Rob Parrella reflects on revolutionary influence
Through the ages, there are not many athletes that can lay claim to have single-handedly changed the way their sport was played.
Sure, there have been a number of breathtakingly brilliant teams who have broke new ground and forward-thinking coaches who have been credited as revolutionaries, but few athletes have been labelled the same way.
Jack Nicklaus overpowered golf courses and set the trend for today’s big-hitters, Steffi Graff was arguably the first aggressive baseliner in women’s tennis, while the NBA has made a series of rule changes since the mid-90s to replicate more Michael Jordans.
While he may lack the global profile of the aforementioned names, Rob Parrella’s arrival on the international scene in the early-80s brought swagger and aggression to the sport of bowls that upended the way the game was traditionally played.
Parrella represented Australia on 127 occasions (cap no. 71), including at three Commonwealth Games, in three different countries (Brisbane 1982, Auckland 1990, Victoria 1994), for all three possible medals in the blue-ribbon Men’s Singles discipline.
He became the first Australian to win a singles gold medal at Auckland 1990, paving the way for future singles gold medallists, Kelvin Kerkow OAM (Melbourne 2006) and Aaron Wilson (Gold Coast 2018).
Prior to his arrival, the sport was largely conducted in a genteel fashion, with graceful draw play and for the most part, a mild-mannered temperament on the green.
Parrella instead likened his approach to the sport to that of a boxer in the ring, endeavouring to physically and mentally batter the opponent, with an aggressive style of play and a level of charisma unmatched by his peers.
This is where his famous driving style came to the fore, which has since formed the blueprint of many modern-day bowlers.
“You see in those days, it [driving] worked a bit more than what it does these days, because now you have the re-spot [of the jack],” Parrella said.
“In the first few ends, I used to attack a lot; if my opposition got very close to the jack, I used to attack at the head as much as possible.
“Of course, I was good at it. I didn’t miss much!
“I used to use it like a boxing match; the first few ends you soften them [opposition] up and then they go into defence.
“That was the way I played the game, in the singles especially.”
Watch Rob Parrella’s full interview below, as part of our ‘Legends Under Lights’ series, proudly presented by Legacy Sport Lighting.
Parrella was born in Italy and made the natural progression from bocce to bowls when his family arrived in Australia in the 1950s, settling in Inglewood before eventually moving to Brisbane in the late-60s where would discover the sport of bowls.
He credits his childhood playing bocce as having a significant impact on his weight-control ability in bowls, while years of manual labour on his father’s tobacco farm when growing up added a hardened edge to his psyche.
Parella cut a polarising figure with his playing style during his years of dominance in the 1980s and 1990s, but the 76-year-old would like to be remembered as an “entertainer of the sport.”
“There were a lot of ups and downs in my career, but I enjoyed every minute of it,” Parrella added.
“I always wore my heart on my sleeve and I always will.
“I played the game the way I wanted to play it.
“I did it my way, in other words.”
