It’s hard to believe in the 20 years since Dynamic brought out the first signature cards in the 1994 football card series’ that some players have missed out on their own autograph card. In this age where we have a dozen or so Young Guns / Top Prospects / Future Forces, signed case cards and high end Immortal and Legend cards, some players just haven’t got marker to cardboard.
With their assistance of members from Ozcardtrader, I’ve put together a list of ten players from 1980-2010 who ideally won at least one premiership, played rep footy and endure in the memories of fans as (usually) one club men and ras special talents.
So with great fanfare, here are the TOP TEN ‘Legendary’ Players from 1980-2010 to not have a signature card.
Eric Grothe
The man they called Guru was an absolute monster on the wing for the Parramatta Eels in their halcyon days during 1981-1986. His size, his speed and his strength ensured this monster mashed his way to the try line 78 times in 152 games whilst being a wrecking ball for NSW and Australia – all from the wing!
With long hair, a beard and penchant for meditation, Guru was the prototype modern day footballer. Giving great service to the Eels, he played in five grand finals and won four, whilst also touring with the 1982 Invincibles, blowing away Great Britain and stunning English spectators with his destructiveness as he razed his way through tests and over a dozen tour matches.
Sadly, knee injuries cruelled his career limiting his appearances in later years, but during the period 1980-1986, he was simply the best. Punch his name in to YouTube and search out THE GREATEST TRY EVER SCORED. In the Qualifying Final against the Bulldogs, he ran through the defense, evading cover tackles and scorching 40 metres to score an amazing try, leaving desperate doggies clutching at thin air.
A humble, quietly spoken man, he loves a chat about football. Eric Grothe is also a musician, and often performed songs with his guitar on ‘footy’ shows of the day. His son Eric Grothe jr, went off to have a career of his own, albeit without the glittering heights though with a mountain of pressure to be just like his dad.
Even today, Guru is fondly remembered by the Eels faithful and rugby league supporters at large. In the Centenary season, he was recognized as one of the best 100 players of the century. In this age of herculean wingers, we often forget that Eric Grothe was quite possibly the first of the really big wingers. We also forget he’s never been immortalized with his own signed card.
Adam ‘Mad Dog’ MacDougall
Adam MacDougall is a Newcastle legend, a two-time premiership player and NSW and Australian representative.
A toey backline finisher, ‘Mad Dog’ could sniff out a try and was a solid defender. He also talked to his legs, egging them on to perform great deeds and help him trample to the line. A little mad, not everyone found him endearing, especially Geoff Toovey’s face in the 1997 ARL decider.
He famously dissed Russell Crowe (after leaving Souths) when scoring and celebrating post try with a phone-call on the football. And when Wendell Sailor returned to Rugby League, barbs were traded constantly in the press and on the field when they opposed each other – two old bulls in the twilight of their careers. His verbal spars with Wendell Sailor continue today and in retirement, he is carving out a niche in the media, with articulate and sometimes idiosyncratic views.
A true individual, ‘Mad Dog’ deserves his own piece of signature glory.
Steve ‘Blocker’ Roach
Steve Roach was the kind of player that typified the last great era before professionalism, before the athletic, chiseled Adonis took over.
A big man – he had a lot of guts – who played his entire career for the Balmain Tigers, Blocker was a firebrand who was often cited and suspended, famously missing the 1988 Grand Final against Canterbury-Bankstown.
A tireless, worker, he represented NSW and Australia on numerous occasions; his stocky frame allowed him fearless, bullocking charges at opposition lines, often skittling defenders.
Roach also had a tremendous passing game, setting up his fast men. Remembered for his head pat of referee Eddie Ward in 1990 (when sent from the field), Steve Roach is a true character of the game (and later, the commentary box and various footy show panels).
A passionate New South Welshman, Blocker is never far away from a State of Origin squad, revving the boys up with unswerving passion for the blues. He’s also never far from a sausage sizzle either, but this big man should not be underestimated. He plays the clown, but he has a very smart footy brain, and he often tells it how it is. He was a hard man in a hard era of rugby league and he likes to remind people RL is a tough game played by tough men.
A pat on the head goes to the person who secures this big man’s signature on a slab of card!
Stacey Jones
It’s hard to believe how few Warriors signature cards have ever been produced, though for a relatively ‘newer’ club, I guess it’s understandable. But really – NO Stacey Jones signature card…ever?!?
Stacey Jones began his career in 1995 with the fledgling Auckland Warriors as an 18 year old. Already, he was a prodigious talent with the ability to control a game and possessed the vision to run opposition teams ragged. At his peak, he was one of the most dangerous halfbacks in the NRL and his skills earned him the nickname ‘The Little General’.
And whilst the Warriors went through more names, jersey designs and owners than any other club, Jones stuck solid, continuing to be their lynchpin through to the mid-2000’s. 2002 was arguably Stacey Jones year, taking the NZ Warriors to the minor premiership only to be denied in the Grand Final against the Sydney Roosters.
He also represented New Zealand at international level in almost 50 tests, often playing out of his skin only to have his team fall short. Ever determined, his spars with Australian halves were inspirational, and it was only fitting that the national side went on to top billing in the 2008 World Cup after years of coming so close.
Moving to Les Catalans, he played three seasons there before returning home and eventually coming out of retirement to play the 2009 season, picking up where he left off, though his Warriors faltered to 14th on the table. Had Stacey not gone to Super League, he would have easily notched up 300+ games in the NRL alone.
Stacey Jones holds most of the Warriors records – most games, 2nd most tries, most points – as well as the esteem of possibly being the Warriors greatest ever player to date. When Stacey finally gets his signature card, surely it won’t be a case of ‘keeping up with the Jones’, it’ll be a case of about bloody time!
Jason Croker
Jason Croker is one of those guys who slips through the cracks – whether it be him going through the defense for a try, forgotten as a great one-team clubman or for an elite signature card in a NRL set.
I remember back in 1991/92, my friend who was an ardent Canberra fan singing Croker’s praises, saying this guy would go on to be a legend of the game with all the other legendary Raiders running around at the time. For mine, he’s the equivalent of a Paul Taylor (in that Parramatta era) – you notice when he’s not there, but forget just how much he puts in, each and every week.
Coming to the fore in 1991, Jason was a country boy with sublime skills who did his apprenticeship through the Canberra junior system before becoming a mainstay for the club for the next 15 years. A member of the 1994 Green Machine, Croker gave great service to a Canberra side that flirted year on, year off with the finals.
Inexplicably left out of the 1994 Kangaroos squad when seven of his team mates made the touring side, Jason was a quiet achiever who continued to miss rep honours during the 1990s because half his team were already picked, or he was battling it out with a Bronco for that last spot. However, to look at his rep career is to belittle his career as a whole and in my opinion, he should have played 15 SoO’s and a dozen or more tests.
By the mid-2000’s he had played the most amount of games (318) and scored the most amount of tries (120) for the Canberra Raiders, and moved to Les Catalans where as a fit evergreen, he played 3 more seasons for another 60-odd games. If he’d stayed in the NRL, he certainly would have pushed for 380-400 NRL games.
In an age when ‘legendary’ is bandied around too freely, Croker easily fits in to the list that proudly includes Daley, Stuart, Meninga, Clyde, Walters, Belcher, Mullins, Lazarus and Furner.
It’s a croker s***e that Jason Croker goes without a high end signature card befitting his status amongst the Green Machine immortals.
Stay tuned for part 2 of this list as we add 5 more players to this list!
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