July 21, 2022
Bond University Rugby Club remembers Warren Carey, a former president of the Gold Coast Breakers, as a ‘big picture doer’ who never thanked him for his generosity.
Carey lost his battle with throat cancer early Saturday morning at the age of 72. Bull Sharks players wore black armbands as a sign of respect during their matches against GPS.
His nine-year tenure as chairman of the Breakers began in 2003, the following year the club won the 2004 Hospital Cup.
“That was just the icing on the cake for Waz, he was just so happy,” said Tim Rowlands, former general manager of Breakers.
“Everyone went to their house the next day for Mad Monday, and he was just one of the guys.”
Former Breakers chairman Bob Fordham AM said the rugby union will miss the popular clubman who was a key figure in the transition to Bond University for the 2014 Premier Rugby season.
“She [players] they all came back to me very saddened by his passing, but they all said what a good club man he had been and what a great guy he had been,” he said.
“He was very, very popular with the players and the other board members and he was a really good man during that difficult time for the Breakers.”
Carey moved from Sydney, where he was known in rugby and cricket circles, to help rugby compete with Aussie Rules and rugby league on the Gold Coast.
Rowlands said Carey was a lovely man who would do anything for players and explained how he helped defender Marshall Milroy adjust to life on New South Wales’ glittering strip.
“Basically, Waz took him under his wing, housed him, fed him and basically became his second father — that was exactly the kind of man he was,” he said.
“There were a lot of things Waz did behind the scenes that he didn’t want to know about money, he helped with this and that. He didn’t want to be patted on the back because he just wanted it done.”
Rowlands said Carey’s time in marketing at Coca-Cola helped him come up with ideas that weren’t part of the “conservative rugby scene.”
“He was a bit of a party animal, he liked a drink and a cigarette. He would come to the locker rooms after the games and comfort the boys or party with them, depending on the outcome of the match. he said.
Following the merger, Bond University, Carey will become director of the newly formed Gold Coast District Rugby Union.
Carey leaves behind his wife Lorraine and two sons Matthew and Paul.
Family and friends organize a vigil to celebrate Carey’s life.
