Turvey Unwell
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InGusWeTrust
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The news about Robbo is a silver lining at least. And as terrible as dementia can be, I just hope Turvey can deal with it the best way possible. With my nan, she started out forgetting how things work, i.e: putting milk in the kettle instead of water. At a certain point her son (my uncle) decided she needed to be in a nursing home. He may have lived with her at the time iirc, so would have seen these things and been worried. I think she'd had a fall or two also, so she obviously had to be supervised. She was in the home for a couple of years I think and she was calm when I visited. I didn't visit often though, so I don't know the full picture, but I never had the impression it was a terrible time for her, even though she had probably forgotten her children. It sounds bad but if the person isn't in distress, it's not the worst thing.
Bulldog Brower
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I still remember the front cover of Rugby League Week when Turvey started blitzing it with the Dogs:
his picture with the heading in big letters "A Star Is Born". They weren't wrong!
his picture with the heading in big letters "A Star Is Born". They weren't wrong!
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That is correct. Coach Malcolm Clift wanted him to be a cover defending half and he came back from that stint to be one of the best ever.
incidentally in that reserve grade stint Turvey scored 2 of the best chip and chase tries ever seen. One at Lidcombe, the other at Kogarah. On both occasions, he chipped over the front line of defence, regathered, and then chipped over the fullback and scored. Brought the house down, but that didn’t get him back in first grade. His improved cover defence did.
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I saw that game. At the time, nobody was thinking about concussion, brain damage, or dementia. Players just got up, and kept going.
We did know about punch drunk boxers, but didn't make a link to brain damage in other sports. No doubt it could affect players brains if they take enough solid knocks.
Wahesh
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D- voice
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He will always be The Greatest !!!
Best wishes Turvey, our thoughts and prayers are with you !
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Was at both of those games.
Cappuccino
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Steve ‘Turvey’ Mortimer facing a battle to live with dignity
Steve ‘Turvey’ Mortimer – deemed by many as Canterbury’s greatest ever player – has been admitted to a care home after being diagnosed with dementia last year.
It follows three months of physical setbacks where he suffered a heart attack in November, pneumonia in December and, more recently, bronchitis.
Steve Mortimer in his prime (left) and more recently wearing a Blues scarf, a team he represented with pride.CREDIT:
“Every medical episode has accelerated his dementia,” says brother Peter, speaking on behalf of the extended Mortimer family, upset at a wild social media post which has alarmed both them and Turvey’s former teammates.
“He is struggling in his mind, but he’s not locked up,” says Peter, referring to the online claim. “He’s not a prisoner. He’s in a nursing home for a week of observation. It’s high-level care.”
Inevitably, discussion will focus on the extent to which Turvey’s dementia is the result of head knocks playing for Canterbury, at which he won three premierships; NSW, which he captained to its first-ever State of Origin series victory, and Australia, for which he played nine Tests.
After all, some will say the little halfback, 65, was too brave for his own good.
A rapier thrust in attack, he became a target for the sledgehammers of defence.
As former premiership teammate, Graeme Hughes, says, “It’s too easy to talk about the brilliant things he could do with the ball on the field. He was as tough as anybody who has ever played the game.”
But time and football can be cruel.
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At times Turvey appears like many dementia patients, his eyes vacant, two rain-streaked windows in a deserted building. But Peter also says, “He’s still got the fight in him. You can still see the glare in his eyes. Hopefully, after this period of observation, we can give him the opportunity to re-live all that he enjoys. His teammates, such as ‘Blocker’ (Steve Roach) and ‘Sterlo’ (Peter Sterling), want to visit him.”
Turvey’s wife, Karen, a nationally acclaimed theatre producer, has returned to the set of Nine to Five, working at night and sitting with Turvey during the day. Perhaps she reflects on Shakespeare’s Macbeth and how concussion, like Banquo’s Ghost, has come back to haunt her husband. “I fear/Thou play’dst most foully for it,” Banquo said of Macbeth’s passion to be king, just footballers flirt with danger to triumph on the field.
Turvey speculated last year that “a couple of head knocks” could have caused his dementia. But how many times did he see three trainers treating him and answer to the middle one?
