Flood prompts birth of Australia's toughest tipping contest

[Dogwatcher]

By ROB McLEAN

WHAT do you do when you’re in Ipswich, your suburb is surrounded by floodwater and you are unable to go to work?
You start Australia’s most ambitious sports tipping contest, that’s what you do.
Rik E Boy, yes it’s an alias (and much better than the name Nathaniel Fatba$@&rd, which he suggested we use) was born in New South Wales and spent time in Adelaide before moving to Queensland and settling in the ‘Swich’, which explains the broad array of footy competitions involved in the massive, almost year long tipping contest.
REB’s nationwide quaddie involves the AFL, NRL, the new Super XV Rugby competition, which kicks off next month, and the SANFL.
Fortunately, REB’s home has been unaffected by the
massive flooding that has devastated South East Queensland
but his wife has seen firsthand
the human cost of the major
disaster - spending time at a nearby evacuation centre and
then in a call centre, dealing
with the massive number of
enquiries that have followed
the flood of biblical proportions.
It has been an emotional time but in its own way, a rewarding one for REB’s wife.
“At one stage there they
had this kid who kept wanting to run away from the evac centre but Mrs REB kept talking to him,”
he said.
“Last night when she did some shopping, this kid remembered her and came up and gave her a big hug.”
As is the way with upheavals of this kind, even if you are not actively involved, the experience has its way of hitting home.
While his wife was volunteering, REB, who was unable to work due to the flooding in central Brisbane, was home looking after his sons.
By nature, REB’s not a
rubbernecker and unlike the many Queenslanders who were out sightseeing as the water washed its way down the river, he
stayed home.
Hence the birth of what might well be the nation’s craziest tipping contest.
“Yes, I was bored. That’s what happens when your attention span is akin to Bart Simpson...Homer’s is probably more accurate,” REB laughed.
“I have followed a lot of different types of ‘footy’ - now come on people, soccer doesn’t count!
“January is such a boring sporting month now that teeball (T20) has killed one day cricket and I can only look wistfully ahead to once again follow some real sport.”
As you can see, REB’s a bit of a joker and you’d have to be to set up a tipping contest like this, wouldn’t you?
Even REB admits he’s never seen anything like it and that’s where the challenge comes in.
“Not really, but I don’t scour the funny pages looking for them or anything,” he said.
“For the sporting fan, winning this comp is impossible.
“Whoever wins this will be the person who knows least about sport. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!”
And if you think REB’s set this contest up so he can lord his knowledge of the four competitions over the rest of us, think again.
“My specialities, as in any footy tipping contest, is tipping losers,” he said.
“I am bloody shocking and the only way I’ll make the top 50 is if there are about 33 entries.
“I don’t have a clue and as a tipper I make a good comp organiser.”
Which means, if you fancy yourself as a bit of a tipster, you should get on board this very, very tough competition.
What’s up for grabs if you win?
Nothing, just the prestige of winning the toughest tipping competition around.
To join the fun, email REB at rebinippy@yahoo.com.au

[Strawb]

Well written there Dogwatcher

[Booney]

Yes I'm in, but doubt I'll win,
REB is great at organising, this type of thin'

An alias it is, Nathaniel Fatbastard,
But once there was a Bob the Bastard,

A story of life, a cartoon as such,
But in all reality, it demonstrated not very much,

It gave REB a chance,in between backyard cricket inning,
To have the rest of the house smiling and grinning,

Whitey, Wilson, Boon and others,
Arguing that the bin was never in the covers,

Hellions we were, fighting Passion and Warfare,
Sometimes using quietly collected welfare,

I look forward to tangling and tussling with others,
To find out the best tipster among us,

This tippin' comp will be rugged and tough I bet,
But not as hard as losing a Gary Ablett!

[Dogwatcher]

Was that Henry Lawson?

[Rik E Boy]

Gary who?

regards,

REB

[Dogwatcher]

You know him REB, he lives just down the road from you.
His bald head is being used as a solar power generator for the Gold Coast.

[Booney]

You know him REB, he lives just down the road from you.
His bald head is being used as a solar power generator for the Gold Coast.

They'll need him to generate a shitload of power to run the mint that is printing his cash...