Alan Tongue in (Tamworth, New South Wales

Tamworth, New South Wales

Tamworth is a city in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Peel River, Tamworth, which contains an estimated population of 47,595 people, is the major regional centre for southern New England and in the local government area of Tamworth Regional Council. The city...

) is a retired professional rugby league

Rugby league

Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...

 footballer of the 2000s and 2010s. A Country New South Wales representative forward, he captained of the Canberra Raiders

Canberra Raiders

The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership since 1982...

 for several seasons in the National Rugby League

National Rugby League

The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...

 (NRL) competition.

Early years

While attending Farrer Memorial Agricultural High School in 1998, Tongue was selected to play for his country in the Australian Schoolboys team

Australia national schoolboy rugby league team

The Australian Schoolboys rugby league team is the national rugby league football team for secondary school students in Australia.The Australian Schoolboys or Australia Schoolboys represent Australia on a national level at rugby league at youth level...

.

Playing career

Tongue is a 10 year veteran at Canberra, making his debut in 2000 and winning the Raiders' Rookie of the Year award after joining the club in 1998. He spent the majority of his early years moving between the backrow, hooker and the interchange bench. He established his position within the side in 2005, and in 2006 Tongue broke the record for most tackles in the regular season with 1,087. The next highest ranking player was Nathan Hindmarsh

Nathan Hindmarsh

Nathan William Hindmarsh is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who captains the Parramatta Eels in the National Rugby League and the Australian Prime Minister's XIII...

 with 911. Tongue was also voted the Raider's Player of the Year

Mal Meninga Medal

The Mal Meninga Medal is the name of the award that goes to the Canberra Raiders' Player of the Year. The award was named after former Raiders captain and coach, Mal Meninga and was first awarded in 2008. Before this there was no name for the award but was still awarded...

in 2006.

At the end of the 2008 NRL regular season, Tongue was awarded Dally M

Dally M Medal

The Dally M Medal is the premier individual award in the Australian rugby league competition, which is given to the player voted by sports commentators as the best and fairest in the competition for that year....

 recognition for Lock of the Year and Captain of the Year after leading the Raiders to 6th on the competition ladder. Tongue was also named in the Prime Minister's XIII

Prime Minister's XIII

Prime Minister's XIII or the PM's XIII is the name of a representative rugby league team selected on an annual basis by the Prime Minister of Australia that consists of mainly young Australian players drawn from the National Rugby League competition to take on the Papua New Guinea national rugby...

 at the end of 2008.

Tongue was selected in the City vs Country

City vs Country Origin

City vs Country is an annual Australian rugby league football match that takes place in New South Wales between City and Country representative sides. The City side represents the Sydney metropolitan area...

 match on 8 May 2009. In this game he scored a rare try in a 40-18 defeat.

In his 200th game for Canberra, on Saturday 28 August 2010, a Tongue supporter commented on the opposition (North Queensland Cowboys

North Queensland Cowboys

The North Queensland Cowboys are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, Queensland. They compete in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership...

, through its player Willie Mason

Willie Mason

William Marshall "Willie" Mason is an Australian professional rugby union footballer for Toulon in the Top 14 competition, having previously being a rugby league footballer for Hull KR in the European Super League.Mason signed a 3-year contract with Hull KR in September 2010, pending a successful...

) in a sexually suggestive crowd poster shown prominently at the stadium and in TV coverage: "Who needs a Big Willie when you have a great Tongue?". In this game, Tongue returned to the side, and suffered another injury, in a 48-4 crushing defeat of the Cowboys at Canberra Stadium

Canberra Stadium

Canberra Stadium is a facility primarily used for rugby league and rugby union games, located adjacent to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, the capital of Australia...

 that had the Raiders join the top 8 teams in the competition and join the finals rounds for the 2010 competition.

Alan announced his retirement on the 17th of August 2011.

External links

• http://www.raiders.com.au/default.aspx?s=article-display&id=42046&title=update-tongue-to-retire-at-end-of-2011
• http://www.raiders.com.au/default.aspx?s=article-display&id=42049
• Alan Tongue at the Rugby League Project