View source for Graham Eadie

{{Short description|Australia international rugby league footballer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Use Australian English|date=July 2011}}
{{Infobox rugby league biography
|name           = Graham Eadie
|fullname       = 
|nickname       = Wombat<ref>{{Cite news 
|title = 'Wombat' leaves habitat
|work = [[The Sydney Morning Herald]]
|place = Australia
|page = 31
|date = 29 August 1983
|url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=z4ZWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ruYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4039,9855660
|access-date = 6 February 2011}}</ref>
|image          =  
|caption        =  
|birth_date     = {{birth date and age|1953|11|25|df=yes}}
|birth_place    = [[Woy Woy, New South Wales]]
|height         = {{convert|179|cm|ftin|abbr=on}}
|weight         = {{convert|95|kg|stlb|abbr=on}}
|position       = {{rlp|FB}}
|club1          = [[Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles|Manly-Warringah]]
|year1start     = 1971
|year1end       = 83
|appearances1   = 237
|tries1         = 71 
|goals1         = 847
|fieldgoals1    = 3
|points1        = 1917
|club2          = [[Halifax R.L.F.C.|Halifax]]
|year2start     = 1986
|year2end       = 89 
|appearances2   = 72
|tries2         = 29 
|goals2         = 22  
|fieldgoals2    = 0 
|points2        = 160
|retired        = yes
|teamA          = [[New South Wales state rugby league team|New South Wales]]
|yearAstart     = 1974
|yearAend       = 80 
|appearancesA   = 14
|triesA         = 3   
|goalsA         = 13  
|fieldgoalsA    = 0 
|pointsA        = 35
|teamB          = [[Australian Kangaroos|Australia]]
|yearBstart     = 1974
|yearBend       = 79 
|appearancesB   = 20
|triesB         = 2
|goalsB         = 5
|fieldgoalsB    = 0
|pointsB        = 16
|teamC          = [[City New South Wales rugby league team|NSW City]]
|yearCstart     = 1974
|yearCend       = 83 
|appearancesC   = 6
|triesC         = 9
|goalsC         = 11
|fieldgoalsC    = 0
|pointsC        = 49
|source         = <ref>[http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/players/graham-eadie/summary.html Rugby League Project]</ref><ref>[https://archive.today/20080226180521/http://www.centenaryofrugbyleague.com.au/site/the-players.aspx?cat=3&list=true 100 Greatest Players]</ref>
|new            = yes
|updated        = 30 October 2019
}}

'''Graham''' "'''Wombat'''" '''Eadie''' (born 25 November 1953), is an Australian former [[rugby league]] footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He has been named amongst Australia's finest of the 20th century.<ref>[http://www.livenews.com.au/Articles/2008/02/22/Controversy_reigns_as_NRL_releases_top_100_players Century's Top 100 Players] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225164807/http://www.livenews.com.au/Articles/2008/02/22/Controversy_reigns_as_NRL_releases_top_100_players|date=25 February 2008}}</ref> A New South Wales [[Rugby League State of Origin|State of Origin]] and Australian international representative {{rlp|fb}}, he played in Australia during [[Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles|Manly-Warringah]]'s dominance of the NSWRFL competition during the 1970s. He won four premierships with them and his 1,917 points in first grade and 2,070 points in all grades were both records at the time of his retirement. Eadie also played in England for [[Halifax R.L.F.C.|Halifax]], winning the [[Challenge Cup]] Final of 1987 with them. He also won [[Rugby League World Cup|World Cup]]s with Australia and collected awards such as the [[Rothmans Medal]] and [[Lance Todd Trophy]].

