Latest news with #MarkGeyer
ABC News
28-05-2025
- General
- ABC News
NSW State of Origin skipper Isaah Yeo lauded ahead 2025 series opener
Paul Gallen has labelled Isaah Yeo as one of the greatest locks of all time, as the NSW star prepares to become the next number 13 to captain the Blues. Yeo will lead NSW against Queensland for the first time on Wednesday night in the State of Origin series opener at Lang Park. In doing so, the four-time Penrith premiership winner — who is also the Australian team captain — has a chance to tick off one of the last remaining feats available to him — leading NSW to Origin success. The Blues enter Origin I as favourites to defend the shield. "He (Yeo) will be remembered as one of the greats and he deserves it," said Gallen, who was the last lock to captain the Blues. "He is brilliant. The thing about Yeo-y is he is known as a ball-playing lock, but he is more than that. "He has the ability to play front row. He can play that hard role. If you're 10 metres out from your own line and you need someone to have a hit up, he will do it. "But when you're in the 20-metre zone attacking the tryline, he comes alive. He is alive all over the field. "He's got every part of the game you need to be remembered as a great forward." Dubbo-born Yeo is often overshadowed by the likes of Panthers teammate Nathan Cleary. But many NRL observers believe 30-year-old Yeo deserves as much recognition. It was in that vein former NSW enforcer Mark Geyer labelled Yeo an Immortal-in-waiting this week, a stance backed by Yeo's first Penrith captain Peter Wallace. "The lock position, we know now, is pretty much because of Isaah Yeo," said former Blues halfback Wallace, who is now an assistant at Penrith. "Even in 2020, all forwards passed but there wasn't a link man in the middle. He was one of the first who excelled in doing that role. "And then he has gone on to win four premierships in a row, captain his country and his state now. Won series with both as well. "When you think about the Immortals, those Immortals that have been named, Yeoy has done just as much." AAP
Daily Mail
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Former Panthers hardman Mark Geyer reveals awkward moment he knew he was losing his high-profile radio job
Footy great Mark Geyer has opened up on the moment he found out he was being sacked by Triple M last year. The former Panthers star said he had been left feeling 'blindsided' by the channel. It came after Mick Molloy had opted to leave the channel and return to Victoria to host a new show with footy great Nick Riewoldt. Geyer was deemed surplus to requirements and subsequently got the axe. Geyer said he was 'devastated' by the decision, having been at the broadcaster for 17 years. He was later replaced by former NRL star Beau Ryan, Natarsha Belling and ex-Tigers star Aaron Woods. 'I get the landscape,' Geyer said on the decision to The Daily Telegraph. The footy great had been informed of the decision in the Spring via an email. 'Nothing is forever. I'm a realist that way. 'But it was the uncertainty that hit me. 'I had five kids, a grandson and a mortgage, was 56-years-old and didn't know what was next.' Geyer was capped three times for the Kangaroos and made 135 appearances for the Panthers, scoring 29 tries. After also spending time at Balmain and the Western Reds, he'd retire in 2000 and would later pursue a career in the media. Writing for several newspapers before joining up with Fox and Triple M. However, it wasn't long before Geyer found himself a new job. The former second-row landed a role with 2GB and Nine Radio. 'It was nice to be wanted,' he said. Geyer has struck a three-year deal to join the broadcasters and has been working on The Continuous Call Team as well as multiple Wide World of Sports programmes. The former Panthers star revealed to The Daily Telegraph. 'I remember as a young player, there was nothing better than having sideline eye Tony Megahey put the headphones on you after a game and you'd be speaking to 'Bolts' (Ray Hadley), 'Chippy' (Peter Frilingos) and 'Bozo' (Bob Fulton),' he laughed. 'It's great to be part of that this year. He then added that he had always been a long-standing fan of 2GB, before making a humble admission about his presenting style. 'It's funny, you know, because I've actually been in the media for more years now than I played footy. 'I'm not a great wordsmith, I know that, and I muck a few things up. 'Sometimes I know what I want to say and it doesn't quite come out as intended.
Perth Now
27-04-2025
- Sport
- Perth Now
Perth's NRL entry to set right historical wrong: Geyer
Perth was always the golden west for elite level rugby league, which is why the return of an NRL side in 2027 makes perfect sense. That's the view of founding Western Reds star Mark Geyer who was the biggest name to join the fledging club in the 20-team ARL competition in 1995. Geyer played in the 1996 competition and the final year of their existence in Super League in 1997 when rebranded as Perth Reds. They were one of three teams axed when the two warring factions brokered a peace deal for the newly formed NRL in 1998. The Reds won 11 and lost 11 in their first season and their win/loss percentage in three years was superior to the likes of Penrith and Cronulla in their formative three seasons. Geyer said an unsustainable financial burden placed on the Reds led to their demise No-one was more delighted than the 1991 premiership-winner with news the Perth-based Bears, in an affiliation with North Sydney, would play in the 2027 season under the auspices of the NRL and with Western Australia government support. "I love, love, love it … love, love, love … times one hundred ," a beaming Geyer told AAP. "The Western Reds were a success but from day one we had to pay for the flights and accommodation of the opposing players (in both first and reserve grade) for all our home games. "That is what eventually sent the club broke and out of the comp. "The difference this time is the NRL and the WA government is behind the bid. "Last time we were thrown in the deep end and started swimming and getting out of the current, but out legs were taken out from under us. "Our first game at the WACA we got 25,000 against St George. All the junior participation was up in 1995 and we missed the finals by two points. We had a footprint but just lacked the support from the game that the new franchise is going to get." Geyer predicted the new club would be supported like the Reds were as an integrated member of the sporting landscape and be a huge boost to broadcasters and, as the 18th team, to the NRL as they go in search of a $3 billion broadcast deal. "Our sponsors Cash Converters were fantastic. We all drove around in cars with a big red kangaroo on the bonnet and everyone knew the Western Reds were in town," Geyer recalled. "We cross-trained with the Fremantle Dockers and West Coast Eagles and we knew (coaches) Gerard Neesham and Mick Malthouse. We went to the AFL games and became mates with the players. "It will be no different to what the Sydney Swans are here in Sydney in a league market or the Melbourne Storm in Melbourne where it is all AFL. "We are not trying to take over the west, we just want a piece of pie. An NRL team in WA immediately gives another time slot to broadcasters. Peter V'landys can go back to the table to them with nine games each week rather than eight. It's a win-win." The ex-Bears players AAP has spoken to are ecstatic after being in the wilderness for 26 years. Those that played in the Western Reds team are just as happy. "It justifies our decision back then to leave everything behind and go on a voyage. We would still be there if Super League didn't come along and we didn't have to play for the other clubs to travel," Geyer said.
