The Original TOMMY TURBO
“I MADE SOME BAD MISTAKES IN THE FINAL COUPLE OF YEARS AND ONE OF THEM WAS LISTENING TO OTHER PEOPLE RATHER THAN BACKING MY OWN JUDGEMENT.”
There have been few more tenacious players in the game of rugby league than Tom Raudonikis. An inspirational captain who often took on players twice his size, his whole-hearted attitude on the playing field earned him the name “Tom Terrific” in the 1970s. Tommy played 201 games for the Western Suburbs Magpies during the decade, as well as winning the Rothman's Medal (rugby league’s highest player honour at the time) for Best and Fairest Player of the 1972 season. Raudonikis went on to play 29 Tests, including nine World Cup appearances, during his international career, but his efforts for the New South Wales Blues and at club level were equally inspirational. Extremely competitive, both on and off the field, Raudonikis regularly delivered the goods when called upon to produce that “something extra”. In 1995, he returned to
