Bill Woods with long-time schoolfriend Robert ‘Polly’ Pollack. Photos: Alex Rea.
Author and sports journalist Bill Woods is proud to call Moruya his home town, and he returned over the weekend to sign copies of his latest book, a young adult fiction novel called Trio: The Redemption Code.
Woods has spent 36 years in all forms of media. After his schooling at Moruya High School, Woods gained a degree in journalism from the University of Canberra and it didn’t take long for his career to take off.
After six years with Radio 2WS as a news and sport reporter/presenter, covering events from gangland murders to bushfires to Wimbledon, he moved to Network TEN as a sports presenter and was best known as weekend host of Sports Tonight.
In his 24 years with TEN he anchored news coverage of the 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games, but also the 1994 and 2010 Commonwealth Games, 2007 Rugby World Cup and 2007 Federal Election, Australian F1 Grand Prix, Australian Motogp, the Gold Coast Indy, Australian Ladies Masters and Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.
He has hosted and commentated on series like V8 Supercars, Formula 1, Motogp, Triathlon Grand Prix, NBL Basketball and water polo and women’s basketball for the Seven Network’s Rio Olympic Games.
From 2006 to 2012 he was TEN’s news co-anchor, presenting news from major events like the Black Saturday bushfires and Christchurch earthquake. From 2012 to 2015 he hosted the Sportsfan Clubhouse, a sports talk show on the Sportsfan website and Seven Network.
Bill Woods in home town Moruya.
Since 2000 Bill has also hosted numerous radio programs for ABC Grandstand, 2UE (Drivetime host in 2016) and Macquarie Sports Radio.
If he wasn’t busy enough, Woods also authored two successful non-fiction books: Legends Of Speed and El Magic: The Life of Hazem El Masri.
But we’re not done yet … He also invented a basketball board game called NBL Challenge, which sold commercially in the early 90s.
Since late 2016 Woods has co-hosted with Mark Bosnich, Bill and Boz, a sports talk show for Fox Sports.
Back in Moruya, Woods spent his Saturday morning outside his school mate Robert ‘Polly’ Pollack’s Newsagency, signing books and catching up on the latest from the Moruya Sharks raffle ticker sellers.
The new book, Trio: The Redemption Code, is a new direction for Woods, who challenged himself to write a young adult fiction thriller and self-publish it.
“I’d written two non-fiction books that did very well and I had the opportunity to write others, but fiction has always been my passion,” says Woods.
“I wanted to write a realistic, edgy, action thriller based on historical events and modern social issues. Just for fun, I made it about three siblings who have the same names as my kids. It helped me get into their heads.
Book signing outside Polly’s Newsagency Moruya.
“What if three ordinary Aussie teenagers at the World Cup in France find themselves unwittingly at the centre of a power struggle between formidable old foes? In this case, Neo Nazism and the Resistance.
“This is the first of a planned series of the Trio. The next book will be even more sinister and thought-provoking – and it’s based in a small coastal town in NSW,” Woods says.
Woods now lives on Sydney’s northern beaches with his wife, Leeanne, and three grownup children Robert, Michael and Lauren. He still loves to return to Moruya and catch up with friends.
“I used to work with my Dad as a carpet layer” says Woods. “His shop was just over there in Church Street. He was a bit disappointed when I went off to study journalism.”
Trio: The Redemption Code is available at Polly’s Newsagency for $25.
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