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Transcribed by DIEHARD from the Courier Mail
http://www.thecouriermail.com.au - FEB 26 2005
Dolphins aren't widely known for their aggression, except when their turf is under threat. Mike Coleman reports on the looming battle between QRL heavyweight Redcliffe and the Gold Coast's NRL bid.
The NRL competition is still a fortnight away but one of the most fiercely contested battles of the season could be fought between one club which doesn't even play in the national league and another which doesn't exist.
There will be no ball involved, no goal posts or two competition points up for grabs. Nothing so simple.
For the Gold Coast consortium which hopes to be accepted into the 2007 NRL competition the fight is over a name, a logo.
For Redcliffe Rugby League Club and its supporters it is about something far more precious. It is about their history, their struggles and victories. Their pride. It is the battle for the Dolphin.
Drive through the streets of Redcliffe and the dolphin is everywhere. It is on buildings and signs. On parks and cars. It is on the gates of the multi-million dollar leagues club and the oval it overlooks.
A club which was once a tin shed and an oval which was a rubbish tip.
Redcliffe mayor Allan Sutherland remembers first supporting the Redcliffe Dolphins at the age of eight, being driven to the showgrounds by his uncle who would back the EH Holden up to the fence, pull out the folding chairs and set the esky up in the boot.
Sutherland might now be the mayor, but it is his cousin James Houghton who goes through life having earned the ultimate accolade.
"He played in the Dolphins 1965 grand final team with Arthur Beetson," Sutherland says proudly.
Club patron Dick "Tosser" Turner remembers that side with as much affection as he does the Queensland State of Origin teams he managed through the Maroons golden years.
"I was talking to Arthur yesterday," he said. "He's really fired up over this business. We all are."
In the old days the Redcliffe hardman had a way of sorting out problems on and off the field which involved more action than words, but times have changed so they have gone to the lawyers.
A legal team has been exploring all avenue over the past weeks and is close to moving. The Gold Coast consortium has also briefed its lawyers and is waiting for Redcliffe to make the first move.
It is an expensive, painful accident waiting to happen, and no one seems to be able to stop it.
NRL CEO David Gallop says the situation is "far from ideal and I hope the clubs can resolve their differences but it is premature for us to get involved."
Gold Coast mayor Ron Clarke, in a letter to Sutherland said: "I do believe it unfair for the Gold Coast to adopt a name that has been long associated with the Redcliffe Rugby League Club."
But like Gallop, Clarke added that " I must warn you this is none of the council's business" - which means unless the two parties can reach agreement it shapes as another rugby league windfall for the lawyers.
"We're both going to burn 100 grand on this if it goes all the way," said Gold Coast CEO Michael Searle.
"I understand this is an emotional issue for Redcliffe but to be brutally honest no one has exclusive rights to the dolphin. We are fighting over a trademark, a logo, nothing else."
To Tosser Turner, Allan Sutherland and everyone who has ever played or cheered for the Redcliffe Dolphins, those words say it all.
"It is much more than a logo" Sutherland said. "It is a real principle here. Sport is about teaching kids to try hard and do what's right and fair."
"What does this teach them, that you just come in and steal what belongs to someone else? This is one club deliberately setting a path to go over the top and rip off another club."
Not so says Serle. The name Dolphins was one of 250 suggested in a public poll. Another public vote saw it adopted.
"I guess we were hung out to dry to a certain extent," he said.
"My personal vote wasn't for the Dolphins but the community push was such that we had little choice."
Which doesn't really appease the men who searched out the model for the original Redcliffe dolphin when the club entered the Brisbane Rugby League 45 years ago. "We went down to Jack Evans, the porpoise pool bloke," Tosser said.
"He took us out the front and pointed to this fibreglass dolphin. He said, "this is the one you want. Big, strong, tough, that's your dolphin."
Turner and the other pioneers might have had a big, strong, tough dolphin but they didn't have much else back then.
The leagues club struggled in the days before pokies. Taking on the debt to redevelope the former tip almost crippled them.
The growth of the Dolphins from rubbish dump to showpiece is mirroed by the emergence of Redcliffe as a progressive, attractive community, which perhaps is why the city feels such an affinity with its football team.
"The people of Redcliffe have spent years bettering the Peninsula and making it such a wonderful place to live," Sutherland said.
"We're proud of what we have achieved and the dolphin is not just the logo of our club, it's the symbol of our city and what we've done."
"They might say it is not supposed to be a deliberate slight, but to us it is just another case of the Gold Coast, Big Brother, just coming in and saying "who cares, it's only Redcliffe."
"They nicked off with our Friday night trots as well. They used to be a tradition at Redcliffe but now they've gone to the Gold Coast and it's been an unmitigated disaster. No one goes along and it has crippled the industry here."
"I had to award a trophy at the trots the other night and at the finish post there's a big horseshoe with two dolphins on either side. I said to them 'You'd better watch it. The Gold Coast will be flogging your dolphins too.'"
Serle says he understands such emotion but with $40,000 of Gold Coast Dolphin merchandise already sold, he cannot back down. He is hopeful of a compromise.
"I can't see why they cannot be a feeder club for us if we come in," he said.
"They are already a feeder club for the Roosters but there is no reason they can't have the same association with us."
"We would pay them $10,000 or so a year which could go straight to their juniors. Surely that makes more sense than giving $100,000 to the lawyers."
Perhaps, but Redcliffe will take some convincing. It is not about money for them, it never has been.
As Tosser Turner said, "We brought in a company to try to put a value on the dolphin logo and what it means to the city. You know what they said? 'We tried but we can't do it. It's priceless."
