Page 520 - NUAFC EBook

process of selling them as 1st Division players! being typed slowly so Ian can read it.
As avid duck hunters they often returned from His eyesight wasn't the best either. That is why
the wilds with a mixed bag of trophies - ducks, geese, Dan's he was called Fractured Fender.
dog, the ginger torn from next door, headless decoys and
two of Rod Hill's toes! Of Scottish extraction Pretz was a staunch
soccer man and started out by kicking a haggis about.
Since invading Narra United they have moved Known as t h e K e n n y D a l g l i s h o f t h e
into the spheres of infamy through poaching balls, Kindergarten he had to keep his legs covered as better were
stealing goals and shooting up the pitch. As to their seen holding up a table.
present whereabouts it is believed they are under cover as
aspiring un-retired players. It has been found that He played schoolboy soccer in Oz before coming
these men are dangerous and, if encountered in the to NZ in 1966 on a wayward surfboard from Bondi
clubrooms all are advised to take care. Beach. He played for Claudelands and Wanderers (earning
player of the Year at both clubs) before joining the Green
These men are dangerous to the unsuspecting and machine as a midfielder and the resident Thunderjaws.
will often ply victims with treble rums, tequila He ability to kick with both feet had to be seen to
sunrises and ouzo dynamite, rendering them be believed but, as no one had ever seen him do it, it was
comatose before making their escapes. not believed!

NELSON GRANDONA
1981-82 1980-84
Known as Noodles from his job as a cook in the Known locally as Poppa he was called Polio (meaning
Army Geoff played for Rotorua Schoolboys for 8 years 'chicken') in Chile.
until he was 14 then had a breather before joining the
military at 16. He subsequently made his name playing Nelson played as a youngster in Chile with Dynamo
for the Army team until side-lined for a season with injury. and had a season in Canada playing for an Italian side
where, in one game the elastic of his shorts gave way,
While on a Singapore posting he turned out creating a draught in his nether regions.
for Army against The High Commission side and He came to NZ in '79 and played for Fraser the year
the Embassy side. When not on duty poisoning the the great Donnybrook erupted. he subsequently joined Narra
local troops he side-lined as a rickshaw boy where he as he thought the standard of Kung Fu was higher.
me t a n d ma r r i e d o n e o f h i s passengers, Ivy
(although he claims they met in a paddy field while His job as a welder at Gallagher Engineering lead
planting rice). to his knees being further apart than his ankles through
He joined Narra in '81 and soon made the sitting astride gas bottles.
Northern League. Since then he has been trying to model Nelson showed the club how he could bend the ball
his wife (oops, life) on the Swedish Chef from the Muppets. on the field and bend the elbow over the bar.

GEORGE SUNNEX
1969-93
An ex-schoolboy Rugby League player who 1 9 8 0 -8 3
graduated to the round-ball code when one year they ran Napper (or Boyo) was born in Valparaiso
out of Easter Eggs and had to make do with blackballs. (Chile) and was soon to become known as the
George's early life interest was in wrestling heifers and he Chilean Chihuahua.
became the South Pacific All Star Heifer & Bull Skipping He played schoolboy football and Under-19 reps
Champion. for Quillotas Dynamos and will always remember a fantastic
He was introduced to the great outdoors by a shot at goal where he nearly tore the n et o f f t h e
great Aunt in Jumping Jim McCaig and Richard Saville p o s t s . Af t e r h i s exuberance had died down he
w h e n t h e y p l a y e d f o r t h e Wheeltappers and embarrassingly walked into the goal to retrieve his boot,
Shunters Club. He was a founder member of Narra in the ball hadn't even moved!
1969 and was awarded Player of the Year in 1970. As no He said that he had learned his skills by chasing
trophy was available (the club was too poor), Janet Llamas through Chilean police riots squads! In 1976 he and
cooked a haggis and mounted it over the fireplace. It would his brother Jimmy arrived in NZ and turned out for
have been there to this day but Ian Miller discovered it Fraser and the Hamilton Under-19s. He was a member
and ate it. of the Fraser side that engaged Narra in that
George could always be heard on the field calling infamous Battle of the Waikato (where most of both
for the ball, and once he called for it in a Northern teams got really friendly!).
League match, forgetting he was a spectator! He was so impressed with our fighting
In the early days before the clubrooms spirit that he joined us the following season so he could
he was in charge of the outdoor khazi's and one evening as teach Dave Hall how to speak Spanish so that more
he struggled with Glen Gray to empty a very full container intimate conversations could be arranged with
in a high wind, the inevitable happened and they were practicing referees.
both banned from the club for a week until the smell had
worn off!

1978-83
1983-84 Known to many as Snoz and to some as Boof Head.
Born in Sidney and was growing well until a He started his skills early in life kicking the
kangaroo landed on him once (or was it twice?). Because family hamster against the side of the house, then going
of this, Ian's reading ability slowed down, so this column is on to represent Waikato schoolboys from 1965 through to

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