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Darrell Eastlake ready to watch beloved State of Origin

Battling Alzheimer's disease and dementia, retired broadcaster Darrell Eastlake is still pumped for the Origin match.

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An update on retired sports broadcaster Darrell Eastlake today, who is battling Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

Daily Mail reports he is resident at a nursing home in Wyoming on the NSW Central Coast.

“I’m fine, yeah I’m in a nursing home, but it’s a good one,” he said with a laugh.

“I had some problems a while ago. I was getting dizzy spells and had some falls, but the doctor wrote out a new medication for me.”

His wife Julie said the 73 year old said his short-term memory may be fractured but his long-term memory is still sharp. She visits him every day.

“It’s been a long hard road, he started to get this dementia, which is alcohol-related, in his middle to late 50s, that’s when I started noticing differences in him.”

He has also ben diagnosed with emphysema, diabetes and an irregular heartbeat.

But tonight Eastlake will be watching the State of Origin which he called for Nine from 1983 until 1993.

“The game is great, it’s the bloody officials that are the problem,” he said of NRL.

“There’s nothing to worry about because all the rubbish is gone, all the high shots and head high tackles, there are brilliant games.”

Source / Photo: Daily Mail

5 Responses

  1. Watched the 35 anniversary of wide world of sports on sunday and they spoke often of Darrell and was wondering how he was doing these days. Glad to see his spirits are still up.

  2. I remembered Eastlake back in 2006 when he was a contestant on BFF and commentated on weightlifting. He was an iconic bloke on Channel 9.

  3. I would rather have you Darrell calling the game, than those knobheads calling the games these days.

    Ray Warren needs to get the boot.

    Darrell Eastlake and Jack Gibson calling the games in the old days, were the best.

  4. Thank you for this story. I was only thinking of him, and his bigger than big wonderful voice, yesterday and wondering how what he was doing these days. I had no idea he was ill and in a nursing home.

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