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Jim Craig (rugby league)
Encyclopedia
Jim Craig was an Australian rugby league
footballer and coach. He was a versatile back for the Australian national team. He played in 7 Tests between 1921 and 1928 as captain on 3 occasions and has since been named amongst the nation's finest footballers of the 20th century.
in Sydney and played as a junor for the local club. Hade his first grade NSWRFL Premiership debut as a winger in 1915 with the Balmain club
. He played five seasons with the club excluding 1918 when he was on military duty. Balmain won the premiership in all five of those years.
Following his Kangaroo Tour
representative appearances in 1922 he played a season with the University club in Sydney. Then in 1923 he relocated to Queensland and took the captain-coach position with Ipswich for the next six seasons.
The last two seasons of his sixteen year career were with the Western Suburbs Magpies
. He was captain-coach of the side to their maiden title over St George in season 1930 in the first ever Grand Final played to determine the premiership.
He first represented for New South Wales
against a touring English side in 1920. While a Queensland
resident from 1923–28 he represented that state on 23 occasions and then in 1929 he twice again represented for New South Wales.
He was selected on the 1921–22 Kangaroo Tour of England and made his Test debut in the first Test at Leeds. He appeared in 23 minor tour matches notching a total of 58 points as a try scorer and goal kicker.
In the 1924 domestic Ashes series against England Craig was named as Australian captain in all three Tests. Again in 1928 he played in all three Tests of the domestic Ashes series in sides led by his Queensland rival Tom Gorman
.
regarded Craig as the greatest player Messenger ever saw.
Craig was the NSWRL's top points scorer in seasons 1929
and 1930
.
In 2005 he was admitted into the Australian Rugby League
Hall of Fame. In February 2008, Craig was named in the list of Australia's 100 Greatest Players (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the NRL
and ARL
to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia. In June 2008, he was chosen in the Queensland Rugby League's Team of the Century
on interchange bench.
, Norths
and Canterbury
during the 1930s, helping Canterbury-Bankstown to their maiden premiership in 1938.
Craig died in 1959 at age 65.
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 and coach. He was a versatile back for the Australian national team. He played in 7 Tests between 1921 and 1928 as captain on 3 occasions and has since been named amongst the nation's finest footballers of the 20th century.
Club career
Craig grew up in BalmainBalmain, New South Wales
Balmain is a suburb in the inner-west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Balmain is located slightly west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the Municipality of Leichhardt....
in Sydney and played as a junor for the local club. Hade his first grade NSWRFL Premiership debut as a winger in 1915 with the Balmain club
Balmain Tigers
The Balmain Tigers are a rugby league football club based in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Balmain. They were a founding member of the New South Wales Rugby League and one of the most successful in the history of the premiership, with eleven titles...
. He played five seasons with the club excluding 1918 when he was on military duty. Balmain won the premiership in all five of those years.
Following his Kangaroo Tour
Kangaroo Tour
Kangaroo Tour is the name given to Australian national rugby league team tours of Great Britain and France. The first Kangaroo Tour was in 1908. Traditionally, Kangaroo Tours took place every four years and involved a three-Test Ashes series against Great Britain and a number of tour matches...
representative appearances in 1922 he played a season with the University club in Sydney. Then in 1923 he relocated to Queensland and took the captain-coach position with Ipswich for the next six seasons.
The last two seasons of his sixteen year career were with the Western Suburbs Magpies
Western Suburbs Magpies
The Western Suburbs Magpies are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly referred to, were one of the nine foundation clubs of the first New South Wales Rugby League competition in Australia...
. He was captain-coach of the side to their maiden title over St George in season 1930 in the first ever Grand Final played to determine the premiership.
Representative career
Craig's versatility was such that he was selected at hooker for a match on tour of New Zealand in 1919.He first represented for New South Wales
New South Wales Rugby League team
The New South Wales rugby league team has represented the Australian state of New South Wales in rugby league football since the sport's beginnings there in 1907. Administered by the New South Wales Rugby League, the team competes in the annual State of Origin series against arch-rivals, the...
against a touring English side in 1920. While a Queensland
Queensland rugby league team
The Queensland rugby league team have represented the Australian state of Queensland in rugby league football since the sport's beginnings there in 1908...
resident from 1923–28 he represented that state on 23 occasions and then in 1929 he twice again represented for New South Wales.
He was selected on the 1921–22 Kangaroo Tour of England and made his Test debut in the first Test at Leeds. He appeared in 23 minor tour matches notching a total of 58 points as a try scorer and goal kicker.
In the 1924 domestic Ashes series against England Craig was named as Australian captain in all three Tests. Again in 1928 he played in all three Tests of the domestic Ashes series in sides led by his Queensland rival Tom Gorman
Tom Gorman (rugby league)
Tom Gorman was an Australian rugby league player. He was a Centre three-quarter for the Australian national team. He played in 10 Tests between 1924 and 1930 as captain on 7 occasions....
.
Accolades
Jim Craig was a player of unparalleled versatility. It is known that he represented in Tests at fullback, centre, halfback and hooker with some of his club & tour football played at winger, five-eighth and lock forward. Whiticker's reference reports that the great Dally MessengerDally Messenger
Herbert Henry "Dally" Messenger was an Australian rugby union and rugby league footballer, recognised as one of the greatest ever players in either code. Messenger, or 'The Master' as he was dubbed, represented his country in both rugby football codes, playing two rugby union tests and seven...
regarded Craig as the greatest player Messenger ever saw.
Craig was the NSWRL's top points scorer in seasons 1929
New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1929
The 1929 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the 22nd season of Sydney's top-level rugby league football competition, Australia's first...
and 1930
New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1930
The 1930 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the twenty-third season of Sydney's top-level rugby league football competition, Australias's first. During the season, which lasted from April until October, eight teams from across the city contested the premiership which was won by...
.
In 2005 he was admitted into the Australian Rugby League
Australian Rugby League
The Australian Rugby League is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in Australia. It is made up of state bodies, including the New South Wales Rugby League and the Queensland Rugby League...
Hall of Fame. In February 2008, Craig was named in the list of Australia's 100 Greatest Players (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the NRL
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...
and ARL
Australian Rugby League
The Australian Rugby League is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in Australia. It is made up of state bodies, including the New South Wales Rugby League and the Queensland Rugby League...
to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia. In June 2008, he was chosen in the Queensland Rugby League's Team of the Century
Queensland Rugby League's Team of the Century
The Queensland Rugby League Team of the Century is a hypothetical team comprising the best players who have played for Queensland to form a team for 1909 until 2008. Rugby league in Queensland was initiated in 1909 with the Queensland Rugby Football League competition, which evolved into the...
on interchange bench.
Post playing
After football Craig coached WestsWestern Suburbs Magpies
The Western Suburbs Magpies are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly referred to, were one of the nine foundation clubs of the first New South Wales Rugby League competition in Australia...
, Norths
North Sydney Bears
The North Sydney Bears are an Australian rugby league football club based in North Sydney, New South Wales. They currently compete in the New South Wales Cup, having exited the National Rugby League following the 1999 NRL season after 92 years of top-grade competition. The Bears are based on...
and Canterbury
Canterbury Bulldogs
The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, as well as New South Wales Rugby League junior competitions...
during the 1930s, helping Canterbury-Bankstown to their maiden premiership in 1938.
Craig died in 1959 at age 65.
Sources
- Whiticker, Alan (2004) Captaining the Kangaroos, New Holland, Sydney
- Andrews, Malcolm (2006) The ABC of Rugby League Austn Broadcasting Corpn, Sydney
- Queensland Team of the Century named – article at nz.leagueunlimited.com