Bradley Clyde

Canberra junior (Belconnen) toured Great Britain with the unbeaten Australian Schoolboys in 1986 before becoming the Raiders' first homegrown international player. Clyde impressed in his first grade debut in 1988 as a brilliant defender with a non-stop work rate in attack. His breakthrough season was in 1989; making his State of Origin debut, touring NZ with the Australian side (with a ‘man of the match’ performance in the Third Test) and winning the Clive Churchill Medal as the best player in the 1989 grand final. Tragically, a knee injury denied him a place in the 1990 grand final team that defeated Penrith and ultimately, with the Kangaroo Tour. He returned to the national side for the Test series against NZ in 1991 and his efforts in the losing team against Penrith in the grand final earned him his second Clive Churchill Medal award. Clyde was Australian vice-captain on the end of season tour of Papua New Guinea, and was named ‘man of the series’ in the two Tests. Following Australia's Ashes win over Great Britain in 1992, in which he was awarded the Harry Sunderland Medal as Player of the Series, he suffered a shoulder injury in the World Cup Final which led him to miss the early part of the 1993 season. After playing in the 1993 Trans Tasman series, Clyde set his sights on making his first Kangaroo tour the following year. His absence from the Australian Test team that thrashed France at P’matta Stadium (again, because of injury) was only a momentary setback. Following Canberra's great grand final win over Canterbury, he played in all four Tests on the 1994 Kangaroo Tour. Incredibly, it was to be his final appearance for the national team, except for two Super League Tests in 1997. Clyde became the focal point of the Super League war when, in the face of a huge offer from Easts, he became one of News Ltd's first signings. It was then ironic then that after overcoming injuries to play a full 1998 season, he was let go by the Raiders because of salary cap restrictions to join team-mate Ricky Stuart at Canterbury. Clyde was in good form in the early part of the 1999 season and was chosen in the NSW team for the first time in five years. In a highly publicised incident, Clyde and Blues’ team-mate Robbie Kearns were thrown from horses and injured during a ‘team bonding’ session. Clyde missed the series and did not play in another rep match. The following year, he left Australia to join former Raiders’ team-mates Brett Mullins and Dean Lance (coach) at Leeds. A recurring injury to his achilles tendon saw him released by the club after just one season - a sad end to a career that had reaped so many early rewards. Returning to Australia, Clyde was caught in a dispute between Canberra and the ACT Brumbies for his services before taking on a position as Bulldogs’ Jersey Flegg coach. Clyde was later named Bulldogs football manager.