Hardy St George lock in 1993 in Bali. Shouted us beers as the club had $500 a day bar tab. Great bloke but pissed off losing to Broncos twice in a row. Really nice bloke and solidly built. Went to school with Tim Brasher. He was a year below at Grantham High School Seven Hills. Was a super athlete but not very smart. Had groupies at school.
His brother was far cooler (Andrew) and more chill. He didn't like people bringing up his brother. I lived opposite Seven Hills High and was mates with a lot of seniors & ex students. Andrew was also mates with a lot of them so did he go to Grantham or Sevo High? I'd ask him if I knew how to contact him, haven't seen him since the mid 90s, though he did show up in my "friends suggestions" when I still had Facebook a few years back.

Jeff Hardy was the sports master at either Sefton High or Airds High....I can't remember which one my Missus told me...she was a student at Sefton before moving to Airds.
 
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Bragging contest... 😀

I had a phat chat with Brian Smith (former St George/Parramatta coach) at SOO at Suncorp a couple of years back. Genuinely nice dude, stuck in the exit chaos & couldn't move. Had a laugh about how Qld supporters couldn't get out fast enough (NSW had thumped us).

Had a few interactions with Liam Fulton & Bryce Gibbs not long after they retired. Thought they both seemed pretty cool.

Ran into Todd Payten as the NSW U19's coach at a hotel in Roma St in Brisbane, then had a chat with Jack Buchanan who was in the U19's team. REALLY friendly guy (Buchanan). Payten doesn't give much away but smiled when I finished with a Go Tigers.

Helped my dad put carpet into Souths Leagues WAAAAAAY back. Mario Fenech, Jeff Fenech, Neil Baker & Craig Coleman were in the bar. Mario & Neil tried helping lug underlay into the building. Jeff & Craig were busying throwing shot glasses at a cat in the street....

Played junior football against Nick Graham & Nathan Long.

Regularly run into my old school mate Nathan Long (Sharks) at the tracks in Brisbane- he's a runner for bookies up here. Don't know how 2 Kirrawee High boys ended up on the Qld race tracks...but there you go.

Had Dan Staines coach my U16's team back at De La Salle Caringbah back in the day. Surprisingly small human.

Lastly- actually coached former Dragons, Cowboys & Tigers #7 Kieran Kerr in his junior cricket team. I clearly had a strong influence on his cricket career.
Dan Staines had a bit of a tough upbringing

 
Round 2 of 2004. Walking into the SFS as we were playing Souths. I was with my mate and we got separated. I turned around to look for him, and I see this familiar frame lumbering towards me. Todd Payten. Spoke to him for a minute or two. He was cool. He was out injured at the start of the year, and no one really knew when he’d be back. But he told me he’d be back the next week and he was.

Little did I know this was around the time he had just gotten to the club and wasn’t really happy about it, having been released from the Roosters. That obviously changed a year later. Interesting fact. He’s the only player to have ever been paid by 3 clubs at once
 
Late 70s the team I played with trained at Lidcombe then back to the Railway Hotel after training. Wests trained the same night and always ended up back at the Railway as well. Some big drinkers and many a late night.
 
Round 2 of 2004. Walking into the SFS as we were playing Souths. I was with my mate and we got separated. I turned around to look for him, and I see this familiar frame lumbering towards me. Todd Payten. Spoke to him for a minute or two. He was cool. He was out injured at the start of the year, and no one really knew when he’d be back. But he told me he’d be back the next week and he was.

Little did I know this was around the time he had just gotten to the club and wasn’t really happy about it, having been released from the Roosters. That obviously changed a year later. Interesting fact. He’s the only player to have ever been paid by 3 clubs at once
Was that a game we lost in. Golden. Point?
 
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