The ‘honest toiler’ is a term synonymous with rugby league. They’re the players who were perhaps not blessed with the skills of future immortal Johnathan Thurston but none-the-less tried their guts out and made the grade.
Each Friday I will be taking you on a trip down memory lane to relive the careers of some Australian rugby league’s lesser lights.
The first Friday Flashback was the great Broncos winger Leon Bott, a man who’s current whereabouts is unknown.
For this week I’m keeping things going with another flyer – Milton Thaiday.
Discovered by rugby great Mark Ella while playing in Lismore, the one-time Newcastle Knights cult figure began his career with the NSW Waratahs in Super 12 Rugby collecting 13 caps for the outfit from 2002-04 and playing alongside the likes of Matt Rogers (feel old yet?!)
With cousin Sam Thaiday cementing his place in the NRL with the Broncos, Milton decided on a code switch and landed at the Newcastle Knights.
He became an instant cult favourite for the Novocastrians when he made his debut in Round 10, 2005.
The big-haired speedster was one of the few highlights in a horrendous season which ended with the club claiming its first ever wooden spoon. Although the club won just 8 matches in the season, Thaiday held a 43% winning percentage in games played in the season – 10% better than the season total.
Playing predominantly at fullback, Thaiday wracked up 14 matches for Newcastle in 2005 scoring seven tries along the way.
While 2006 handed Thaiday 14 further matches and an extra six tries to his career tally, 2007 would quickly spell the end of his career.
Utility Kurt Gidley was given first crack at the number 1 jersey, Thaiday making his one and only appearance for the Knights in 2007 in jersey 22 as a super sub in round three. Shortly after he suffered a serious shoulder injury and struggled with rehab. He decided to retire at seasons end at the tender age of 27.
But, it wouldn’t be the last time people would hear of Milton.
In the first of two negative stories, Thaiday was sent from the field in 2008 for a savage high tackle while playing for Central Charlestown in the Newcastle competition.
Before making the grade with the Waratah’s, Thaiday had a long history of alcohol abuse. He started drinking at the age of 14 and like so many NRL players was incredibly problematic when affected by alcohol.
In 2009, he punched his former girlfriend, Knights receptionist Amanda Keyes in the face. Thaiday and Keyes were involved in a huge argument following Keyes having an overdose.
Thaiday was convicted of assault and was placed on an 18-month bond and was given an apprehended violence order for 12 months. At the time of his conviction, Thaiday was still listing his occupation as ‘footballer’ – a sad incident for a player and person who emerged with such promise only a few years earlier.
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