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News.com.au
10 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Footy prodigy on brink of NRL deal becomes big-shot bikie before incredible transformation in jail
Owen Turnbull could have been an NRL star but he threw it all away for booze, cash and women. The former Canberra Raiders and Parramatta Eels junior makes no bones about it — he was 'a waste of talent'. 'I was on the cusp of the NRL and I threw it all away for the bikie life,' he said. 'There was a lot of pressure from my dad to play footy and I guess I just turned my back on it. I was young and naive, I got into that mindset of doing all the things like drinking and girls that I felt like I'd missed out on because of footy.' That pivotal decision sent Turnbull down a dark path into a world of drug dealing, violence, and eventually a jail cell. At the time he thought he'd found his people — bikie brothers who had his back. 'My first ever line of cocaine was with my president at the time. I was too scared to do it. I watched a doco back in the day and a guy had his first line and he died from it, so I was always too scared to do that.' But four years after he joined the Rebels he became 'really dependent'. 'I was a broke bum for a lot of years until I started hustling and making money with the pingas, all the cocaine, bottles of Valium. I was making a killing and then, yeah, we're doing like an ounce a week of cocaine.' Turnbull defected from the Rebels and became sergeant at arms of the Canberra chapter of the Nomads. He had his share of enemies. 'I was on social media back and forth and this guy was warning he was gonna come and shoot up my house and I was like 'whatever'. 'I was laying in bed with my girlfriend and I looked out the door and there were flames. I opened the door and this kid with balaclava was standing there with a gun I opened the door and said 'go on then c**t' ad he did it. 'It's funny to look back now, it was only pellets but it still stung and burned and he ran away and there I was putting out the first with a shoe in my undied.' What wasn't so comical was the second time a gunman came after him. 'It was a real wake up call. They came with pistols and shot up the place. It went through my parents' room and thankfully my mum was overseas at the time. 'For a couple of hours police did all the measurements of where the bullets went and one of the trajectory was that it would have hit my mum while she was sleeping. Yep, that was a big wakeup call.' Turnbull said his time in jail for drug trafficking made him realise he didn't belong there. He needed to find a way to turn things around. Watching inmates shooting up ice, others behaving like grubs, he thought 'this is not me, I grew up a nerd, playing videos and watching cartoons'. That's when he decided to keep his head down, get away from the bikies who never really had his back and just do his time. 'I was at the right place at the right time when I got out of prison,' he said. However someone must have seen the potential in him. 'One of the cops that arrested me asked if I wanted to do a gang exit thing with QLD police.' The exit program - the first of its kind - was called Project Kairos. It helped members of outlaw motorcycle gangs to leave their criminal lifestyle and reintegrate into society. 'I did that and the detective helped me so much. I then got invited to talk in Melbourne in front of American DEA agents and I've done other talks for police and NRL.' Today Turnbull is making an honest living - but the road to being a clean skin isn't always a smooth one. 'I've gone from a bikie to a nerd. I tried to get into certain jobs but I had trouble getting work places. So since August last year I have focused on my card business. Ive got thousands of Pokemon and sport cards and so I decided to really focus on turning that into a business. 'The first one I sold was a very rare Lebron James rookie card.' It seems police were not convinced Turnbull would stay on the straight and narrow. In April 2023 police raided his home, believing he was selling drugs again. 'I had a bedroom full of my cards, the business was registered so it all sorted out but they thought my text messages about rookie cards, Lebron James and things were some kind of code... it was mad.' Turnbull has a message for anyone thinking gang life is glamorous, but also for young footy players about to come into money on their first contracts. 'A lot of the boys have just got their first contracts, like I can tell them what to watch out for, like don't get used, be cautious of who you're hanging around with. 'Be careful of who you are taking photos with, uploading on social media, like just basically stuff that what I went through. 'Be careful who you trust because it's really easy to throw away your opportunity.'
