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R.I.P Tommy Raudonikis !

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  • #16
    Originally posted by bondi paul View Post

    I saw Tommy play and never was a fan nor did I like his image then and especially post football. It’s a sad loss for his family and friends however I don’t like the whole romanticism of his thug image and its bring back the biff mentality.
    That was the game then 70's and early mid 80's - The old softening up period which sometimes went on longer than usual- Teams certainly knew playing Wests at Lidcombe Oval they were in for bruising match to say the least.

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    • #17
      Originally posted by bondi paul View Post

      I saw Tommy play and never was a fan nor did I like his image then and especially post football. It’s a sad loss for his family and friends however I don’t like the whole romanticism of his thug image and its bring back the biff mentality.
      He descended into self parody a bit over the last few years.

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      • #18
        Originally posted by King Salvo View Post

        That was the game then 70's and early mid 80's - The old softening up period which sometimes went on longer than usual- Teams certainly knew playing Wests at Lidcombe Oval they were in for bruising match to say the least.
        Yes I realise that however I much preferred classier players of the day such as Rogers, Langlands, Brass and Horrie who were all clean players.

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        • #19
          Tommy was an out & out grub, thug, rough, violent, cheap merchant, mug in todays game but when he played it was kill or be killed & it was a big reason I stopped playing footy in 1983 at 16. It scared me what I saw being played in first grade.
          Lidcombe Oval Eastern Suburbs v Western Suburbs when I saw Johhny Mayes & I played half back getting carted off after catching the ball from the kick off put doubt in my mind about playing footie. You had to be violent hard back then playing with no cameras & I loved playing the game but the constant violence worried me.
          I love watching the rough tough hardarse footy because I know all the boys playing in the NRL like it they are all in for it. Thats why they play NRL & I never.

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          • #20
            Originally posted by Mickie Lane View Post
            Tommy was an out & out grub, thug, rough, violent, cheap merchant, mug in todays game but when he played it was kill or be killed & it was a big reason I stopped playing footy in 1983 at 16. It scared me what I saw being played in first grade.
            Lidcombe Oval Eastern Suburbs v Western Suburbs when I saw Johhny Mayes & I played half back getting carted off after catching the ball from the kick off put doubt in my mind about playing footie. You had to be violent hard back then playing with no cameras & I loved playing the game but the constant violence worried me.
            I love watching the rough tough hardarse footy because I know all the boys playing in the NRL like it they are all in for it. Thats why they play NRL & I never.
            There was a bloke in our apprentice year at the railways who played under 23's for Wests late 70's/early 80's and he said they trained hard the 1st grade players despite the beer and steak sanger's image.

            We used to go to the Lidcombe Hotel on Pay days after work and the Wests players would come in after training and well they must have trained hard as they were very thirsty one has to say. Even Thirsty Roy Masters(Wests Coach ) would turn up sometimes - thirsty was an apt name - he could Drink Dallas Donnelly and Bruce Gibbs (Wests props) under the table which was no mean feet.



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            • #21
              Its no secret that the Wests Magpies in the 1970's built their game around their physical, tough forward pack.
              I went to the Magpies vs St George game in April 1976 - It was the last game Graeme Langlands played before he retired.
              In the second half, the Wests forwards were gaining the ascendancy over the Saints, and the holes started to appear in the Saints defensive line.
              Guys like Donnelly, Elford, Foster & Boyd were running amok, and the last guy in the defence was Langlands.
              I was watching the game from behind the goalposts, at the railway line end, and I had a bird's eye view..
              Langlands was fullback, and the Wests forwards ran straight at him a few times, they didn't try to sidestep him at all.
              On a number of occasions, they ran straight over the top of him on the way to the tryline.
              It was pretty sickening to watch the smaller guy get run over by the much bigger guys.
              But that's football - and a reminder how rough, tough and brutal this game can get.
              Its no coincidence that Langlands retired in the week after this game.
              Tommy's role in all this was to be the sheepdog behind that big forward pack, barking orders, telling them what to do.
              If you ever managed to break through the Wests defence,, they had a 7th forward on the field , named Raudonikis, who was there to clean you up.

