God help God : Footy s ultimate scallywag farewelled themorningbulletin.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from themorningbulletin.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Tommy Raudonikis was a legend and larrikin. and a thug A Set the default text size A Set large text size
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When the news came through that Australian rugby league icon Tommy Raudonikis had died, it was right and proper that all of us who remember him as a player, coach and pundit stopped to mark his passing by giving him the respect he earned.
Let me make very clear that Raudonikis was one of the most skilled and influential halfbacks of his generation.
You simply don’t get to captain your country and state unless you were brilliant. And Tommy
Western Suburbs Magpies and Wests Tigers pay touching tributes to league icon Tommy Raudonikis dailymail.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailymail.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Rugby league legend Tommy Raudonikis has passed away after a long battle with cancer.
Raudonikis died on Wednesday morning aged 70, having led one of the most colourful lives the game has seen.
The former Western Suburbs and Newtown halfback represented Australia in 29 Tests and World Cup matches, and NSW on 24 occasions.
His last appearance for the Blues saw him lead them in the inaugural State of Origin match in 1980, but he is arguably best remembered for the cattle dog cry he coined as NSW coach in 1997.
The same take no prisoners approach gave the game one of its most enduring images – he and Magpies teammates slapping each other pre-game at the height of the famous Fibros v Silvertails rivalry with Manly.
As a tragic fan of the Western Suburbs Magpies as a child, I idolised Tommy Raudonikis. He was my first sporting hero. He was cheeky, rough around the edges and on the field, he never gave in.
With my father, we d trot off to Lidcombe Oval in Sydney most weekends, me in a black-and-white beanie with a small matching flag, to cheer Tommy on as he led the Magpies out.
He also held aloft the Amco Cup one winter s night in 1977, the last first-grade competition the Magpies won. I was allowed to stay up past 8.30pm for that one. It s a night I ll never forget.