Rugby League
Your Stories

Stats available from 1976 on -

Shield memories: On for Young and Tunks

Former St George Dragons' prop Craig Young and former South Sydney prop Peter Tunks gave some special insight into the way rugby league was played back in the 70s and 80s at the launch of the 2003 Charity Shield.
Tunks and Young both played in the first Charity Shield game back in 1982 and there was no holding back from the very first scrum.

"Pre-season games often didn’t have much in them," said Tunks. "But then they came up with the Charity Shield idea."

"The Charity went to the hospitals along with three or four St George players."

"We had a few colourful characters in our forward pack," added Tunks, reminiscing about the first game, which the Dragons won 9-7. "And the St George players took exception when they stole their handbags at the first scrum."

"That’s not how I remember it," replied Young. "I remember Tunksy starting a blue. There were about eight blues. It was designed to raise money for the respective hospitals – South Sydney and St George – but for some reason it was just a 'bash-a-thon'."

The benefits and proceeds from this year's Charity Shield will go to Farmhand, Randwick Children's Hospital, Wollongong Public Hospital and St George Public Hospital but there is unlikely to be any biff equivalent to the 1982 version – although Souths' captain Bryan Fletcher joked about the possibility.

The 1982 Charity Shield sides were:

St George: Brian Johnson, Michel Sorridimi, Graham Quinn, Michael Beattie, Brian Johnston, Tony Trudgett, Steve Morris, Rod Reddy, John Jansen, George Grant, Craig Young, John Dowling, Pat Jarvis.

Souths: Steve Walsh, Mitch Brennan, Tony Melrose, Michael Pattison, Graham Murray, Robert Simpkins, Peter Smith, Tony Rampling, Gary Hambly, Ken Stewart, Ken Stewart, Gary Metcalfe, Shane Arnold, Stan Browne, Michael Carberry, Ziggy Niszcot, Dean Rampling, Peter Tunks, Ken Wright.
---
Hugh Baldwin

- why not share your memories with other members of Team Era, just click here -

Craig "Piggy" Young. You didn't sign him up-- you unleished him! You just knew that "training" days consisted of a couple of laps of the oval at Kogarah, a game of touch and off to the leagues club.

But he never huffed and puffed or took a backward step.

With scratches and bruises on his face, I can only imagine how many schooners were sunk after the games back at the club, or the night before.

Imagine Piggy and Rod Reddy on the piss together.

(Quigs email off to Craig and questioned his calling Young 'Piggy' as his nickname has always been Albert- this is Craigs reply - many thanks Craig)

I used to sit on the hill at Seiffert Oval in Queanbeyan and we’d call him “Piggy”…should have said that!

Actually, I remember a cold day when the Raiders beat the Saints in the old days. The Raiders had just come into the comp, and we’d got to Seiffert early, drove our old Ford in—as you could in those days—and took our place lined up on the old hill.

The Raiders were stacked with “household” names back then, like Gerry De la Cruz and Sammy Vukago, but they were heroes in lime green to us.

We beat Piggy (Albert) and his men that day, with speedster Angel Marina scoring the winner in the corner.

And then—after the game—we saw Craig Young at the Quenbeyan Leagues Club.

It was like Elvis was in town!

We still called him “Piggy”, and he laughed

- why not share your memories with other members of Team Era, just click here -

1984 semi final between St.George and Souths sparked another punch up between the arch rivals.

From a scrum in which Souths won, the tempers flaired and first thing I noticed was a Souths back knocking on when taking the ball up at Mick Beattie.

Beattie seeing that the brawl was on started to lay into hes opposite as he tried to collect the ball.

Then the cameras turned to where the main action was.

Graeme Wynn fought like a retarded frankenstein trying to hurd off 3 smaller opponents at once while Pat Jarvis was being held down by a Souths forward while another proceeded to belt him.

Craig Young was notorious in one on one battles with Gary Hambly took charged and jumped the forwards that were beating Jarvis.

When it had all cleared, Young appeared with a bloodied mouth but a big smile as the referee laid down the law.

- why not share your memories with other members of Team Era, just click here -

Craig Young 1984 Final against Souths.

I was there that day too.

My recollection is that the souths captain the grrovy winger Ziggy Niscott, simply ran up to Albert and smashed him one on the jaw.

The stink was on thereafter.

Many of the Saints players were policemen in 'real life 'so people were yelling out "Kill the coppers!" so it was also a 'class' game I suppose.

The Dragons deserved to win that game, no matter how broken hearted I felt.

Young played well as per usual.

He was truly one of the games hard men and a formidable opponent.

- why not share your memories with other members of Team Era, just click here -

Rod Reddy discussing how he, Steve Rogers and Craig Young disposed of their car on the last day of the 1982 tour. - From Tony Adams Book, The Hitmen.

Many Kangaroo players have bought old cars on tour, and Reddy, Steve Rogers and Craig Young had a bomb on their hands in 1982. At the end of the tour, they had to decide what to do with the vehicle.

"The car had just about had it. It was in such a state the hotel management wouldn't let us park out the front of the hotel. We had to leave it out the back as they reckoned it gave the place a bad name. The day before we left we tipped it into the canal behind the hotel. As it started to go down, the water pressure must have forced the brake pedal down because the back lights came on. As it started sailing down the canal, and as we ran off, we yelled out: There's someone drowning in that car."

I think (Australian Prop) Donny Mckinnon got the blame for that one.

- why not share your memories with other members of Team Era, just click here -

In 1963, the 1st test was a night game at Wembley and Gasnier was at his imperious best. He's still the greatest centre I've seen. He never looked as though he was moving, but nobody could get near him. He had class to burn. Then we had the 50 - 12 game at Swinton. The die was cast and I think it gave Australian players the self belief to upset history. Since then of course we've only won one test series (1970), but I believe it was won on the back of my favourite all time player Malcom Reilly; and Roger Millward. They were the difference on that Tour. Many of the series around that time were close and different players stood just above to make the difference. I believe that in 67 it was a John Raper / Ron Coote combination as the game breakers. The test when they won in the snow typified the Australian never-say-die spirit.

In 73 Artie was head and shoulders above the rest.

In 74 it was Ron Coote's famous tackle on Steve Nash that broke our resolve.

In 78 we would have won that series but for the half back combo of Tom R and Bobby Fulton. Fulton was the finest captain of a touring team that I've seen and he lead from the front. Most of the players were young and inexperienced and making their first Tours, but players like Rod Reddy and Craig Young came up trumps. It was also the best test debut I have seen in the decider at Headingley. Les Boyd tortured us for an hour and came off injured, but by then the game and the series were run.

Apart from 1990 when we was within a minute of squaring the series, but for Ricky Stuart's breakout and Big Mal Meninga; since then we've been an embarrassment since 1978. But then we don't have players of the calibre of Reilly, Huddart, McTigue, Millward, Ashton, Murphy, Mick Sullivan.

Personally, I deride the modern game. The scrums are a joke and the 10 metre rule has killed off the great ball playing backs like Murphy and Millward in the British game. Same in the forwards. In those days you had to have the skills to break defences, because they were stood on top of you. Artie was the best ball playing forward I've seen and McTigue wasn't far behind.

- why not share your memories with other members of Team Era, just click here -

text

- why not share your memories with other members of Team Era, just click here -