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Andrew Johns top lip used to quiver whenever he was around Tommy Raudonikis.
Thanks to the Cattledog.
Johns first met Raudonikis, the rugby league icon who just died at age 70, at the start of NSW s State of Origin camp in 1997. He was every bit the larrikin legend Johns expected, yet he was also more. My first impression was, He s hilarious , but then after a couple of days, I was like, Well, mate, he s no dill . Footy-wise, he knew his stuff and he was always doing crosswords, Johns told Wide World of Sports. It was quite surprising, really. Sometimes over beers you d have conversations about certain things and he wasn t a dill . but there was always that old-school fire and brimstone underneath it.
Raudonikisâs NSW side was losing 13-2 when he came off the bench in a match against Queensland in 1977, three years before the birth of State of Origin. Figuring his teammates needed something â anything â to inspire them, Raudonikis launched into a Maroons player who was receiving treatment for an injury near the sideline.
He went on to score a crucial second-half try and NSW won the match 14-13. The Tommy Paradox â a devil on the field and an angel off it.
Perhaps there has never been a figure so universally loved by a game that thrives on hate. And itâs not just rugby league fans who adored Raudonikis. Well-known by supporters of other codes for his gravelly voice and legendary storytelling, Raudonikis transcended rugby league and was a hugely popular media figure post his playing career.