==Playing career==
{{Original research|section|date=May 2014}}
* Manly 1971–1983: 237 games, 1,917 points (71 tries, 847 goals, 3 field goals)
* Australia 1973–1979: 20 Tests, 16 points (2 tries, 5 goals)
* New South Wales 1974-1980: 14 games, 35 points (3 tries, 13 goals)

Eadie was graded by Manly-Warringah in [[1971 NSWRFL season|1971]] and showed immediate promise in the lower grades that season. The following year with the retirement of long serving Manly fullback [[Bob Batty]], he established himself as the team's first grade fullback and his powerful running style was already a serious danger to all Manly's opponents. Though not excessively tall at just under {{convert|180|cm|ftin|abbr=on}}, Eadie's solid build of around 95&nbsp;kg (15 [[stone (weight)|stone]]) gave him abundant pace and so much strength that once he was on the move, few opposing defenders were ever able to stop him when he ran into the backline. At the same time, Eadie was an accurate line kicker and extremely safe under the high ball in an era when the "[[Bomb (kick)|bomb]]" was coming into prominence.

Although he had been used as a goal kicker in some games in [[1972 NSWRFL season|1972]], it was only in [[1973 NSWRFL season|1973]] that Eadie became Manly's major point scorer. That year, he kicked 14 goals in a match against [[Penrith Panthers|Penrith]], and for the following three years he was the leading point scorer in the competition, reaching a high of 242 points (14 tries and 100 goals) in [[1975 NSWRFL season|1975]], a club record that would not be broken until New Zealand [[List of dual-code rugby internationals|dual international]] fullback [[Matthew Ridge]] scored 257 points (11 tries, 106 goals and 1 field goal) in [[1995 ARL season|1995]].

Eadie was selected to the [[Australian Kangaroos|Australian team]] for the [[1973 Kangaroo tour]] and, after an injury to Kangaroos Captain-coach [[Graeme Langlands]], took over as Test fullback for the final two [[The Ashes (rugby league)|Ashes]] tests against [[Great Britain Lions|Great Britain]], marking his début at [[Headingley Rugby Stadium|Headingley]] in [[Leeds]] by kicking 5 goals in windy conditions. Though Langlands regained the test fullback spot in 1974, Eadie went on to be Australia's regular fullback from 1975 until he retired from representative rugby league following the experimental [[1980 State of Origin match]]. Despite being a record point scorer for Manly, Eadie was never a prolific point scorer at Test or State representative level as [[Country New South Wales rugby league team|Country Firsts]] and later [[Parramatta Eels|Parramatta]] {{rlp|CE}} [[Mick Cronin (rugby league)|Michael Cronin]] was generally the first choice kicker in representative sides.

In [[1974 NSWRFL season|1974]], Eadie won the [[Rothmans Medal]] as Sydney rugby league's best-and-fairest player, and at the end of the controversial [[1978 NSWRFL season#Finals|1978 finals series]] he produced one of the finest performances ever by a fullback in the Grand Final replay, "where he single-handedly destroyed [[Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks|Cronulla-Sutherland]] by scoring a try, setting up two others for [[Russell Gartner]] and kicking three goals and a field goal".<ref>[[Alan Whiticker|Whiticker, Alan]] and Hudson, Glen; ''The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players'' (1998, 3rd Ed) Gary Allen Pty. Ltd</ref> Two years earlier, his accurate goal kicking under pressure won Manly the [[1976 NSWRFL season#Grand Final|1976 Grand Final]] where they scored only one try to Parramatta's two. Eadie's dominance in the '76 and '78 Grand Finals was recognised thirty years later with the awarding of retrospective [[Clive Churchill Medal]]s for Man of the Match in those games.

In 1977, Eadie was Australia's first choice fullback for the [[1977 Rugby League World Cup|1977 World Cup]] and played in Australia's 13–12 win over Great Britain in the [[1977 Rugby League World Cup final|World Cup final]] at the [[Sydney Cricket Ground]].<ref>[http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/matches/world-cup-1977/final/australia-vs-great-britain.html 1977 Rugby League World Cup final]</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nG0AODNZ5vw 1977 Rugby League World Cup final highlights]</ref>

Following the 1978 Grand Final, Eadie was selected to his second [[Kangaroo Tour]]. The coach of the [[1978 Kangaroo tour|1978 Kangaroos]] was Eadie's Manly coach [[Frank Stanton (rugby league)|Frank Stanton]], while the captain was his former long time Sea Eagles teammate [[Bob Fulton]], who was at the time playing for [[Sydney Roosters|Eastern Suburbs]]. Eadie played fullback in all 5 test matches on the tour with Australia defeating Great Britain 2–1 to win [[The Ashes (rugby league)|The Ashes]], but surprisingly lost the test series to [[France national rugby league team|France]] 2–0. He also played in the non-test international against [[Wales national rugby league team|Wales]] at the [[St. Helen's Rugby and Cricket Ground|St. Helen's Rugby Ground]] in [[Swansea]] with Australia winning 8–3.

