It has been a while between drinks. My boys "The Negotiator" and "Blond Bombshell" were in primary school and infants when Dad last carted the ball up for the league bureau. The eldest, now known as "BM" for Bare Minimum - his attitude towards anything that doesn't involve his head being buried in a mobile phone - is in high school. He has spent the past week gloating about his beloved Slipperies after the family celebrated "The Bride's" birthday with a trip to Marathon Stadium to watch Parra lap the Knights 39-2.

I warn him that a week can be a long time in rugby league.

Laurie Daley is distraught after news that his home-town club, the Junee Diesels, have been dumped from the Group 9 competition due to a lack of numbers.

Great name the Diesels, which is a nod to the locomotives that were once the lifeblood of the railway town.

They would have to feature in the top 10 weird names of sporting teams. There is a ton in rugby league headed by the Parkes Spacemen and their juniors, the Space Cadets, and our very own Maitland Pumpkin Pickers and Charlestown Butcher Boys.

For the truly weird, you have to look to other sports. The Epping Pingers (obviously sponsored by a night club) play in the Northern Football League in Victoria. In the US, they dead set make them up - Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Santa Cruz Banana Slugs and Scotsdale Community College Fighting Artichokes. My fav, a professional basketball club in Asia - Taiwan Beer.

Later, a near full house of 17,284 pack Central Coast Stadium as the Bunnies switch burrows for their clash against the Silvertails. So much for Gosford being Penrith by the sea. In fairness, the poor folk on the Central Coast normally only get the Mariners to watch in the A-League. Please.

Silvertails back-rower Karl Lawton returns to the '80s - long hair, socks down and a dirty mo - and spears Bunnies lock Cameron Murray into the turf as though he is drilling for oil. Madness.

Former NRL CEO David Moffett launches a stunning, unprompted attack on super coach Wayne Bennett. Moffett, remember him, was the head of the NRL from 1999-2001 and reveals the former Broncs coach was his most disliked character in the game.

"I didn't like him, he didn't like me," Moffett said on his online show MoffCast. "I never held any grudges against him, I just didn't like the guy ... mainly because he believed, and I think he still does, that the entire rugby league world revolves around him."

Well not the entire rugby league world. Fortunately Knights No.1 Kalyn Ponga doesn't read from the gospel according to Wayne.

At Redcliffe, the Faiders follow the script and lead 20-12 at half-time against the Once Weres only to fade. Who would have thought? Shaun Johnson pops a late field goal for a 21-20 miracle. The capitulation is Canberra's fifth in a row. Ricky Stuart is going to need a bigger swear jar.

The "Blond Bombshell" has matured into "Mullet Boy" and is also spitting chips after his Chooks (bad parenting, I know) succumb to the Dogs 16-12.

The Slipperies are slaughtered by the Cows 35-4 in rugby league heartland Darwin.

Good as Gould scream the headlines in the wake of the Dogs' upset of the low-flying Chooks. Gus Gould came under fire for undermining coach Trent Barrett after he took the clipboard midweek and barked some advice to the Doggies.

I wonder if Gus has time for a pep talk to my South Kotara Tigers under-11s.

Maybe, Adam O'Brien needs to get Gus along to Knights training. You reckon Raiders fans are doing it tough. The Knights get pumped again, submitting to the Storm 50-2. Adding to the humiliation, the Newcastle Jets outscore the Knights with a 3-0 triumph over Macarthur in the A-League.

Completing a bleak weekend for the Gardiner household, the mighty Balmain Tigers are upset 12-6 by the Dragons.

"A week is a long time in rugby league," BM offers.

Channel surfing, I come across a replay of the NSW Waratahs' clash with the Crusaders and a red-headed bloke by the name of Edmed is carting the ball up at the 8th wonder of the world - Leichhardt Oval. I'm waiting for Blocker Roach to take the next hit-up. Jimmy Grant's son, Jack, is on the bench. There is hope for the Tahs yet.

The Once Weres reveal five-eighth Chanel Harris-Tavita is recovering from a ruptured testicle. Teammate Josh Curran accidentally kneed Harris-Tavita in the plums late in the first half of their round seven loss to the Storm. He showed balls to play out the game before going under the knife.

Harris-Tavita will be out of action for a month and also miss some footy.

Former boss and Seven Days guru, Kevin Cranson, loved a nut bag story, regularly informing readers "it takes approximately 50 kilograms of pressure to rupture a testicle". Ouch.

Inaugural Knights skipper Sam Stewart may be closing in on 60 but 'Slamming Sam' still packs a punch. Now living on the Gold Coast, Stewart is hailed a hero after helping corner a grub who attacked a surfer with a knife.

Someone give Adam O'Brien Slammin's number.

*******

He also fails to heed a warning to check the team lists before locking in your Fantasy Footy team. Alas Dale Finucane is a late scratching for the Sharks. The Broncs also benefit as they gallop through trough a toothless Shires outfit on the way to a 16-7 upset.