I can only shake my head at the wonderful parochialism of football supporters, in any code.

Take the demise of Kevin Sheedy, for instance.

I was watching news bulletins earlier in the week with staunch supporters of the Essendon club questioning the loyalty of the board of the Bombers for ditching the coach.

Now come on, the guy has been there for 27 years in the one position.

I reckon the board has been pretty loyal.

Sure he has steered them to four premierships, changed the culture of the club forever and achieved some amazing things on and off the field but, in my opinion, it was about time.

I must say Sheedy handled the press conference with dignity and, to the very end, he has been his own man.

I remember when the Bombers played on the Coast back in the ’90s and they came back to the Mooloolaba Hotel for a few beers at Troppos.

The best bloke in the joint was the coach and the hardest to handle were the Daniher brothers, one of whom ironically might become the new Bombers coach.

SNIPE SNIPPETS

The NRL Snipe has the good, the bad and just the plain ugly this week.

The good

“No doubt about the class of Darren Lockyer, on and off the field.

“Even while preparing for a serious knee operation he was still the very first current player to respond to the Broncos Old Boys gala function to say that he would be there to support it.”

The bad

“How the game has changed.

“The players certainly are professional, which was what American Express thought in the ’80s.

“They decided to do a promotion with the idea being that players were professional and opinion leaders so the company devised a plan to ask league players to apply for credit cards, with a special deal where they got $25,000 limit on the card at low interest hoping fans would follow suit.

“It was all going good until one player spent a fair bit of time in Sydney Eastern Suburbs, frequenting bars, red light areas and bottle shops. They then realised that they may have misjudged the situation and the idea was quickly shelved.”

The ugly

“Wayne Bennett was a bit tough on the Eels’ Jarryd Hayne for taking a dive last week in the clash with the Broncos.

“Players on the field reckon it looked like Hayne had been hit by a truck after he tackled Sam Thaiday and just because he managed to get up, albeit eventually, he should have been applauded not bagged, which is what of would have happened if it were Origin.”

SUPPORT TSUNAMI VICTIMS

If you like being entertained, get along to the Nambour Civic Centre tonight for a tsunami appeal fundraiser for the people of the Solomon Islands.

Why is this in sport you may ask?

Because it has been organised by Rex Egglomese, who is not only a great entertainer but was also a local league legend in Nambour back in the ’60s and ’70s, as well as a hell of a bloke.

LET'S HERE IT FOR VOLLEYBALL

I learnt something yesterday – Queensland is the most successful volleyball state in Australia.

More than 100 volleyballers representing Queensland in the Australian Junior Championships brought home the major prize in state-based competition in Australia, the Presidents Cup.

The mighty Maroons came home with five medals from the six divisions. Although tied on points with Victoria on the tally count, the Queenslanders were awarded the trophy based on a countback of the number of finals they contested.

Burnside State High School had four players represent Queensland at the championships.

Cassie Kennedy was a member of the under-17 women’s Silver team which finished in eighth place in that division.

Tarryn Wyllie was a member of the under-17 White team which won the bronze medal.

Erin Goodfellow played in the under-19 women’s team which finished eighth, and Jordan Grenfell was in the under-19 men’s team which won the silver medal.

BOXING BOUTS

Don’t forget Caloundra City Boxing has a big card on show at Arthur Street tomorrow from 1pm, with promising young fighter Dan Goodall heading the bill plus heavyweight Aaron “The Bear" Newey.

It should be an interesting afternoon with 20 bouts scheduled.