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              • #22
                Originally posted by Mickie Lane View Post
                Lidcombe Oval Eastern Suburbs v Western Suburbs when I saw Johhny Mayes & I played half back getting carted off after catching the ball from the kick off put doubt in my mind about playing footie. You had to be violent hard back then playing with no cameras & I loved playing the game but the constant violence worried me.
                I love watching the rough tough hardarse footy because I know all the boys playing in the NRL like it they are all in for it. Thats why they play NRL & I never.

                Hey I was at that game! It was actually John Dorahy that kneed Mayes in the back in the first tackle. From what I recall, I think he got a punctured lung from that. Also from the same game, in the second half Mark Harris was about to take the tap from a penalty and we were thinking "Why is Harris taking the tap?" and then he threw a gridiron pass all the way across the field to Jim Porter.

                It was a good game from memory.

                This is the game here.

                https://afltables.com/rl/scorers/games/197407.html#0924
                "Believe in yourself, especially when no one else will."

                Sasquatch

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                • #23
                  Originally posted by Blue Suede Schubert View Post


                  Hey I was at that game! It was actually John Dorahy that kneed Mayes in the back in the first tackle. From what I recall, I think he got a punctured lung from that. Also from the same game, in the second half Mark Harris was about to take the tap from a penalty and we were thinking "Why is Harris taking the tap?" and then he threw a gridiron pass all the way across the field to Jim Porter.

                  It was a good game from memory.

                  This is the game here.

                  https://afltables.com/rl/scorers/games/197407.html#0924
                  Good man Blue Suede Schubert thanks for that.
                  Where did you grow up?

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Originally posted by Mickie Lane View Post

                    Good man Blue Suede Schubert thanks for that.
                    Where did you grow up?
                    Hey Mickie,

                    I grew up as a Liverpudlian so my family did go to a few Roosters games at Lidcombe back in the day because it wasn't that far to travel.

                    I hope you can remember the gridiron pass that Harris threw that day. It is one of my clearer memories from that match.
                    "Believe in yourself, especially when no one else will."

                    Sasquatch

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Originally posted by Blue Suede Schubert View Post

                      Hey Mickie,

                      I grew up as a Liverpudlian so my family did go to a few Roosters games at Lidcombe back in the day because it wasn't that far to travel.

                      I hope you can remember the gridiron pass that Harris threw that day. It is one of my clearer memories from that match.
                      I wanna tell you I remember the gridiron pass but unfortunately I dont. A lot of the times when I was younger & at the games I would be there with my dad but also a mate or 2 & we would be off doing all sorts of things (nothing bad) & I wouldnt be paying attention to the game but for some reason I clearly remember the Johnny Mayes incident.

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                      • #26
                        [QUOTE=bondi paul; I saw Tommy play and never was a fan nor did I like his image then and especially post football. It’s a sad loss for his family and friends however I don’t like the whole romanticism of his thug image and its bring back the biff mentality.

                        Well said Paul. Guy was a meathead and the game is far better off without the biff. Those guys weren't brave, most built a reputation on over the top dog acts. There's a funny line in David Williamson's "The Club" when the old Club president and legendary enforcer says, "Nobody likes to be reminded of a bad game, when I got home after the '56 Grand Final the wife said 'You had a shocker!" and I gave a black eye. She apologised later but the damage had been done".



                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Originally posted by Mickie Lane View Post

                          I wanna tell you I remember the gridiron pass but unfortunately I dont. A lot of the times when I was younger & at the games I would be there with my dad but also a mate or 2 & we would be off doing all sorts of things (nothing bad) & I wouldnt be paying attention to the game but for some reason I clearly remember the Johnny Mayes incident.
                          Yea well kids will be kids I suppose. It was just myself and my folks in the grandstand that day so I didn't have anybody to wander off with. I recall it was 10 all at half time and there was a rather loud bloke supporting Wests sitting near us but he went decidedly quiet in the 2nd half when the Chooks ran amok.

                          If you saw the gridiron pass no doubt you would remember it. I am struggling to think of who the replacement half was because Mayes missed a game or 2 after that I think. Maybe one of the older chookpenners might recall who the reserve grade half was in 1974 because I sure as hell don't!
                          "Believe in yourself, especially when no one else will."

                          Sasquatch

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