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Opinion

The guys I would've loved to see play for the mighty Dragons

Roar Guru
29th October, 2021
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Roar Guru
29th October, 2021
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1589 Reads

I was told recently that the St George Illawarra club, also known as the mighty Dragons, had had an annus horribilis.

Rather than being something nasty in the nether regions, this term really meant the club had a year that sucked.

I didn’t think it was going to be that way until Paul Vaughan took Paul Hogan’s advice and chucked some shrimp on the barbie. From then on, it was never going to end well.

That the season finished nearly a month ago doesn’t make the year any better, especially when the sly digs keep coming from Roar regulars about my Dragons. Yep, you know who I’m talking about.

It was even suggested that Dragons fans do some therapeutic writing, which actually seemed like a good idea, so I thought I’d throw together a list of players from other clubs would’ve loved to see in the white jumper with the red V.

There’s only one simple criterion: these are guys I really liked watching play, even though they were playing for opposition sides.

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1. James Tedesco
Forget about Tom Trbojevic, this guy was terrific to watch when playing for the Tigers and has obviously taken his game to new heights since moving to the Roosters.

He does everything at a million miles an hour and is dynamic in both attack and defence

2. Larry Corowa
I saw Larry Corowa in a game at the SCG and the ground was nearly under water. I didn’t make any difference to him. He scored a long-range try where he beat three or four guys with sheer speed.

He was the quickest guy I’ve seen on a footy field and it didn’t matter who he played, if he got the ball in a bit of space, everyone was on their feet to watch what he’d do.

The other winger I loved watching was Kerry Boustead. He was such a great player for a little bloke.

3. Andrew Ettingshausen
What’s not to like about ET? Outstanding football skills, speed to burn, a good looking bloke and a genuinely good guy.

Andrew Ettingshausen

(Photo by Getty Images)

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I remember hoping he would come across to the Dragons at about the same time as Elle MacPherson was their number one supporter. She’d have looked great in a red V jumper.

4. Mick Cronin
He has to be one of the nicest blokes to ever pull on a footy boot. He used to drive to and from Gerringong to train with Parra. Imagine a first grader doing that these days?

He was seriously quick; not in Corowa’s league but still fast enough for a big bloke and what really impressed me was the little passes he could get away with two or three guys hanging onto him. What a great combination he had with Steve Rogers and Mark Ella.

5. Terry Fahey
I’ve got a lot of time for bush footballers and Western Division was my second team in the Amco Cup back in 1974. They had this big winger with really big hair who could seriously motor. That was my first introduction to Terry Fahey.

The family talked a lot about a winger named Peter Dimond and when Fahey came along, most agreed he was not far away from Dimond, who was an out and out champion. Fahey was another bloke who was really exciting to watch.

6. Brett Kenny
I know most think King Wally Lewis was the best, especially Lewis himself, but for mine, Brett Kenny was a better player by some distance.

The mark of a champion is the time they appear to have and I lost count of the number of times he made something from nothing, mostly because guys couldn’t put a hand on him.

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I’m sure if he played in the red V, it would have been the Dragons’ name on more than a few of the premierships won by the Eels during the ’80s.

7. Tommy Raudonikis
He was the quintessential Westie, in that era when people (like me) wore T-shirts stating they supported their own club and anyone who was playing Manly.

In all my years of watching the game, I can’t think of a player more committed to his team, be it the Magpies, the Blues or Australia. And tough!

Tommy Raudonikis

(Photo by Sean Garnsworthy/Getty Images)

8. John Donnelly
This is the way he was described in Wikipedia – he “quickly gained a reputation that grew to almost cult status for his fiery on-field play as well as his off-field larrikin persona”.

I saw him play one outstanding match at Lidcombe Oval one day against Manly and in large part thanks to him, Wests belted a star-studded team. The smile on his face when the final siren sounded is something I can still picture to this day.

9. Royce Simmons
In 1991, everyone I knew wanted Penrith to win the premiership. Canberra had won back-to-back titles and Penrith were still premiership virgins, so we all felt it was the Panthers’ turn.

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Royce Simmons had been around for a thousand years and this was going to be his swansong. Not only did he lead his team to victory, he scored a great try at the death and told the whole world he wanted to shout every Penrith supporter a beer after the game. A great bloke and a pretty fair player.

10. Bob O’Reilly
In the ’70s and ’80s, it seemed that every team had at least one or more great props. The ‘Bear’ Bob O’Reilly was right up there with the best of them.

Much of the kudos for the Eels’ premiership run in the early ’80s is directed at that fabulous back line, but I don’t think it’s any coincidence they won their first one when O’Reilly returned to Cumberland.

And every photo taken of him after a game seemed to show a head with blood seeping from somewhere – and a front-rower’s nose.

11. Mick Liubinskas
Unless you’re a real Magpies fan, Liubinskas is not exactly a household name, but gee he he was a fun player to watch.

He was a big bloke who could really stride out if he got into the open. I don’t think he played anywhere near as many games for Wests as he should have. He’d have formed a great partnership with Rod Reddy.

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12. Brad Clyde
Johnny Raper is probably my all-time favourite player and Brad Clyde is as close as anyone’s come since Raper finished playing to match his skills.

The Raiders celebrate a NSWRL premiership

Bradley Clyde was one of Canberra’s biggest stars in their glory years. (Photo by Getty Images)

I went to a game in Canberra where they were playing Penrith and spent most of the match just watching Clyde.

The amount of work he did off the ball was quite incredible. He was big, quick and had great anticipation. Such a terrific player.

13. Wayne Pearce
It’s hard to think of a more inspirational player through the time Pearce played for the Tigers. He was an out and out champion, both in attack and defence.

I was fortunate a lot of years ago to meet Keith Barnes, a young Wayne Pearce and Laurie Nicholls at the Balmain Leagues Club.

It was a magic evening as these three Balmain greats talked about the game as a whole – and not one single swear word.

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There are many, many more fun players I’ve seen over the years but these are a bunch of guys who would have had even more fun if they’d come to the mighty Dragons.

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