ABC Radio’s favourite sons, the Coodabeen Champions, are bringing their show to Geelong, kicking off a Victorian tour at the Geelong Performing Arts Centre.
Covey, Champs, Billy and Richo have been sharing their inimitable brand of sports lunacy with fans for 35 years — a long way, today, from when uni mates Jeff Richardson and Simon Whelan mused over the idea of putting together a footy show on radio looking at the game from the fans’ perspective.
When the Coodabeens hit the 3RRR airwaves in 1981 with their simple formula, they were breaking new ground for sports coverage. And, a bit like the AFL teams of today, the Coodabeens did their share of building the playing list.
A few came and went – including Whelan who was benched, albeit in the Supreme Court – but Richardson is still rucking to an engine room of
stalwarts in Ian Cover, Greg Champion, Billy Baxter and Jeff “Torch” McGee.
Having built the list, the Coodabeens have managed to stay at the top of their game, have never bottomed out nor tanked. Indeed, they finished the 2013 and 2014 seasons at number one in their timeslot and, in 2015, have picked up where they left off.
In an ever-changing footy world, the Coodabeens have remained an enduring constant, thanks to an engaging combination of footy knowledge and in-the-outer experience.
Their language has entered the footy lexicon along with scores of footy songs penned by Champs and his witty contributors. And then there is the cast of regular callers to the show’s talkback segment who have taken on lives of their own.
The Coodabeens’ career highlights include being part of the pre-match entertainment minutes before the late EJ Whitten made an emotional farewell lap of the MCG in1995 and twice performing at the AFL Grand Final. There have also been scores of big occasion OBs, dozens of recordings.
