Rod Reddy

The 'Rockhampton Rocket' made a startling impact at St George in the early 1970s. Reddy was an 18-year-old centre when he came from North Queensland in 1972 but the gangly teenager quickly settled into the club's back row. With the help of champion halfback Billy Smith, Reddy developed into a great attacking player who more than matched this talent with his aggression in defence. After missing St George’s debacle in the 1975 grand final loss to Easts, he ruthlessly handed out punishment to P’matta in the 1977 grand final replay - the year he made his Australian debut in the World Cup - and can be considered fortunate not to have been sent off. Commencing on the 1978 Kangaroo Tour, Reddy went on to play 16 Tests for Australia and was equally aggressive at international level. His performance in the 1979 grand final - subduing his C’bury opponents with ruthless disregard to the rulebook - earned several cautions but also plaudits from the ‘old guard’ of rugby league fans. Reddy’s selection on the 1982 Kangaroo tour (a decade after coming to Sydney) was controversial, but he again showed his value as a seasoned international by playing in three Test victories against Great Britain before making a final Test appearance against France. In 1984 he shifted to I’warra for two seasons before taking on a player-coach role at Barrow in England (1987-88). After a successful coaching stint with Cumbria, he took on the reserve grade coaching duties position with Brian Smith at St George. Reddy was appointed Smith’s successor as coach in 1996 but embraced the Super League concept and walked out on his former club before a match was played. After sitting out the 1996 season while Super League successfully lodged its appeal, Reddy was the inaugural coach of the Adelaide Rams in 1997’s Super League season. After a poor start to the 1998 season, Reddy and his coaching staff were sacked by the Rams’ administration, and the club folded at the end of the year. He has since linked with P’matta as assistant coach to Brian Smith.