Jimmy Craig

In the rugby league seasons between the two World Wars, the name Jimmy Craig was synonymous with versatility. A Balmain junior, Craig could play any position in the backline and was even known to fill in at lock forward or hooker.

In seven Tests for Australia he played fullback, centreand halfback and was once described by the legendary Dally Messenger as the greatest player he ever saw.

Craig figured in premiership wins for Balmain in 1915–17 and 1919–20. Significantly, in 1918, when Craig did not play for the club, Balmain failed to win the title.

He was a star of the 1921–22 Kangaroos and later took his talents to Queensland, where his Ipswich team became a power of the game in the Bulimba Cup.

Craig returned to Sydney in 1929, joining Wests, and as captain-coach led the club to its first premiership success in 1930. During that season, Craig appeared in four positions in one game against Easts.

The Evening News reported that Craig, who started at halfback, packed into the second row at one point of the first half while hooker Bob Lindfield was down injured.

Later in the half, according to the paper ''Craig occasionally went in to lock the scrum''. And in the minutes before halftime, ''Craig had now fallen to fullback, with McMillan an extra five-eighth''.