WESTS legend Tom Raudonikis will be honoured for his services to the Magpies before the Tigers-Storm match at Campbelltown Stadium tomorrow night, but he's asked for the crowd to reserve a special cheer for Wests Tigers skipper Brett Hodgson.
Hodgson, a Campbelltown product, will play his last game at "home" and Raudonikis expressed frustration that the former NSW fullback was among the exodus of Aussie stars bound for England's Super League.
"Brett Hodgson has plenty of years left in him as an NRL player," Raudonikis said. "I can't believe he can't be exempt from the salary cap after all the years' service to Wests ... the NRL needs to entice players like him to stay here.
"How do we fill the void he leaves? I feel sorry for the supporters because they miss out."
Raudonikis returned to Campbelltown on Thursday to re-enact his innovative one-man 1990s marketing campaign. The former Wests coach would perch himself on the back of a tabletop truck and use a megaphone to encourage fans to attend Magpies home games.
It shouldn't be too hard to attract a crowd tomorrow night as the Wests Tigers play the star-studded Melbourne Storm.
"Being on the back of the truck brought back a lot of great memories and it pleased me to see so many people on the street," he said.
The former Australian halfback rued that league hadn't progressed far since he farewelled Campbelltown at the end of his coaching reign in 1999.
"I don't think it has come a long way," he said.
"The game has changed a lot - probably too much - because I don't want to see any more changes. There's a lot to be said about referees, clubs are struggling financially; there's a lot that needs to be looked at. There are some good games but there are plenty of not-so-good ones."
Source: The Sun-Herald



