Leaving with memories of good times

Farewell Game: OBM’s Scott McKinley will be playing his 131st and final game for the club. He is returning to Golden Bay next Saturday, where he moved from to Gisborne in 2008. Picture by Paul Rickard

What can a good guy do?

In terms of a sports team, a good guy can lift his teammates’ spirits after a bad performance; work at fitness and on skills with relish; bring spectators to their feet with a make-or-break act of daring; put smiles on faces.

In the lead-up to Enterprise Cars OBM fullback Scott McKinley’s 131st and last rugby game in the red, white and blue today, I couldn’t find anyone with a bad word to say about him. To be well thought of and well spoken of in not just your own club but also by other clubs and their supporters, is the sign of a good man.

McKinley, 28, came to Gisborne with his family from Golden Bay in 2008. He attended Lytton High School and played for the OBM under-17s in 2011. With OBM legends Stu Blair and Trevor Crosby coaching the premier side, he debuted at first five-eighth off the bench for them against Ngatapa on Tiny White Opening Day, 2012.

McKinley ran, tackled and took some massive hits alongside his great mate Nick Butler, who scored a try and won the Tiny White medal that day.

Next Saturday McKinley will return to Golden Bay with his partner Grace McIldowie. There was no shortage of OBM people lining up to talk about his contribution to the club on and off the field. It was more like a queue.

Stu Blair said: “Scott fitted into our team perfectly. We had a decent side that year — he wanted to play 10; I settled on 15. He’s stayed there ever since, apart from a few rep games for Poverty Bay on the wing. He was quite small then, but he wasn’t shy on the tackle. Scott’s a great club man and I’ll be very sorry to see him go.”

OBM club captain Tom Crosby, too, holds the quick, powerful and gutsy fullback in high regard.

“He personifies what a true club person is,” Crosby said.

“We’ve seen him grow from a shy young fellow into a confident man.

“He’s the glue who’s stuck with us and we’ve always been proud of Scotty. He’s very fit and always trains hard, but he also encourages everyone else — that’s what we love about him.”

McKinley counts Lance Dickson, Jayme Barnett, Willy Grogan and Jake Holmes as fellow battlers for the club.

Loosehead prop Dickson is a great character, and holds that McKinley is, too.

“I’ll miss him like a rock in my shoe, which is to say, big-time,” said Dickson, who has played with him at the club since his debut in 2012.

“He’s a legend but frustrating, as he’s played out of position for 11 seasons. A move to the front row would do him the world of good.”

McKinley played 22 games for the Poverty Bay senior side between 2014 and 2021 and will be remembered as a lion-hearted performer.

At club level, McKinley rates YMP’s Andrew Tauatevalu and Ngatapa’s Matt Raleigh as two of his toughest opponents. McKinley said that Tauatevalu was electric (“it was hard to know where he was going”) and Raleigh was “skinny but solid as a rock, and he has wheels”.

McKinley sees this afternoon’s clash with High School Old Boys as being significant — and admits to having thought about his last match as a player for OBM in Gisborne.

“I’ve really enjoyed playing rugby here and going all around the country to play footy; that’s the dream. Just getting to run out every week for OBM was a highlight but, in terms of individual highlights, playing my 100th game —against HSOB on their Oval No.2 in 2019 — and winning the Lee Bros Shield that season, they were big,” he said.

“OBM is a welcoming club and the people are the best part of that. I’m mates with them for life. It’s time for a change, but I love Gizzy and I love OBM — the club means a lot to me. It always has and always will.”