12 May, 2016. 17:45
ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact
SAID TO BE THE COMBINATION of the 40 Hour Famine and a country rugby league Mad Monday, three stalwarts of the Australian bender scene have come together in aid of a very special charity.
Cricketing legend Shane Warne and Swimmer Grant Hackett came up with the idea of filming a bender, which they’d then sell to the highest bidder to benefit Meals on Wheels.
After learning of the plan, NRL Immortal Andrew Johns got in contact.
“I thought, here’s an opportunity to give back to society by doing something that I usually every long weekend – which is surround myself with good company and let shit get weird,”
“Having Shane and Grant there, it’ll be all time. We’ve hired a film crew and I’ve sent the family to Fiji for a week,”
“It’s taking place at my old place in Newy. It’s got everything from a spa and a cordless phone, to a full first aid kit with a defribulator,” he said.
However, the original plan was to invite AFL great Ben Cousins to the party, but it’s alleged that Warne immediately interjected, saying the last time he was on a bender with the Brownlow winner and Andrew Johns, it almost cost his freedom.
“That was back in my bad boy days,” reveals Warne.
“Once we were getting on it up at Joey’s place and we all ended up taking something pretty heavy. Next thing I know, we’re getting out of a cab near the perimeter fence of RAAF Williamstown,”
“Ben convinced us to try to steal an F/A-18 Super Hornet from the Air Force. We had to drag him off the fence before the military police caught us. I couldn’t sleep properly for months.” he said.
The tape of the bender is to be sold at auction later this month. It’s expected to fetch close to a hundred thousand, which tri-Olympian Grant Hackett says will plug the hole in the charity’s funding.
The long-distance gold medalist is a fairly new bender king, with only small hints of his ability to get some serious partying done surfacing during his esteemed career.
“Back when I was swimming and training 6 days a week, there used to be a little switch inside my brain that’d turn off after too much party and I’d just drop and flop around like a carp on a riverbank until I passed out,” he said.
“But that was because I was always so exhausted. This time, I’m ready and raring to go,”
“It’s all for a good cause. I can’t wait to rip one of Shane’s nipples off for the benefit of charity.”
