His press conferences used to be box office gold, much like his fights. Now, The Man has become a sad punchline. It wasn’t always that way.

Nick Daicos, widely tipped to go high in the draft this year, is the son of a Magpies legend. But he grew up a Blues fan and though he will support the Pies on Thursday, he says he has a “soft spot” for Carlton.

The entire NSW coast from Tweed Heads to the Victorian border has been warned to brace for damaging winds, heavy rainfall and wild surf as a weather system that has brought the worst flooding in decades continues to expand.

“I’m a Capricorn you see, so I crave routine.” So sayeth the man who once allowed himself to be photographed in the nude - while paddle-boarding.

Mario Fenech’s neighbours took the Herald on a boat tour around his property, which is many metres under floodwaters in Sydney’s north-west.