And Bob, with a few of his old footy mates, will be at the Nambucca Heads Leagues Club on July 23 from 1pm for a packed afternoon of tall-tales, beverages and food.

Joining Bob will be rugby league greats Phil “Gus” Gould – broadcaster, journalist, former player and coach and current Penrith Panthers president; Johnny Cartwright – son of Merv Cartwright and former Australian professional rugby league player and current assistant coach for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles; Paul “Nobby” Clarke – former Penrith Panthers star; Harry Wells – Australian former representative rugby league footballer; Mick Stone – former NRL referee and Dennis Tutty – Australian former professional rugby league player and coach in the New South Wales Rugby League. MC for the afternoon will be Neil Pringle – a former Balmain and Newtown rugby league player.

Over Bolo’s long career he captained Balmain in the 9-8 win over Great Britain in 1966, but representative honours eluded him.

In 1968 he was lured to Penrith by club secretary Merv Cartwright as the Panthers’ captain-coach and brought immediate success with a win in the final of the pre-season competition.

Injury forced Bolo into retirement in 1970 but he battled on as coach with limited resources until 1973 season.

In 1976, he and his wife Joy moved to Nambucca Heads where his involvement with league continued.

He coached the Nambucca Roosters for a number of years – inspiring many young players along the way, including one of the special afternoon’s organisers, Pat Broderick.

“He's done so much for the community and Roosters club,” Pat told the Guardian.

“So we’re wanting to give back to Bolo.”

When asked about what he loved about the game – Bolo said it was “hard to describe”.

“I used to go to the movies or out around town and see the old Balmain players – and you look up to them ... when they said hello it gave you a bit of a lift,” he said.

It was shortly after this, Bolo got his break.

“When I started to play, I became the person people looked up to.

“I used to get the tram to work and if I had a good game, everyone would want to sit next to me. If I had a shit game – I’d be all alone,” he laughed.

Bolo said reminiscing about the old footy days was something he liked to do, and this upcoming afternoon listening to some old footy yarns with old mates would be great.

“You make so many friends on and off the field,” he said.

“And these blokes were just a few I made over my years playing.”

Tickets for the afternoon can be purchased at the door which include all festivities, beer and food. Posters with more information can be found around town.