Despite Manly declining in surprising fashion to miss the semi-finals for the first time in twelve years in [[1979 NSWRFL season|1979]], Eadie's form remained excellent and he played in all 3 Ashes tests against a very lackluster touring Great Britain side. He then went on to play in the [[1980 State of Origin game|inaugural]] [[State of Origin series|State of Origin]] game at fullback for [[New South Wales rugby league team|New South Wales]] in 1980,<ref>[http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/matches/state-of-origin-1980/queensland-vs-new-south-wales.html 1980 State of Origin game]</ref> though he would miss the mid-season tour to New Zealand with the Australian team that year.

A major injury that forced him to miss half of the [[1981 NSWRFL season|1981 season]] and saw him lose his test fullback spot failed to dim his brilliance: at the end of [[1982 NSWRFL season|1982]], commentators{{Who|date=May 2014}} were noticing how he was "more involved in the game than at any stage since 1973." On his retirement from Sydney rugby league after Manly's loss to Parramatta in the [[1983 NSWRFL season#Grand Final|1983 Grand Final]] fans were left with the feeling he may still have a lot to offer the game.<ref>[[Alan Whiticker|Whiticker, Alan]] and Hudson, Glen; ''The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players'' (1998, 3rd Ed) Gary Allen Pty. Ltd</ref> With fellow Australian [[Chris Anderson (rugby league)|Chris Anderson]] as Coach, Eadie later made a comeback for English club [[Halifax R.L.F.C.|Halifax]], when he scored sixteen tries (a record for a fullback) and helped Halifax to the 1986 Club Championship. Eadie played {{rlp|fb}}, scored a [[Try (rugby)|try]], and was [[man of the match]] winning the [[Lance Todd Trophy]] in [[Halifax R.L.F.C.|Halifax]]'s 19–18 victory over [[St Helens R.F.C.|St. Helens]] in the [[1987 Challenge Cup]] Final during the [[1986–87 Rugby Football League season|1986–87 season]] at [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]], [[London]] on Saturday 2 May 1987, in front of 94,273 people.

In 1983 he overtook [[Eric Simms (rugby league)|Eric Simms]]' record for the most points scored in an [[NSWRFL]] career (1,841); Eadie's total of 1,917 stood as the new career record until it was bettered by [[Mick Cronin (rugby league)|Mick Cronin]] in 1985.

==Coaching career==
After retirement Eadie occasionally wrote articles for such magazines as ''[[Rugby League Week]]'' and attempted to carve a career as a coach. His first attempt with Halifax was short-lived, and in 1991 he returned to Australia as coach of the [[Gold Coast Seagulls|Gold Coast]] reserve grade side.

Eadie coached the [[Mullumbimby Giants]] in the [[Northern Rivers Regional Rugby League]] competition for the 2012 season.<ref>[http://www.northernstar.com.au/news/teams-ready-for-battle/1272539/ Teams ready for battle] ''Northern Star'', 15 February 2012</ref>

==Accolades==
In 1990, Eadie was selected at fullback when the club recognised its greatest ever players until that time. Later in 2006 he was again the first choice fullback when the club selected its "Dream Team". {{Citation needed|date=May 2017}}

In February 2008, Eadie was named at #25 in the list of Australia's [[List of Australian rugby league's 100 greatest players|''100 Greatest Players'']] (1908&ndash;2007) which was commissioned by the [[National Rugby League|NRL]] and [[Australian Rugby League|ARL]] to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia.<ref>{{cite web|website=[[National Rugby League|NRL]] & [[Australian Rugby League|ARL]] |title=Centenary of Rugby League - The Players |url=http://www.centenaryofrugbyleague.com.au/site/the-players.aspx?cat=3&list=true |access-date=2008-02-23 |date=23 February 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20080226180521/http://www.centenaryofrugbyleague.com.au/site/the-players.aspx?cat=3&list=true |archive-date=26 February 2008}}</ref>

