Craig Coleman

Cheeky, irrepressible halfback played a record 283 grade games with Souths. Coleman was a tyro behind the scrumbase; able to mobilise his forwards with sharp passing and providing great service to his outside backs. He played for Widnes in 1986-87, where he left under a cloud when he preferred to play second grade, and for Hull in 1988-89. After a decade with the Rabbitohs, he left the club at the end of 1992 to play with Salford in England. The following year, Coleman returned to Australia after the February 1 deadline and threatened to take the ARL to court when denied a clearance to play with the G’Coast club. (He played in the Souths A Grade competition for the remainder of the year). Coleman brought his experience to the fore with the struggling Seagulls club in 1994-5 and despite his veteran status, saw out his career with Wests in 1996. But his heart was always at Souths, and he returned to the club as a lower grade coach before taking over from Steve Martin midway through 1998. Coleman was at the helm of the Rabbitohs when they were excluded from the 2000 NRL competition and fought for two years for the right to be included in the premiership competition. It was only fitting then, when Souths returned in 2002, that Coleman was back as first grade coach but the move was not a success. After the Rabbitohs struggled to be competitive in 2002 and in pre-season trials in 2003, Coleman was sacked by the club.