According to today's Australian, the Board will be making a decision this week about an appropriate memorial to Sludge...
Bit hasty methinks, but I guess it needs to be determined before the season starts...
Bit hasty methinks, but I guess it needs to be determined before the season starts...
Lasting memorial for Cronulla's Rogers
Peter Kogoy
January 09, 2006
A MEETING of Cronulla Leagues Club directors will decide tomorrow night on how former champion centre Steve Rogers will be honoured as one of the greats of rugby league.
One option to be discussed is for the southern Sydney club to name a stand in his honour.
Club captain Brett Kimmorley has talked of asking the club to have Rogers's name, and the No 3 he wore for his 202 games as a Shark, embroidered into the team's jumpers.
"Steve will not be forgotten," Cronulla chairman Barry Pierce said yesterday.
Rogers, 51, was found dead outside his Cronulla home last Tuesday, after taking what police sources have described as a lethal combination of anti-depressants and alcohol.
At his funeral service on Saturday former Balmain league star turned northern NSW grazier Neil Pringle likened Rogers to "the man with a heart as big as Makybe Diva and as soft as Mother Teresa".
"If Kerry Packer knows of a casino in heaven, then Steve would be right there next to him, giving the croupiers a good run for their money," he said.
More than 1000 mourners crammed into the Shire Christian Centre, while hundreds more, some dressed in replica retro Sharks' jumpers, stood outside the church listening to an audio-feed of the service.
The supporting cast read like a who's who of two football codes who came to pay their respects to Rogers, who played 21 Tests for the Kangaroos.
Son and dual international Mat gave a moving eulogy to his father, touching on his "aura".
"Dad will always be remembered for his divine talent on the football field, but his talent to entertain people after was probably his greatest," he recalled.
"Dad, I'm so proud of you. You're my hero. I know when mum died a part of you died with her and now the dynamic duo are back together again."
Rogers's older son, Don, produced a song, and daughter Melanie read a poem. The crowd inside also watched a visual tribute to Rogers.
Link to full article: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17764922%255E2722,00.html