The ''[[Rugby League World|Open Rugby]]'' inaugural World XIII was revealed in June 1978, it was; Graham Eadie, [[John Atkinson (rugby league)|John Atkinson]], [[Steve Rogers (rugby league)|Steve Rogers]], [[Jean-Marc Bourret]],<ref>http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/players/jean-marc-bourret/summary.html</ref> [[Green Vigo]], [[Roger Millward]], [[Steve Nash (rugby league)|Steve Nash]], [[Jim Mills (rugby league)|Jim Mills]], [[Keith Elwell]], [[Steve Pitchford]], [[Terry Randall]], [[George Nicholls (rugby league)|George Nicholls]] and [[Greg Pierce]].

==Family==
His son, [[Brook Eadie]], represented Queensland under-19 and won a President's Cup premiership with the [[South Queensland Crushers]] in 1996, but plans for a top grade career were thwarted by the demise of that club due to the [[Super League war]]. Eadie still lives on the [[Gold Coast, Queensland|Gold Coast]] today, where he works as a sales representative for a local brewery.

==Sources==
* Whiticker, Alan and Hudson, Glen; ''The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players'' (3rd edition); published 1998 by Gary Allen Pty. Ltd.; 9 Cooper Street, Smithfield, New South Wales, 2164.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050616022653/http://stateoforigin.com.au/SOOgame/PlayerDetails.aspx?Pid=120 Graham Eadie at stateoforigin.com.au]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20041022125208/http://www.eraofthebiff.com/p77a.html Graham Eadie at eraofthebiff.com]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120211125312/http://silvertails.net/ex-player-profiles/37-ex-player-profiles/3330 Graham Eadie at silvertails.net]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20120224235428/http://www.totalrl.com/features/content.php?feat_id=289&featcat_id=32 Kangaroos beat Lions at Wilderspool]

{{S-start}}
{{succession box|
  before = [[Eric Simms (rugby league)|Eric Simms]] (1973)|
  after = [[Mick Cronin (rugby league)|Mick Cronin]] (1985)|
  title = Record-holder<br />Most points in an [[NSWRFL]] career<ref>Heads, Ian and Middleton, David (2008) ''A Centenary of Rugby League'', MacMillan Sydney</ref>|
  years = 1983 (1,843) - 1985 (1,917)|
}}
{{S-end}}
{{Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles squad 1972 NSWRFL premiership}}
{{Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles squad 1973 NSWRFL premiership}}
{{Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles squad 1976 NSWRFL premiership}}
{{Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles squad 1978 NSWRFL premiership}}
{{Halifax RLFC - 1987 Challenge Cup Final winners}}
{{1973 Kangaroo Tour squad}}
{{Australia squad 1975 Rugby League World Cup}}
{{Australia 1977 Rugby League World Cup final squad}}
{{1978 Kangaroo Tour squad}}
{{National Rugby League top points scorers}}
{{Rothmans Medallists}}
{{Lance Todd Trophy winners}}
{{New South Wales - Inaugural State of Origin team}}
{{Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 60th Anniversary Dream Team}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eadie, Graham}}
[[Category:1953 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Australia national rugby league team players]]
[[Category:Australian expatriate rugby league players in England]]
[[Category:Australian rugby league coaches]]
[[Category:Australian rugby league players]]
[[Category:City New South Wales rugby league team players]]
[[Category:Clive Churchill Medal winners]]
[[Category:Halifax Panthers players]]
[[Category:Lance Todd Trophy winners]]
[[Category:Manly Warringah Sea Eagles captains]]
[[Category:Manly Warringah Sea Eagles players]]
[[Category:New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin players]]
[[Category:Rugby league fullbacks]]
[[Category:Rugby league players from Woy Woy]]
[[Category:20th-century Australian sportsmen]]