NEWS FROM AROUND THE NSW REGIONS
One of Australia's biggest rugby league stars and renowned greyhound lover, Ryan Papenhuyzen, has confirmed his role as a special guest at Wentworth Park for the Ladbrokes Million Dollar Chase Final on October 13.
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Having made a triumphant return to top-grade league last month - after more than a year on the sidelines with a knee injury - Papenhuyzen has returned in time to help Melbourne throughout the NRL finals series.
Not only is Papenhuyzen a brilliant footballer, he is a huge supporter of greyhounds, having joined Greyhound Racing NSW and Greyhounds As Pets in 2021 as an ambassador.
"Greyhound racing is a sport I love and know very well, and I have actually been a participant through ownership of a few racing dogs," he said.
Heading east
The Ladbrokes Million Dollar Chase series is a celebration of greyhound racing across regional NSW, with 17 tracks offering a ticket into the semi-finals.
In addition, this year, one of the new avenues was a saloon passage through to the semis for the first four in the recently conducted National Sprint Championships.
The winner was West Australian Saige Tenniele, while Aussie Rocks, Tinker Norm and Postman Pat all booked a berth in the MDC semis to be held at Wentworth Park on October 6.
Saige Tenniele will attempt to do what fellow West Australian, the great Tommy Shelby, almost achieved in 2020 when he finished third behind Handsome Prince and Xerri.
Saige Tenniele has an amazing back story. She was educated in NSW but "wouldn't go at all", so owner Kody Charles decided to offer her for free on the internet. But nobody was interested. He decided then to fly her home to Perth with the plan to rehoming her.
But he put her with a litter of pups he was educating when she arrived in Perth; things just turned around.
Now she's the National Sprint champion and one win away from a shot at $1 million.
Nads man
It was a return of one of their favourite sons at Dapto recently when former rugby league star Terry Hill was at the track for the launch of the Group 1 Ladbrokes Megastar.
Back in the 1990s, Hill was a regular at Dapto on a Thursday night, hosting live crosses to the Footy Show from the track and, of course, introducing the now-famous greyhound Nads.
Such was the impact of those days that Hill told those gathered of how he was walking down the Corso at Manly last year when approached by a man who said: "I know you."
Assuming it was his 140-odd games with Manly, his Origin games for NSW or his Test matches for Australia that had been the reason for his recognition, Hill was stunned when his "mate" said: "Oh yeah, you Nads man."
This article was produced as part of an ACM partnership with Greyhound Racing NSW.
