Jim Craig (1895–1959) was an Australian

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer and coach. He was a versatile

back The human back, also called the dorsum, is the large posterior area of the human body, rising from the top of the buttocks to the back of the neck. It is the surface of the body opposite from the chest and the abdomen. The vertebral column run ...

for the Australian national team. He played in seven

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between 1921 and 1928 as captain on three occasions and has since been named amongst the nation's finest footballers of the 20th century. Craig was a player of unparalleled versatility. It is known that he represented in Tests at fullback, centre, halfback and hooker with some of his club and tour football played at winger, five-eighth and lock forward. Whiticker's reference reports that the great

Dally Messenger Herbert Henry Messenger, nicknamed "Dally" and sometimes "The Master" (12 April 1883 – 24 November 1959) was one of Australasia's first professional rugby footballers, recognised as one of the greatest-ever players in either code. He played f ...

regarded Craig as the greatest player Messenger ever saw.

Early years

Craig grew up in Balmain in Sydney and played as a junior for the local club.Whiticker pp77-80

Playing career

1910s

Craig made his first grade

NSWRFL Premiership The New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the first rugby league football club competition established in Australia and contributor to today's National Rugby League. Run by the New South Wales Rugby League (initially named the New Sou ...

debut as a winger in 1915 with the Balmain club. He played at centre for Balmain in the 1916 NSWRFL season's premiership final victory over South Sydney. Craig played five seasons with the club excluding 1918 when he was on military duty. Balmain won the premiership in all five of those years. Craig's versatility was such that he was selected at hooker for a match on tour of New Zealand in 1919.

1920s

Graig first represented for

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

against a touring English side in 1920. He was selected on the 1921–22 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and made his test debut in the first test at Leeds. He appeared in 23 minor tour matches notching a total of 58 points as a try scorer and goal kicker. Following his

Kangaroo Tour Kangaroo Tour is the name given to Australian national rugby league team tours of Great Britain and France, tours to New Zealand and the one-off tour to Papua New Guinea (1991). The first Kangaroo Tour was in 1908. Traditionally, Kangaroo Tours to ...

representative appearances in 1922 he played a season with the

University A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

club in Sydney. In 1923 Craig relocated to Queensland and took the captain-coach position with Ipswich for the next six seasons. While a

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

resident from 1923–28 he represented that state on twenty-three occasions and then in 1929 he twice again represented for New South Wales. In the 1924 domestic Ashes series against England Craig was named as Australian captain in all three tests. Again in 1928 he played in all three tests of the domestic Ashes series in sides led by his Queensland rival Tom Gorman. The last two seasons of Craig's sixteen-year career were with the

Western Suburbs Magpies The Western Suburbs Magpies (legal name: Western Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club Ltd) are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly r ...

. Craig was the NSWRL's top points scorer in seasons

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and

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. He was captain-coach of the side to their maiden title over

St George Saint George (Greek language, Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin language, Latin: Georgius, Arabic language, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christians, Christian who is venerated as a sa ...

in season 1930 in the first ever Grand Final played to determine the premiership.

Post-playing

After football Jim Craig coached Western Suburbs in 1932 and 1939 and North Sydney in 1936. He coached

Canterbury-Bankstown Canterbury-Bankstown is a customary region of Sydney, Australia, in the south-western suburbs. The area is located around the Bankstown railway line, to the west of the St George region and to the south of the Inner West region. The suburbs ...

to win the Premiership in 1938. Craig died on 13 December 1959, aged 64. In 2005 he was admitted into the

Australian Rugby League The Australian Rugby League Commission (ARL), formerly the Australian Rugby Football League known as the Australian Rugby League is an Australian rugby league football competition operator. It was founded in 1986 as the Australian Rugby Footbal ...

Hall of Fame. In February 2008, Craig was named in the list of Australia's ''100 Greatest Players'' (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the

NRL The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

and

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to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia. In June 2008, he was chosen in the

Queensland Rugby League's Team of the Century The Queensland Rugby League Team of the Century is a hypothetical team comprising the best players who have played for Queensland to form a team for 1909 until 2008. Rugby league in Queensland was initiated in 1909 with the Queensland Rugby Footb ...

on interchange bench. In 2012 Craig was inducted into the Queensland Sport Hall of Fame.

References

Sources

* Whiticker, Alan (2004) ''Captaining the Kangaroos'', New Holland, Sydney * Andrews, Malcolm (2006) ''The ABC of Rugby League'' Austn Broadcasting Corpn, Sydney
''Queensland Team of the Century named'' – article at nz.leagueunlimited.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Craig, Jim 1895 births 1959 deaths Australasia rugby league team players Australia national rugby league team captains Australia national rugby league team players Australian military personnel of World War I Australian rugby league coaches Australian rugby league players Balmain Tigers players Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs coaches North Sydney Bears coaches Rugby league utility players Rugby league players from Sydney Sydney University rugby league team players Western Suburbs Magpies coaches Western Suburbs Magpies players