Loosely based on the career of Lionel Rose, this drama follows the fortunes of a young Aboriginal boxer, Wayne Small (Gil), who grows up in a small country town and then moves to a tough working-class suburb of inner-city Sydney. Determined to make it to the top no matter what it costs, Small is helped by former champ Tolly McCall, who becomes his manager.

Scriptwriter Michael Wright had previously worked on Homicide and Skippy, and the series also featured early appearances by Bill Hunter, Gordon Glenwright (later of Class of '74) and comedian Lucky Grills, who went on to star in Bluey, the Crawford cop show parodied as "Bargearse" by ABC's The Late Show in the 1980s.

Tony Harrison
The Australian Film & Television Companion
(Simon and Schuster, 1995)