On the other hand, how do we reconcile his dementia with two healthy premiership-sharing brothers, Chris and Peter, and other halfbacks like Sterlo who recently retired at the top of his media profession, excited about the prospects of travel and broadening his mind? Or the late Tommy Raudonikis, who, although frail from battling cancers, was alert enough the day he died to find the chocolates his partner, Trish, had secreted away for the nursing staff?
Steve Mortimer. playing for Canterbury in 1979, is attended to by a trainer.CREDIT:
It’s not a case, in football parlance, where the lights have gone out and nobody replaced the bulbs. According to Peter, his face remains so indelibly linked with the family’s memories of his youth and his playing career. “He’s still in there,” Peter says. “He recently went to Wagga to visit Chris. He identified the park where we first played football and recognised the primary school we attended. He was very aware of his young life.”
But it’s the recent recall that dementia tortures, as Royce Simmons, another Kangaroo, revealed last week.
Perhaps Turvey has always been caught up in a tangle of words. We worked together on Channel Seven’s Sportsworld for years when I would tease him as he kept talking while finding something to say. But it was his passion for the game that endeared him to so many. Who can forget how he kissed the ground after that first Origin victory? And his lament at the relentless march of rival code AFL into his former Riverina home.
Steve Mortimer etched his name in Origin folklore in 1985 by leading NSW to their first series win.CREDIT:
“There’s no shortage of people wanting to help,” says Peter. “Canterbury have been great.”
Of Turvey’s recent hospitalisations where he had a heart stent inserted and later spent a week in Bankstown hospital with pneumonia, Peter says, “We’ve got to make sure he’s physically OK to stave off any further mental decline.
“Collectively, we want him to have a meaningful life.”
As we all do, allowing the little champion to live with the dignity he deserves.
Steve ‘Turvey’ Mortimer – deemed by many as Canterbury’s greatest ever player – has been admitted to a care home after being diagnosed with dementia last year.
It follows three months of physical setbacks where he suffered a heart attack in November, pneumonia in December and, more recently, bronchitis.
Steve Mortimer in his prime (left) and more recently wearing a Blues scarf, a team he represented with pride.CREDIT:
“Every medical episode has accelerated his dementia,” says brother Peter, speaking on behalf of the extended Mortimer family, upset at a wild social media post which has alarmed both them and Turvey’s former teammates.
“He is struggling in his mind, but he’s not locked up,” says Peter, referring to the online claim. “He’s not a prisoner. He’s in a nursing home for a week of observation. It’s high-level care.”
Inevitably, discussion will focus on the extent to which Turvey’s dementia is the result of head knocks playing for Canterbury, at which he won three premierships; NSW, which he captained to its first-ever State of Origin series victory, and Australia, for which he played nine Tests.
After all, some will say the little halfback, 65, was too brave for his own good.
A rapier thrust in attack, he became a target for the sledgehammers of defence.
As former premiership teammate, Graeme Hughes, says, “It’s too easy to talk about the brilliant things he could do with the ball on the field. He was as tough as anybody who has ever played the game.”
But time and football can be cruel.
RELATED ARTICLE
Analysis
NRL 2022
Squad games: Why playing and coaching depth will decide the NRL champion
At times Turvey appears like many dementia patients, his eyes vacant, two rain-streaked windows in a deserted building. But Peter also says, “He’s still got the fight in him. You can still see the glare in his eyes. Hopefully, after this period of observation, we can give him the opportunity to re-live all that he enjoys. His teammates, such as ‘Blocker’ (Steve Roach) and ‘Sterlo’ (Peter Sterling), want to visit him.”
Turvey’s wife, Karen, a nationally acclaimed theatre producer, has returned to the set of Nine to Five, working at night and sitting with Turvey during the day. Perhaps she reflects on Shakespeare’s Macbeth and how concussion, like Banquo’s Ghost, has come back to haunt her husband. “I fear/Thou play’dst most foully for it,” Banquo said of Macbeth’s passion to be king, just footballers flirt with danger to triumph on the field.
Turvey speculated last year that “a couple of head knocks” could have caused his dementia. But how many times did he see three trainers treating him and answer to the middle one?
On the other hand, how do we reconcile his dementia with two healthy premiership-sharing brothers, Chris and Peter, and other halfbacks like Sterlo who recently retired at the top of his media profession, excited about the prospects of travel and broadening his mind? Or the late Tommy Raudonikis, who, although frail from battling cancers, was alert enough the day he died to find the chocolates his partner, Trish, had secreted away for the nursing staff?
