Im saddened to hear the passing of a great legend of the game. Tommy was certainly one of the great characters and will certainly be missed by everyone. Its hard to say the right words given the news just hit this morning. I knew he wasnt well and even Tommy himself thought he wouldnt make it past 70 but thankfully he did and fought the battle right towards the end.
I'm too young to see Tommy play but heard so many great stories of his playing days for Wests and Newtown. He was a Rothmans Medal winner, captained Australia and NSW. So many great acheivements but he's known for his toughness. Roy Masters said in an interview how he used to rev the team up for a big game, especially against Manly at Lidcombe Oval.
Even did the same at Newtown, took them to a Grand Final appearance and came so close to winning a comp.
Before he coached Wests and NSW, he coached Ipswich for a period which featured a young Alan Langer.
I was lucky enough to get an autograph off Tommy at a Wests pre season launch back in 95 when he first coached. He did well for them too, took them to the finals in 96
We cant forget his coaching stint for NSW, the cattledog call is part of history, not so good for Joey haha but Tommy would him to get back out there even if his mouth was bleeding.
I loved his passion for NSW, even if he was living in Queensland, he said by Origin time, his friends and neighours are enemies.
He even told his NSW players to not interact with the Queenslanders on a night out in Sydney.
Still regardless if they played for Queensland and/or Manly, he was still great mates with a lot of them.
I'm sure he's up there now reuniting with his great mates, Artie Beetson and Noel Kelly.
RIP Tommy. We'll miss you.
