Paul Kent: Tommy Raudonikis would have come out swinging, instead the Tigers came out half asleep

The Tigers’ tribute to Tommy Raudonikis lacked the sort of fight the little tough nut would have never been found wanting, says Paul Kent.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – APRIL 11: Players and spectators pay respect during a minutes silence for the late Tommy Raudonikis during the round five NRL match between the Wests Tigers and the North Queensland Cowboys at Leichhardt Oval, on April 11, 2021, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

If Tommy Raudonikis could not find a legitimate reason to have a fight he would invent one, which appealed to Tommy’s sense of balance.

The cleanest example is the famous interstate game against Queensland in 1977 that happened several days after Steve Mortimer, assuming that since he was chosen as the starting halfback he deserved the double bed and Tommy the single, and Tommy protested by throwing Mortimer’s luggage out the sixth floor window, when Queensland skipped away to a surprise 13-2 lead.

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The famous No. 7 jersey sits on the sidelines out of respect to the late Tommy Raudonikis.

By the time Tommy got on the Blues were in trouble and Tommy knew something needed changing.

So he jogged over to Queensland halfback Greg Oliphant, on his back while being treated by a trainer, and he pulled Oliphant up by his jersey and started flogging him.

Of course it sparked an all-in brawl, and with that the NSW players found their energy and came back to win 14-13.

It is one of the most famous Tommy Raudonikis stories that gets told and it is repeated here today to show what is too often missing in today’s game.

Thousands turned up Sunday to watch the Tigers pay tribute to Tommy.

The game had that promise.

And the afternoon began beautifully with Tigers’ halfback Luke Brooks running out late, behind his teammates, carrying the black and white No 7 jersey, Tommy’s jersey, that was being retired for the game.

A fan holds up a tribute to Tommy Raudonikis at Leichhardt Oval on Sunday. Picture: Getty Images

Everything about it was set up for an emotional performance.

And it was a bust.

A paint-by-numbers performance, going through the motions, from a Tigers outfit that simply failed to front up.

Tommy Raudonikis might have been commemorated on their jerseys but he was not in their hearts.

The saddest part is that as the North Queensland Cowboys began racking up the tries it was still not too late.

And this is where people continually get it wrong with their Tommy Raudonikis stories, which too often drift into caricature.

Violence was a selective weapon for Tommy. One to be activated when the situation called for it.

NSW nearly always beat Queensland in the days before Origin and, for whatever reason, the Blues went into that game simply assuming they would get the Maroons again and for some reason Queensland found a little something in this game and skipped to the lead.

When Tommy grabbed Oliphant it had nothing to do with anything between him and Oliphant.

He wanted to find something to fire up his teammates, to get them back emotionally involved in the game.

Players and spectators pay respect during a minute’s silence for Tommy Raudonikis. Picture: Getty Images

The fight provided it. Back then, it was the simplest way. If Tommy played today he would find that energy a different way.

Standing on the hill Sunday, fans picked up early that the Tigers were down on energy.

For reasons the Tigers have still not explained they came out of the dressing room down on energy and failed to find their energy as the game went on.

Fans began booing early. There was disgust on the hill.

One fan, in his Tigers jersey, stopped to say how he had knocked back a day’s work, $400 in wages, to come see how the Tigers would honour Tommy.

“And this is what they serve up,” he said.

Two elderly women, Balmain born, flew from Cairns to see how Tommy would be honoured.

All they could do was shake their heads.

A fan wears a Western Suburbs jersey and another a tribute T-shirt to Tommy Raudonikis. Picture: Getty Images

Nowadays there is an expectation professional athletes will always be up for the contest.

Back in Tommy’s day teams spent a good part of their preparation revving up before the game and Tommy’s Wests Magpies were most famous of all, slapping each other’s faces while coach Roy Masters walked among them inventing insults the opposition probably never said, but they remained offended by.

The face slapping caught by 60 Minutes cameras was not all primitive, preparing them for what was coming.

Fans attending the tribute match were left fuming after the Tigers trailed 28-6 at the break. Picture: Getty Images

Some players would destroy dressing rooms in a bid to create their energy, Spudd Carroll headbutted locker doors. Players swore and geed each other up, a music underscored by metal studs on a hard floor.

Nowadays, dressing rooms are church-like and tolerated because there is an expectation that once the players hit the field they will find that emotion.

Sadly, on Sunday, all the emotion was on the hill.

Three minutes before halftime North Queensland led 28-6 and the ground announcer, who sounded not long out of high school, tried to inspire them, urging Wests Tigers fans to get behind their team, and to make some noise.

Oh, they made some noise, all right. It rumbled down the Leichhardt Oval hill.

“Boooooooooo …”

Originally published as Paul Kent: Tommy Raudonikis would have come out swinging, instead the Tigers came out half asleep