Steve Mortimer. playing for Canterbury in 1979, is attended to by a trainer.CREDIT:
It’s not a case, in football parlance, where the lights have gone out and nobody replaced the bulbs. According to Peter, his face remains so indelibly linked with the family’s memories of his youth and his playing career. “He’s still in there,” Peter says. “He recently went to Wagga to visit Chris. He identified the park where we first played football and recognised the primary school we attended. He was very aware of his young life.”
But it’s the recent recall that dementia tortures, as Royce Simmons, another Kangaroo, revealed last week.
Perhaps Turvey has always been caught up in a tangle of words. We worked together on Channel Seven’s Sportsworld for years when I would tease him as he kept talking while finding something to say. But it was his passion for the game that endeared him to so many. Who can forget how he kissed the ground after that first Origin victory? And his lament at the relentless march of rival code AFL into his former Riverina home.
Steve Mortimer etched his name in Origin folklore in 1985 by leading NSW to their first series win.CREDIT:
“There’s no shortage of people wanting to help,” says Peter. “Canterbury have been great.”
Of Turvey’s recent hospitalisations where he had a heart stent inserted and later spent a week in Bankstown hospital with pneumonia, Peter says, “We’ve got to make sure he’s physically OK to stave off any further mental decline.
“Collectively, we want him to have a meaningful life.”
As we all do, allowing the little champion to live with the dignity he deserves.
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Such an emotional read....All the best....[emoji1317]Steve ‘Turvey’ Mortimer facing a battle to live with dignity
Steve ‘Turvey’ Mortimer – deemed by many as Canterbury’s greatest ever player – has been admitted to a care home after being diagnosed with dementia last year.
It follows three months of physical setbacks where he suffered a heart attack in November, pneumonia in December and, more recently, bronchitis.
Steve Mortimer in his prime (left) and more recently wearing a Blues scarf, a team he represented with pride.CREDIT:
“Every medical episode has accelerated his dementia,” says brother Peter, speaking on behalf of the extended Mortimer family, upset at a wild social media post which has alarmed both them and Turvey’s former teammates.
“He is struggling in his mind, but he’s not locked up,” says Peter, referring to the online claim. “He’s not a prisoner. He’s in a nursing home for a week of observation. It’s high-level care.”
Inevitably, discussion will focus on the extent to which Turvey’s dementia is the result of head knocks playing for Canterbury, at which he won three premierships; NSW, which he captained to its first-ever State of Origin series victory, and Australia, for which he played nine Tests.
After all, some will say the little halfback, 65, was too brave for his own good.
A rapier thrust in attack, he became a target for the sledgehammers of defence.
As former premiership teammate, Graeme Hughes, says, “It’s too easy to talk about the brilliant things he could do with the ball on the field. He was as tough as anybody who has ever played the game.”
But time and football can be cruel.
RELATED ARTICLE
Analysis
NRL 2022
Squad games: Why playing and coaching depth will decide the NRL champion
At times Turvey appears like many dementia patients, his eyes vacant, two rain-streaked windows in a deserted building. But Peter also says, “He’s still got the fight in him. You can still see the glare in his eyes. Hopefully, after this period of observation, we can give him the opportunity to re-live all that he enjoys. His teammates, such as ‘Blocker’ (Steve Roach) and ‘Sterlo’ (Peter Sterling), want to visit him.”
Turvey’s wife, Karen, a nationally acclaimed theatre producer, has returned to the set of Nine to Five, working at night and sitting with Turvey during the day. Perhaps she reflects on Shakespeare’s Macbeth and how concussion, like Banquo’s Ghost, has come back to haunt her husband. “I fear/Thou play’dst most foully for it,” Banquo said of Macbeth’s passion to be king, just footballers flirt with danger to triumph on the field.
Turvey speculated last year that “a couple of head knocks” could have caused his dementia. But how many times did he see three trainers treating him and answer to the middle one?
On the other hand, how do we reconcile his dementia with two healthy premiership-sharing brothers, Chris and Peter, and other halfbacks like Sterlo who recently retired at the top of his media profession, excited about the prospects of travel and broadening his mind? Or the late Tommy Raudonikis, who, although frail from battling cancers, was alert enough the day he died to find the chocolates his partner, Trish, had secreted away for the nursing staff?
