SEEMS strange that the Redbacks AFL club has been fined for joining with the Warwick Water Rats rugby union club to organise a flood relief day and celebrity game a couple of weeks ago.

The word is the club has received a letter informing it that the fine from Darling Downs AFL was for entering into an agreement to play the practice match without permission from the league.

Here is a club hit twice by the floods, seeking grants to help it turf a new field and build a clubhouse, getting a fine, believed to be $120, for a breach of regulations.

Last week, there were 33 at a working bee putting down turf on the new field and one suspects a similar number will be on hand this afternoon and Friday.

If the new Greater Western Sydney Giants franchise can do as good a job of promoting AFL as the Redbacks are doing in Warwick, they will be a massive hit in the AFL.

One has to wonder if there aren’t more important things for the league to get its teeth into than fining a club which has just been to hell and back with floodwater.

This club is always doing something new, such as the pre-season competition with Jimboomba, Goondiwindi and Lismore which is in its third year. They get fined for just trying to raise funds for their community.

At worst, perhaps the league could have written a letter to the club to raise issues of concern to the league. The reality is the flood fundraiser didn’t happen due to wet weather.

Using a Kevin07 saying, are the Redbacks getting a “fair shake of the sauce bottle”?

If you planned to break the speed limit on the open road, you don’t get fined if the accelerator sticks at 90kmh.

More eight-wicket bags

NOBBY cricketer Ashley Gillam took 8-22 for Back Plains at Country Week against Goondiwindi about 1984. The day before, he took 5-41 against Biggenden.

While he is a bowler who bats, a bit like Test star Mitchell Johnson, one of Ashley’s greatest achievements in sport was hitting Toowoomba paceman Paul Teys for six off the last ball of any innings to win a shield final for Back Plains.

I don’t know if the Test star will be still playing at 58 but Ashley is and took 5-30 off 10 overs a few weeks ago against Bowenville.

So in the past month, we have also highlighted eight-wicket bags by Graham Stevens, Barry Fraser, Gus Mauch, three by Noel ‘Stumpy’ Doran, Jordan Siebenhausen (last season), Chris Cantwell (this season) as well as 10-0 by Errol Hall two decades ago and 10 wickets in an innings by Geoff Fearby in juniors.

Next week I will discuss the Australia Day hauls of John Creed, Matt Osmond and Chris Dunne. Any more, please email gerardw@warwickdailynews.com.au, call 46601313.