Rogerson had teamed with retired armed robber, Graham 'Abo' Henry on the speaking circuit to talk about their life and times. Rogerson died earlier this week, aged 83. He was serving life for murder.

The then mine host at the Manning, Mark Harley, signed on the pair to do a show. Both spoke about their past, Henry more candidly than Rogerson, before taking questions. From, memory there were about 50 in the audience.

Rogerson had been interrogated by some of the finest minds in the NSW legal system over the years, so he had no trouble straight batting a few inquiries at a regional pub. This writer fired a couple at him, particularly concerning the disappearance of hitman Christopher Dale Flannery (aka Mr Rent-A-Kill), who went missing in 1985.

The show over, we adjourned to the bar, Harley, Henry, Rogerson and assorted others. Initially Rogerson was in deep conversation with a former cop who had retired to this area. Once the reminiscing was over, he joined the group and zeroed in on this writer.

"You asked a few curly questions tonight,'' he said, unsmiling. "So what do you do for a living?''

"Journalist,'' we replied, with some trepidation.

"Journalists,'' he snarled. "They're worse than coppers.''

Harley quickly interjected, possibly concerned at the considerable loss of revenue for the hotel should this writer go 'mysteriously missing', a fate that befell some of Rogerson's acquaintances over the years.

"He's a sports writer,'' Harley soothed. "Nothing to worry about."

Believing the axiom that discretion is the better part of valour, we stayed clear of Rogerson for the rest of the evening.

Rogerson released a book, The Dark Side, earlier that year, launched by Alan Jones.

"He told me he'd drop in a copy within a month when he was passing through on the way to Port Macquarie,'' Harley recalled this week.

"He never did, though.''

He wasn't known as The Dodger for nothing.