Craig Young

A member of the undefeated Australian Schoolboys tour of England in 1972 Craig Young had a grounding in soccer as a youngster and was playing first grade soccer with Bellambi in the I’warra competition as a 16-year-old. (Young’s father represented Australia in the sport). Young played rugby league for Corrimal on the South Coast before coming to St George as a 20-year-old prop. Ear-marked for a great future by former Australian coach Harry Bath, Young was a key player in the Dragons team dubbed ‘Bath’s Babes’ that won the historic grand final replay in 1977. Young lived up to Bath’s prediction, playing in the first of 20 Test appearances in the Third Test against NZ in 1978. A Kangaroo tourist that year, he played in all five Tests in England and France and was named player of the tour. Lumbered with the uncomplimentary nickname of 'Albert' (as in 'Fat Albert'), Young defied the name with his bullock-like runs that exuded raw strength and determination. In 1979 he captained St George to the club’s 15th (and last) premiership title and led the Dragons stoically during much of the next decade. A regular fixture in Australia's 'engine room' he made his second Kangaroo Tour with the 1982 'Invincibles'. Young stepped down from Test duty after the series white-wash of Great Britain in 1984 and led St George into the grand final the following year, losing to C’bury by a bare point. His last success as captain was in the 1988 Panasonic Cup and he retired the following year, replacing Ted Glossop as coach of the club. Unfortunately, in the dog-eat-dog world of coaching, Young was replaced by Brian Smith in 1991. The father of promising hooker forward Dean Young, Craig ‘returned’ to rep football as team manager of the NSW Blues under coach Ricky Stuart in 2005.