(I will fix errors in the article later.)
http://www.thecouriermail.com.au - FEB 26 2005
Dolphins aren't widely known for their aggression, except when their turf is under threat. Mike Coleman reports on the looming battle between QRL heavyweight Redcliffe and the Gold Coast's NRL bid.
The NRL competition is still a fortnight away but one of the most fiercely contested battles of the season could be fought between one club which doesn't even play in the national league and another which doesn't exist.
There will be no ball involved, no goal posts or two competition points up for grabs. Nothing so simple.
For the Gold Coast consortium which hopes to be accepted into the 2007 NRL competition the fight is over a name, a logo.
For Redcliffe Rugby League Club and its supporters it is about something far more precious. It is about their history, their struggles and victories. Their pride. It is the battle for the Dolphin.
Drive through the streets of Redcliffe and the dolphin is everywhere. It is on buildings and signs. On parks and cars. It is on the gates of the multi-million dollar leagues club and the oval it overlooks.
A club which was once a tin shed and an oval which was a rubbish tip.
Redcliffe mayor Allan Sutherland remembers first supporting the Redcliffe Dolphins at the age of eight, being driven to the showgrounds by his uncle who would back the EH Holden up to the fence, pull out the folding chairs and set the esky up in the boot.
Sutherland might now be the mayor, but it is his cousin James Houghton who goes through life having earned the ultimate accolade.
"He played in the Dolphins 1965 grand final team with Arthur Beetson," Sutherland says proudly.
Club patron Dick "Tosser" Turner remembers that side with as much affection as he does the Queensland State of Origin teams he managed through the Maroons golden years.
"I was talking to Arthur yesterday," he said. "He's really fired up over this business. We all are."
In the old days the Redcliffe hardman had a way of sorting out problems on and off the field which involved more action than words, but times have changed so they have gone to the lawyers.
A legal team has been exploring all avenue over the past weeks and is close to moving. The Gold Coast consortium has also briefed its lawyers and is waiting for Redcliffe to make the first move.
It is an expensive, painful accident waiting to happen, and no one seems to be able to stop it.
NRL CEO David Gallop says the situation is "far from ideal and I hope the clubs can resolve their differences but it is premature for us to get involved."
Gold Coast mayor Ron Clarke, in a letter to Sutherland said: "I do believe it unfair for the Gold Coast to adopt a name that has been long associated with the Redcliffe Rugby League Club."
But like Gallop, Clarke added that " I must warn you this is none of the council's business" - which means unless the two parties can reach agreement it shapes as another rugby league windfall for the lawyers.
"We're both going to burn 100 grand on this if it goes all the way," said Gold Coast CEO Michael Searle.
"I understand this is an emotional issue for Redcliffe but to be brutally honest no one has exclusive rights to the dolphin. We are fighting over a trademark, a logo, nothing else."
To Tosser Turner, Allan Sutherland and everyone who has ever played or cheered for the Redcliffe Dolphins, those words say it all.
"It is much more than a logo" Sutherland said. "It is a real principle here. Sport is about teaching kids to try hard and do what's right and fair."
"What does this teach them, that you just come in and steal what belongs to someone else? This is one club deliberately setting a path to go over the top and rip off another club."
Not so says Serle. The name Dolphins was one of 250 suggested in a public poll. Another public vote saw it adopted.
"I guess we were hung out to dry to a certain extent," he said.
"My personal vote wasn't for the Dolphins but the community push was such that we had little choice."
Which doesn't really appease the men who searched out the model for the original Redcliffe dolphin when the club entered the Brisbane Rugby League 45 years ago. "We went down to Jack Evans, the porpoise pool bloke," Tosser said.
"He took us out the front and pointed to this fibreglass dolphin. He said, "this is the one you want. Big, strong, tough, that's your dolphin."
Turner and the other pioneers might have had a big, strong, tough dolphin but they didn't have much else back then.
The leagues club struggled in the days before pokies. Taking on the debt to redevelope the former tip almost crippled them.
The growth of the Dolphins from rubbish dump to showpiece is mirroed by the emergence of Redcliffe as a progressive, attractive community, which perhaps is why the city feels such an affinity with its football team.
"The people of Redcliffe have spent years bettering the Peninsula and making it such a wonderful place to live," Sutherland said.
"We're proud of what we have achieved and the dolphin is not just the logo of our club, it's the symbol of our city and what we've done."
"They might say it is not supposed to be a deliberate slight, but to us it is just another case of the Gold Coast, Big Brother, just coming in and saying "who cares, it's only Redcliffe."
"They nicked off with our Friday night trots as well. They used to be a tradition at Redcliffe but now they've gone to the Gold Coast and it's been an unmitigated disaster. No one goes along and it has crippled the industry here."
"I had to award a trophy at the trots the other night and at the finish post there's a big horseshoe with two dolphins on either side. I said to them 'You'd better watch it. The Gold Coast will be flogging your dolphins too.'"
Serle says he understands such emotion but with $40,000 of Gold Coast Dolphin merchandise already sold, he cannot back down. He is hopeful of a compromise.
"I can't see why they cannot be a feeder club for us if we come in," he said.
"They are already a feeder club for the Roosters but there is no reason they can't have the same association with us."
"We would pay them $10,000 or so a year which could go straight to their juniors. Surely that makes more sense than giving $100,000 to the lawyers."
Perhaps, but Redcliffe will take some convincing. It is not about money for them, it never has been.
As Tosser Turner said, "We brought in a company to try to put a value on the dolphin logo and what it means to the city. You know what they said? 'We tried but we can't do it. It's priceless."
(I will fix errors in the article later.)