Steve Mortimer. playing for Canterbury in 1979, is attended to by a trainer.CREDIT:
It’s not a case, in football parlance, where the lights have gone out and nobody replaced the bulbs. According to Peter, his face remains so indelibly linked with the family’s memories of his youth and his playing career. “He’s still in there,” Peter says. “He recently went to Wagga to visit Chris. He identified the park where we first played football and recognised the primary school we attended. He was very aware of his young life.”
But it’s the recent recall that dementia tortures, as Royce Simmons, another Kangaroo, revealed last week.
Perhaps Turvey has always been caught up in a tangle of words. We worked together on Channel Seven’s Sportsworld for years when I would tease him as he kept talking while finding something to say. But it was his passion for the game that endeared him to so many. Who can forget how he kissed the ground after that first Origin victory? And his lament at the relentless march of rival code AFL into his former Riverina home.
Steve Mortimer etched his name in Origin folklore in 1985 by leading NSW to their first series win.CREDIT:
“There’s no shortage of people wanting to help,” says Peter. “Canterbury have been great.”
Of Turvey’s recent hospitalisations where he had a heart stent inserted and later spent a week in Bankstown hospital with pneumonia, Peter says, “We’ve got to make sure he’s physically OK to stave off any further mental decline.
“Collectively, we want him to have a meaningful life.”
As we all do, allowing the little champion to live with the dignity he deserves.
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This is terrible news. Turvey has a loving family and he will not end in aged care before his time because of that family support.
In my opinion the greatest bulldog of all.
I have only met him once, he is a true gentleman.
In my opinion the greatest bulldog of all.
I have only met him once, he is a true gentleman.
rainman
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yep i recall that as well, i think it was after a city V country game
rainman
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rainman
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billy beane
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Sterling was a very good player no doubt, but in my view was made to look better due to the great team he played with.
Turvey would have been great even in an ordinary team.
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Thanks for posting the Rugby League cover page, rainman. We downsized a few years ago and I sold my Rugby League Week collection, going back to 1971, so I don't have this edition anymore.
I think you are correct, this was after a city country game, and then was it then that Turvey was first picked for NSW against Queensland?
I think you are correct, this was after a city country game, and then was it then that Turvey was first picked for NSW against Queensland?
rainman
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Pleasure I had that edition as well
I think I went to that game
billy beane
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Yep Rainman is correct.
Steve "Turvey" Mortimer was without doubt the best player I've seen play in the Blue and White, in my time, with Terry Lamb a very close 2nd. Lamb was the best team player I've seen, backed up on nearly every play and tackled more than most 5/8's should but that was TL, he wore his Bulldog heart on his sleeve. Turvey was a sensation when he came on the scene. Dynamite quick, blink and you'd miss him, best cover defender I've ever seen. Some of those cover defending tackles I saw in the 1980 GF against Easts were truly memorable.
I remember in his book, when he first came up from the Riverina and made it into first grade he played one of his earlier games against Wests and they had another player from the Riverina in their ranks, but he was a forward in Les Boyd, who would later head over to Manly. They knew one another from the country but Les had come to Sydney before Turvey and when Turvey tried one of his quick darts around the scrum to catch the opposition off guard, Boyd knew it and hammered Turvey and said, "Welcome to the Big League".
Steve Mortimer was also matched up with another speedster in "Slippery" Steve Morris in match races, the father of Josh and Brett, who was also lightning quick and proved faster than Turvey in these match races but that was all he had over him.
As a multiple Grand Final winner and the first successful NSW Captain, to win a State Of Origin Series it is a disgrace that he is NOT already immortalized as one of the best to have played the game.
I remember in his book, when he first came up from the Riverina and made it into first grade he played one of his earlier games against Wests and they had another player from the Riverina in their ranks, but he was a forward in Les Boyd, who would later head over to Manly. They knew one another from the country but Les had come to Sydney before Turvey and when Turvey tried one of his quick darts around the scrum to catch the opposition off guard, Boyd knew it and hammered Turvey and said, "Welcome to the Big League".
Steve Mortimer was also matched up with another speedster in "Slippery" Steve Morris in match races, the father of Josh and Brett, who was also lightning quick and proved faster than Turvey in these match races but that was all he had over him.
As a multiple Grand Final winner and the first successful NSW Captain, to win a State Of Origin Series it is a disgrace that he is NOT already immortalized as one of the best to have played the game.
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