NRL 2024: Rugby league community mourns the loss of Bulldogs ‘Wild Man’, Geoff Robinson

Every home game Geoff ‘Wild Man’ Robinson would suck down free Winfield Reds cigarettes in the corner of the Belmore changerooms before wreaking havoc on field. This is how his teammates remember the ‘Wild Man’.

They were free sponsor’s cigarettes, handed over by Canterbury’s godfather Peter ‘Bullfrog’ Moore, himself a heavy smoker.

Bulldogs cult hero Geoff Robinson would sit in the same corner of the concrete-walled Belmore Sports Ground dressingroom before a game, mostly next to hooker-turned-boxer Billy Johnstone.

That was the corner where the tough hombres gathered, and Robinson was clearly one of them. It was right next to a primitive television, which sat on a cabinet, where players would watch and study opposition matches.

Robinson rarely moved from his dressing room spot and never stretched, only moving to light up another cigarette.

He would stand up two minutes before kick-off, yawn and then go out and wreak havoc.

Paul Langmack was a rising 17-year-old in that Belmore dressing room in 1983 and made his first grade debut against defending premiers Parramatta. He remembers looking over at Robinson, with smoke billowing around him from the concrete floor to roof, and thinking: “What the f..k.”

“There were 25,000 fans there that day and we were playing against Mick Cronin, Ray Price, Peter Sterling,” Langmack said. “I was a Parramatta junior and now playing against my idols. It’s my first first grade game so I was pretty nervous.

Geoff Robinson (ball) during Canterbury v Penrith RL game, 11/06/1982.

“I looked over and there’s Robbo in the corner, sitting down with his socks pulled up, smoking a ‘Winny’ (Winfield) Red. He was puffing away and there was smoke all around him.

“Rothmans owned Winfield Reds and they built the Belmore grandstand so they gave us free cigarettes which ‘Bullfrog’ gave to ‘Robbo’. The touch judge then knocked on the dressing room door and told us we had two minutes until kick-off.

“Robbo then puts his cigarette out on the floor and stomps on it with his footy boots. I could see the red ember disappear.

“He then pulled his socks down, as he traditionally did, stood up, flicked his hair back because he used to look like a sheep dog, and yelled: ‘Let’s rip into the bastards’. I remember thinking: ‘What the f..k?’

“I was behind him — we respected our elders in the 1980s — and could smell the smoke coming off him as we ran down the tunnel. He went out and played like a lunatic and terrorised them.”

The Bulldogs used to train Friday afternoons before weekend games but Robinson and his mates would bring their ‘going-out’ gear and give the booze a hiding after training. So training was moved to Saturday but Robinson only walked through the moves, a little fragile from the evening before.

Canterbury winger Chris Anderson was also in the dressing room during that era.

“Bullfrog would have also been in there hanging on the end of one of those cigarettes. Bullfrog didn’t mind that he had a few beers and a cigarette,” Anderson said.

“It didn’t worry him. He was certainly one of a kind. He was different and ran his own race.”

That race sadly ended on Wednesday when Robinson died aged 66. He had battled throat and tongue cancer for multiple years, his speech was affected, but is understood to have died of a heart attack.

Robinson played 139 first grade matches for Canterbury between 1977 and 1984 before returning in 1986.

He will forever be remembered for his wild charges at Belmore Sports Ground during an outstanding career which featured three grand finals and premierships in 1980 and 1984.

He was also renowned for his long black flowing hair, bushy beard and socks around his ankles. He was nicknamed ‘Wild Man’ and resembled a bikie. His charges into the opposition were fearless and would propel the Bulldogs faithful to their feet.

When Parramatta famously built their wall of players for a set-up move he simply ran through it, knocking over players like ten pins.

“He liked a smoke and a drink. He was a wild bastard. Robbo was old-school, a great man,” said former Bulldogs teammate Steve ‘Bubba’ Gearin.

Teammates remember ‘Wild Man’.

The Bulldogs will wear black armbands and pause for a minute’s silence ahead of Saturday’s match against the Warriors at Accor Stadium.

Then Halifax coach Anderson recalled taking Robinson to England for an often-humorous stint in 1985, where the prop played 30 games.

“When he first got there, he came to training in a tracksuit. He had 30 quid worth of change in one pocket and his cigarettes and matches in the other pocket,” Anderson said. “He was rattling around the field.

“The Halifax blokes were astounded and wondering: ‘Who the hell have we bought here?’ Robbo used to say: ‘The harder I run, the harder I am to tackle’.”

Langmack also recounted a funny moment at Belmore involving Robinson and then Bulldogs teammate Darryl Brohman.

“Darryl came to Canterbury in 1984 and got replaced halfway through a game by Geoff Robinson,” Langmack said. “After the game, Darryl says: ‘The crowd love me here, they think I’m a tackling machine and were chanting: ‘Robot, robot, robot’ when I came off.

“Back at the leagues club, Phil Gould says: ‘Listen here you d..khead, they were chanting ‘Robbo’ who was coming on for you’. Robbo was a crowd favourite, he’s a Bulldogs legend.”

Geoff Robinson with a portrait of himself. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Brohman posted on Wednesday about his old mate: “What a player, mate and fighter he was. He gave absolutely everything he had in everything he ever did.”

A Chester Hill Hornets junior in the 1970s, Robinson made his first grade debut against Easts in 1977. In later life, he would enjoy a beer at the Twin Willows Hotel at Bass Hill, a pub owned by his great mate and Bulldogs sponsor, Arthur Laundy.

“Geoff was the most decent and loyal guy and he was my friend,” said Laundy. “Everyone loved Robbo. They loved the way he played football. He was a gutsy bugger.”

This masthead sat down with Robinson for an in-depth interview about his cancer battle in 2021. His courage and strength were remarkable. At the time, Robinson revealed he had dropped from 92kg to just 64kg.

“I have always thought of myself as a pretty strong person but this has gotten me a couple of times. I’ll be honest – it has brought me to tears,” Robinson said.

“It hurts so much when my grandkids come in and go: ‘Are you OK, Poppy?’”

Canterbury’s 1980 grand final-winning team. Geoff Robinson (middle row, second from left). Picture: Barry McKinnon.

Gearin, Canterbury’s 1980 grand final hero, praised Robinson’s ability to lift the team.

“If ever we needed inspiration, Robbo delivered. If we were on our arses, he would take the ball up and run straight into four or five defenders, or pull off a big tackle. He’d make an immediate impact,” Gearin said.

“Robbo produced something when it all went flat. He did things that no one else in the team could do. That’s the main memory I have about Robbo.”

Former Norths and Australian prop Don McKinnon said of Robinson: “He played well above his weight which takes a lot of courage.”

Robinson is survived by wife Janine, whom he married when just 18, and their seven kids – Layla, Hayden, Travis, Jayde, Nadine, Simone and Joel.

Originally published as NRL 2024: Rugby league community mourns the loss of Bulldogs ‘Wild Man’, Geoff Robinson