Fresh off being awarded an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for his contributions to our game, Big League caught up with Graeme Wynn ahead of round one.
How’s life treating you Wynny?
Life’s good at the moment. The years are rolling by but I’m still enjoying my footy and I’m still tied up a little with my local club the Gymea Gorillas. I’ve eased back a lot of that stuff compared to what I used to do but I’m still enjoying my time down there.
Are you still working?
Yep, still working at CUB (Carlton and United Breweries) selling the good stuff. Someone has to help the drunks get drunk, so it’s not a bad product to be involved with. I’ve been there for 46 years now, it’s been a decent stint.
Was that your first job when you moved to Sydney?
I started at Penfolds Wines which was owned by Tooth and Co back in the day. There’s been quite a lot of change in the industry since then with people buying each other out. Back in 2004, CUB bought Penfolds from Southcorp Wines and I’ve been with them ever since.
So you’re still managing to find a way into every corporate box in Australian sport?
There are some perks, that’s for sure and CUB sponsor a lot of sports. So yes there are times when I’m lucky enough to get to watch some sport and enjoy a beer.
You’re a proud country boy, tell us about moving to the big smoke to start your career?
I grew up in a place called Werris Creek and finished high school at Quirindi High in 1976. I started to study accountancy and I was working on the railway and playing local footy.
Chicka Moore was the coach of Wests Newcastle at the time and he gave me an opportunity to head there, which I did in 1977.
That year I played NSW under 18s and was coached by the great Jack Gibson. I stayed at his place, which was pretty special, he was the busiest man on the phone you’d ever see.
I eventually played first grade at Wests Newcastle and in 1978 we played St George after they’d won the ‘77 grand final. We played them up at Harker Oval and beat them.
I got man of the match that day and after the game Saints asked if I was interested in joining them. I was contracted to Wests Newcastle for another year but I told them I had a brother down in Wollongong and they should go and have a look at him.
They tried to sign Peter but he ended up going to Manly.
To cut a long story short, a year later me and a few mates decided to head overseas for three months to have a break from football.
When I was at the airport, about to fly out to Heathrow, I tried to call Ken Arthurson to tell him that I’d accept the contract that he’d offered me at Manly for the next season.
But he didn’t answer so I went away and when we got to England, the Kangaroos were over there. Peter Moore sorted me out with a few tickets and then guys like Rocket (Reddy) and Craig Young did their best to look after me because they knew Saints were trying to sign me.
When I came back to Australia after the trip, I didn’t forget what the Saints fellas had done for me and my mates while we were over there so I signed with them for the following season.
What did it mean to you to play for St George?
I’d supported the club all my life and a lot of the guys I became teammates with were my idols.
I made a lot of great mates in those early years. I lived with Slippery Morris when I first moved to Sydney, then there was Brian Johnson and Tony Trudgett and a guy who is still a long-term mate in Michael Sorodini.
We had a bit of a younger crew that came into the side after they’d won in ‘77. (Coach) Harry (Bath) pulled us all together and we were able to go through and win the competition in ‘79.
I had a few offers to leave Saints over the years but I was a pretty loyal person and I wanted to stay a one-team player.
But then Bryan Smith came along and gave me the flick and that’s how I ended up at Wests.
I had a hand-shake deal with Saints but nothing was concrete and when Smith took over, he called me from overseas and told me he thought I’d had my day, which was fair enough.
I ended up playing another two seasons at Wests and probably could have played one more but I was happy with what I’d achieved and was glad to hang up the boots.
Where was the toughest place to play back in your day?
People talk a lot about the Parramatta sides of 1984 and 1985 but I still think we were the better team. We had a lot of decisions go against us in the games we lost and when you go back and watch the replay, it’s hard not to think we were ripped off.
But you can’t change the past and the history books show Parramatta beat us 8-7.
When you watch it, they shouldn’t have been in a position to beat us, but that’s footy sometimes.
It was the same a year later against the Bulldogs in ‘85. If you watch the replay, I still think we were pretty hard done by but that’s not going to change anything now.
Who was the most underrated player you ever played with or against?
Ooh, that’s a tough one. I played with a guy named Jason Lidden towards the backend of my career at Wests.
He was a Junee boy and could play just about anywhere on the field. I think he was best in the second row because he was a fantastic line runner and although he never played representative footy, he was unbelievably talented.
Your Dragons have had a tough few seasons. What can we expect from them this year?
I still get out to as many games as I can and I coached the junior reps there for 10 or so years.
I just think the club has got its management of players wrong in this last period. We’ve had a heap of good young kids come through the St George junior system. Guys like Luciano Leilula, Hame Sele, young (Matt) Dufty who is overseas now and Jacob Host.
Lots of those guys left the club after coming through our junior system and a few of them are back again.
The club seems to be in a much better position to what it has been and I think they’ll improve and make the eight.
They probably need one more good front rower, but I think they’ve got the side to push up the ladder.
You’ve got a few grandkids now. How long until we see them on a rugby league field?
Who knows? I’ve got two grandsons and three granddaughters so it’d be nice if they do go on and play the game.
But as long as they are playing sport, I’ll be happy.
It’s a great way to meet people and stay healthy and it’s given me a lot over the years. Being active is the main thing but it’d be nice to see them play.