News.com.au
30 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Trainer Chris Waller praises Tommy Berry's tactical mastery as Cigar Flick storms home to victory at Randwick
Trainer Chris Waller had jockey Tommy Berry to thank after his well-bred mare Cigar Flick scored her first victory in more than a year at Royal Randwick on Saturday. Waller had a different plan in mind for his daughter of Churchill before Berry went off script to produce her with a barnstorming run down the outside to win the ATC Thank You Owners Benchmark 72 Handicap (1100m). 'I was actually watching the race with Charlie (Duckworth) and said 'I don't know what this Tommy is doing, we said we were going to come through them and have the last crack at them',' Waller said. 'Then I said after the race 'that's why Tommy is a jockey and I am a trainer'. He knew what he was doing.' Berry settled Cigar Flick in her customary position towards the rear of the field and ensured the daughter of Churchill kept momentum as they rounded the turn in a four-wide line. Cigar Flick ($13) unleashed a powerful burst down the outside to run over the top of the Matthew Smith -trained World Alliance ($11) to prevail by one-and-a-quarter lengths. John Thompson 's Bundeena ($8) gave them something to catch inside the final furlong before finishing third. 'She is one that you have to ride for bad luck and hope for a bit of good luck,' Berry said. 'Today the opportunity presented to get her to the outside. 'I still had a bum to follow and be patient on her and she reaped the rewards of what's been a consistent preparation without any luck. 'She is in at the right time of year.' Cigar Flick lights it up! ðŸ'¥ The @cwallerracing trained galloper flies down the outside to win giving @TommyBerry21 a race-to-race double! ✌ï¸� â€' SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) July 26, 2025 • Nashville Jack in fine tune with slashing win Cigar Flick hadn't won for more than a year heading into Saturday but Waller is hoping to win another race with the mare before she is retired to stud later this year. 'She is a lovely horse, beautiful,' Waller said. 'She won't have too much more racing. Her mum is a sister to Fangirl so she is well bred and she will go to stud this year. She has done a great job. 'We will see what else we can find. 'This type of distance and these type of conditions and she can win another one of them.' The win came less than an hour after Berry produced a vastly different ride to score on the Ciaron Maher -trained Lugh. His decision to push forward early on the son of Snitzel in the Marcellin College Benchmark 78 Handicap (1300m) proved decisive. Lugh ($9) travelled well outside the lead and kept finding over in the straight to hold off Chris Waller's Starman ($16) by three-quarters of a length with the Bjorn Baker -trained Slinky ($21) working home strongly for third. It's @TommyBerry21 and @cmaherracing combining in race 7 at Randwick as Lugh salutes! ðŸ'� â€' SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) July 26, 2025 • 'Sneaky chance': Pride mare shocks rivals at $51 Lugh is still only lightly-raced and has highlighted his considerable talent in just a handful of starts, winning four of six. 'He doesn't have much of a turn of foot but has a big action,' Maher's assistant trainer Johann Gerard-Dubord said. 'On a bigger track here at Randwick was going to suit him better. 'He enjoyed the conditions and I thought Tommy (Berry) rode him really well. 'He is a horse that needs a bit of encouragement, he is very casual and has the best attitude. 'The way Tommy rode him, he kept him on his job.' Stablemate Sacred Rocks was expected to be the horse to beat but was a drifter in betting out to $3.50 and never looked likely. Apprentice Anna Roper made a mid-race move to settle closer on the daughter of Sacred Falls, which ran out of gas over the concluding stages to miss the placings. 'I don't it really work out for Sacred Rocks,' Gerard-Dubord said. 'She was slow away and just had to make that move mid-race. 'She got going early so was always going to be soft late.'
News.com.au
30 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Video: Max Jorgensen, Will Skelton and Nic White inside the Wallabies camp
This is the side of the Wallabies you've never seen. Funny, quick-witted and happily sharing laughs - quite often at each others' expense — less than 48 hours before probably the biggest Test clash of their entire careers. Three players — Max Jorgensen, Will Skelton and Nic White — sat down for some fun with Code Sports on Thursday, just moments after the second Test squad was named for the must-win clash at the MCG tonight against the British & Irish Lions. Winger Jorgensen — punctual and polite — with his kit ready to change into arrived first, followed by Skelton, who was wearing only socks on his feet, while half White bounced in like a Labrador with his moustache ready for its close up. During an afternoon generally reserved for sponsor commitments, the trio gave a glimpse into their off-field chemistry talking about their jetsetting lifestyle as Wallabies as part of the title partnership for the Qatar Airways British & Irish Lions tour to Australia 2025. Skelton's deadpan response to the first thing he does when boarding a plane, 'Turn left', had his mates in stitches. He then happily named prop Taniela Tupou as the biggest snorer on the plane. Jorgensen, 20, was mocked by White for still letting his mum pack his bags and for his luxury shopping habits during stopovers with mate Joseph Suaalii. They also let slip there's an unwritten law that the more junior players give up their exit-row seats for teammates with the most Test caps, while there may or may not be a player who claps when their plane lands at a destination. The Wallabies will be hoping there's 90,000 fans applauding their victory at the MCG on Saturday night.
