ROLEY Green, Coonamble Greyhound Racing Club foundation member, life member and ex-president of forty years has been awarded the Allen Wheeler Medal at the 2022 NSW Greyhound of the Year Gala Awards.

The 2022 Greyhound of the Year Gala Awards were held at Doltone House, Darling Island, Sydney on Sunday 13 November, drawing a crowd of over 300 greyhound racing members. Roley was accompanied by friends and family at the event including cousin Bob Green, daughter Sarah Elliot and good friend Jack Miller. 

ABOVE: Bob Green, Roley Green, Paul Ambrosio and Jack Miller at the gala awards.

Member of the Select Committee for Greyhound Racing in NSW Kevin Gordon, said Roley’s life- long dedication and involvement in the Greyhound Racing community saw him become the successful recipient of the “iconic” medal.

“The Allen Wheeler Medal is highly esteemed in both the Australian and NSW Greyhound Racing community. It represents someone who has dedicated their life towards the entirety of the greyhound racing industry,” Mr Gordon said.

“Roley’s nomination was pushed by myself and many NSW Greyhound Racing committee members. His dedication to the greyhound racing industry has been on- going for over fifty years”.

“The Allen Wheeler Medal is prestigious and iconic within the Greyhound Racing community and this year it has been awarded to someone very deserving. When we announced Roley’s name everyone in attendance could see how much this award meant to him and just how honoured he was to be receiving it. He was nearly in tears, it was incredible,” Mr Gordon said.

Roley Green says that being awarded the Allen Wheeler Medal is one of his greatest achievements to date.

“It is a very prestigious award to be given, and I nearly fell off my chair when they called out my name as the recipient,” Roley laughed.

“The medal recognises and acknowledges my service to the Coonamble Greyhound Racing Club. I was very surprised to receive this award, but I suppose after over fifty years in the club it is very nice to be recognised at such a high level,” he said.

ABOVE: Paul Ambrosio introduces Roley as the 2022 winner of the Allen Wheeler Medal.

October Long Weekend Gold Cup Carnival in Coonamble is a feature on the state’s racing calendar and brings greyhound enthusiasts from around the country, injecting much-needed funds into local businesses.

This success has been built on the efforts of Roley and his fellow volunteers.

Roley has been a part of the Coonamble Greyhound Racing Club’s history, from working to have the greyhound track built, to the first ever race meeting, and every race meeting in between.

“We started the Coonamble Greyhound Racing Club completely from scratch in 1968 where the first ever meeting was held,” he said.

“It started as a paddock. We built it into a dog track with a fence around it and held our first October Long Weekend greyhound event in 1973,” Roley said.

“We have gone from a small country meeting to holding an eighty four race program, that stretches over the entire October Long Weekend.

“We have people travel from all over Australia to attend our race meeting,” Roley said.

Roley was awarded the Allen Wheeler Medal by Paul Ambrosio who has had a long affiliation with the Coonamble Greyhound Racing Club, race calling at the October long weekend Carnival and arranging key sponsorships during Roley’s time as President.

Bobby Green said Roley was “over the moon” to receive recognition of his time with the greyhound racing industry.

“It was a really big surprise for Roley,” he said. “We all had no idea that he had even been nominated, let alone successful in winning the medal. When Paul started talking about Roley’s achievements, we started to realise what was going on”.

“It is a really big deal, Roley was over the moon and they could not have chosen someone more deserving,” Bobby said.

Roley paid tribute to fellow committee members, such as long-time secretary Tony Finlay, and outside supporters like Kevin Gordon and Paul Ambrosio.

“I”ve been fifty years married and fifty years at the dog track, two very happy associations,” said Roley.