There is no doubt the Sunshine Coast has some wonderful characters, like former ironman Josh Minogue.
If I described him as a colourful character it would probably be an understatement.
The Sunshine Beach Surf Life Saving Club head coach did something wonderful last week all in the name of two-year-old Aspen Hansen.
The brave little girl, with the support of her wonderful family who are part of the surf lifesaving community, is being treated for leukaemia.
The community at large has really got behind the family, which is a testament to the Hansens, and it was no surprise that they asked people donate to the Leukaemia Foundation, as they had been overwhelmed with support on a GoFundMe page and a front–yard blitz organised by Developer Steve Cole.
Enter Josh Minogue.
He decides to run from Sunshine Beach to Alex and back, via Rosemount, for a total of 85km, with all money raised going to the Leukaemia Foundation, plus some shaving of heads at the end with some of his kids he coaches.
About $17,000 and nine hours later the job was complete. What a weapon.
In true Josh fashion though he talked up everybody that ran with him, not himself.
One of those to run with him was another character, Bailey Williams.
As an ironman, he would make an excellent front rower.
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His brother and ironman Cooper is built like a runner and did 10km with Josh, so Bailey set out to do 10.5km but ended up running the last 25km, then shaved off his flowing locks and rehydrated on Tooheys.
I asked Josh if he ran the whole way and he told me they walked a couple of hills but that was just because he was waiting for Bailey?
I also asked how he slept and he reckoned he felt like he was going through menopause as he sweated up all night.
Well done to all involved, what a marvellous effort and the only downside is Josh with no hair. That’s a bit scary. Maybe he should have shaved off his monobrow instead, because in his words he looks like a Shar Pei.
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Change of pace from officials
What about the NRL? I didn’t realise there were two competitions this year, the regular season, where some decisions looked like we were playing touch footy, and then the finals, particularly last weekend, when it was nearly anything goes: head slams and holding players down in the play-the-balls, all with limited input from the referee or touch judges.
I notice silence from Paul Kent over the Panthers-Melbourne game because a Sydney team won. If the Storm would have pulled the game out of the fire it may have been different. Of course, journalists down there have two sets of rules, or am I just biased?
The grand final should be an awesome game regardless of where it’s played.
Hopefully, it’s at Suncorp and I hope Benji Marshall goes out on a high with Souths as he deserves it, but if the Panthers get up it’s hard to deny them considering how they have performed during the past two seasons. So it’s a win-win for most footy fans.
Ashley Robinson is a columnist for Sunshine Coast News and My Weekly Preview. His views are his own.
