Dean "Bulldog" Ritchie. Inside 37 years of NRL scoops, scandals and friendships!

Dean "Bulldog" Ritchie has covered rugby league for the Daily Telegraph for 37 years, breaking some of the game's biggest stories along the way — from a teenage cadet's first back-page scoop to the Bulldogs' secretly-photographed meeting with Jonathan Thurston.Ritchie takes us through how a chance work-experience placement turned into a career, the mentors who shaped him — including the legendary Peter "Chippy" Frilingos, whose sudden death at work in 2004 Ritchie still finds hard to talk about — and 37 years' worth of scoops, near-misses and colourful nights out, including the taxi door that put him in hospital.He also opens up on his 37-year friendship with Laurie Daley, the on-air Origin III prediction that turned out to be spot on, and life inside NRL 360 alongside some of the game's biggest personalities.In this episode of Chiming In, Bulldog shares stories from a career spent chasing the game he's loved since he was a kid waving a Roosters flag from the outer.TIMESTAMPS:00:00 - Start 01:27 - Welcome: Dean "Bulldog" Ritchie joins Chiming In 02:11 - His schoolboy footy days and a near-miss at a Wallabies jumper 06:00 - Breaking into journalism through Bill Mordy 08:18 - Cutting his teeth at the Cumberland papers 09:40 - Landing the Daily Telegraph job on 1989 Grand Final day 11:06 - His mentors: "Chippy" Frilingos and "Buzz" Rothfield 15:38 - Chippy's sudden death, and being a pallbearer 18:25 - His first scoop: "Saints Sack Craig Young" 22:09 - The Bulldogs-Thurston scoop, and other big stories 24:23 - Friends and foes in rugby league 25:53 - Building a 37-year friendship with Laurie Daley 36:52 - The night a taxi door put him in hospital 38:41 - Covering rugby league around the world 39:52 - The Perth Bears trip that cost Mal Meninga $20K 45:38 - Backing Laurie Daley, and the Origin III prediction that came true 47:58 - Inside NRL 360, and copping a spray on air 48:33 - Sunday mornings on the Big Sports Breakfast 53:28 - 37 years at the Daily Telegraph 54:51 - Social media, and whether the nastiness is new 57:49 - Expansion: Christchurch vs Brisbane for team 20 59:56 - Should the NRL buy English Super League? 01:01:18 - Wrap-up Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.