Red and green blood courses through Craig Coleman’s veins, the lively halfback steering South Sydney around the park for a decade before coaching the club during one of its most challenging periods. Big League tracked down ‘Tugger’.
IT’S ALMOST 25 YEARS SINCE YOU FINISHED UP COACHING IN THE NRL, CRAIG. WHAT KEEPS YOU BUSY THESE DAYS?
I’m a garbo still, I’ve been there since I lost my job as coach at Souths (in 2002) and I enjoy it. It keeps me fit around the hills of Coogee, Clovelly and Maroubra, and I enjoy being up at that time of the morning.
I’ve got three grandkids now, Luca (5), Penelope (3) and Noah (five months) – Luca’s playing footy, he’s very fast. He loves his sport, running around with his mates, so we’re happy with that.
WHAT ARE YOUR MEMORIES OF REDFERN OVAL AS A YOUNG FELLA?
I lived across the road and I was very lucky to see Coote, McCarthy, Stevens, O’Neill, Sattler, Simms, Bobby Grant, Paul Sait – the list goes on and on – and we won four out of five comps.
I used to run around the Oval with them when Clive (Churchill) was coaching … they had a groundsman to keep people like me out of there, but I had too many holes in the fences for him.
WHAT DID IT MEAN TO YOU to PULL ON THE SOUTH SYDNEY JERSEY?
I played for Waterloo Waratahs my whole junior career from five to 17. Souths were very good to me and I was good for them, too. All I wanted to do was play for South Sydney.
I still remember the day (Souths under-23s coach) Brian Smith, who was a great coach, came to see me at South Sydney Police Boys. I was a first-year Jersey Flegg player and he’d been to a few of my games.
He said, ‘Do you want a game?’ I said, ‘Do I what!’ The rest is history.
YOUR RUN-ON DEBUT IN FIRST GRADE IN 1982 WAS CERTAINLY MEMORABLE…
(Coach) Billy Anderson gave me my debut against the great Peter Sterling, we were trailing Parramatta by about 13 points with 10 minutes to go.
We ended up kicking a field goal on the bell to win it.
I played the last [four] games that year, a few more in 1983 under Ron Willey, another good coach.
If you were willing to go above and beyond to win, he’d pick you. He didn’t like those who didn’t want to get into contact – he was old school football.
SOUTHS WERE REGULAR FINALISTS DURING THE 1980S – WAS IT A LOST OPPORTUNITY NOT WINNING A PREMIERSHIP?
I’ve known George Piggins all my life. He won two Coach of the Year awards; 1986 we got beat for the minor premiership by a point, in 1989 we won the minor premiership by five points.
George was a rookie coach in 1986, he asked who was the smartest bloke in the comp and he brought Phil Gould to the club – George had no ego. Phil was just a football genius.
That year we lost to Balmain in a semi when Benny (Elias) bit himself and got Mario (Fenech) sent off.
But 1989 was our biggest chance, we won every away game. Ian Roberts hadn’t played for five months, he’d done his groin and George put him straight in for the semi-final … Balmain beat us and then Canberra [in the preliminary final] was one of the greatest sides we’d ever seen
We loved George, all we wanted to do was win for him. He treated us like his sons.
He’s not in the best of health these days suffering from dementia, it breaks my heart.
IT MUST HAVE BEEN TOUGH TO BE THERE FOR THE TEAM’S DECLINE AND THEN EVENTUALLY LEAVE SOUTHS?
We got the wooden spoon in 1990 – went from the penthouse to the shithouse, as they say. I stayed at Souths until 1992 and, like all clubs do, when they think you’re done they move you on.
(Souths CEO) Terry Parker was very good to me and he said, ‘I don’t want to embarrass you with the offer I’m going to give you’.
I wasn’t ready to retire so I went to Salford. I signed for two years there but I didn’t want to go back for the second, so I played with my mates [in 1993] just to keep myself in the game.
I signed with Gold Coast and had two years up there under John Harvey, he was a good coach and we had some good wins.
We had some good young blokes – Adrian Vowles, Andrew Dunemann, Benny Ikin.
THEN A SWANSONG SEASON WITH THE MAGPIES?
Yes, I had my last year under my hero. I used to get up early in the morning to watch Tommy Raudonikis play the Poms [on Kangaroo Tours] – anyone who wanted to be a halfback wanted to be like Tommy.
I was lucky enough to play against him in 1982 when he was playing reserve grade for Newtown.
I was 33 at Wests and probably playing for the wrong reasons.
I had enough of travelling to Campbelltown every day, there was no motorway so you had to drive all through Sydney out to get there
But I enjoyed it because I played with some real good young kids.
I remember going to Newcastle playing against Andrew Johns and he’s about a yard too quick and too smart for you.
I said to myself, ’I think it’s all over’.
TAKING THE SOUTHS COACING REINS AT ONLY 35 MUST HAVE BEEN A CHALLENGE, ESPECIALLY WITH THE THREAT OF EXTINCTION HANGING OVER THE CLUB?
They were some of the best times of my life with them blokes – I had Tony Iro, Jimmy Smith, Sean Garlick was a great captain, Jason Nicol, Brett Rodwell, Terry Hermansson, Chris Caruana, Justin Loomans, Timmy Brasher, Darrell Trindall was in the form of his life in ‘99.
We just ran out of legs that year.
When we come back in 2002 I’d been out of the game a couple of years.
If I had my time over again, George would have got an experienced coach and I would have been his assistant.
We only had a couple of months to get a team together. It was tough.
At the end of the day it’s results-driven. If you don’t win you get shown the door.
At the time I was a bit bitter but I got over it, as you do.
SEEING YOUR KIDS EXCEL IN THEIR SPORTING ENDEAVOURS MUST HAVE BEEN A THRILL?
We’re very proud of both our kids, Debbie and I.
Liam, he played a lot of NSW Cup and played in a Charity Shield at Souths. He’s a proud father of three young kids now, he’s got a good job and he’s doing really well.
Our daughter, Tara, was in the Ironwoman Series for 10 years and she’s only tiny compared to the girls she races against.
She’s the manager of Eastern Suburbs PCYC, where she helps the underprivileged kids and all the kids who train there.
