JIM CRAIG (RUGBY LEAGUE)

'James Hampton Craig' (1895 - 1959) was an Australian rugby league player. He was a versatile back for the Australian national team. He played in 7 Tests between 1921 and 1928 as captain on 3 occasions.

Contents

Club career

Versatility

Representative career

Post playing

Matches played

Sources

Footnotes

Club career

Craig grew up in Balmain in Sydney and made his first grade debut as a winger in 1915 with the Balmain Tigers. He played five seasons with the club excluding 1918 when he was on military duty. Balmain won the premiership in all five of those years.
Following his Kangaroo Tour representative appearances in 1922 he played a season with the University club in Sydney. Then in 1923 he relocated to Queensland and took the captain-coach position with Ipswich for the next six seasons.
The last two seasons of his sixteen year career were with the Western Suburbs Magpies. He led the side to their maiden title over St George in 1930 in the first ever Grand Final played to determine the premiership.

Versatility

Jim Craig was a player of unparalleled versatility. It is known that he represented in Tests at fullback, centre, halfback and hooker with some of his club & tour football played at winger, five-eighth and lock forward. Whiticker's reference reports that the great Dally Messenger regarded Jim Craig as the greatest player Messenger ever saw. ^[1].

Representative career

He first represented for New South Wales against a touring English side in 1920. While a Queensland resident from 1923-28 he represented that state on 23 occasions and then in 1929 he twice again represented for New South Wales.
He was selected on the 1921-22 Kangaroo Tour of England and made his Test debut in the first Test at Leeds. He appeared in 23 minor tour matches notching a total of 58 points as a try scorer and goal kicker.
In the 1924 domestic Ashes series against England Craig was named as Australian captain in all three Tests. Again in 1928 he played in all three Tests of the domestic Ashes series in sides lead by his Queensland rival Tom Gorman.

Post playing

After football Craig coached Wests, Norths and Canterbury during the 1930s, helping Canterbury to their maiden premiership in 1938.

Matches played

Team	Matches	Years	Points
Balmain	53	1915 - 1921	108
University	12	1922	23
Ipswich		1923 - 1928
Western Suburbs	25	1929 - 1930	155
Queensland	23	1923 - 1928	100
New South Wales	3	1920 & 1929	19
Australia (Tests)	7	1921 - 1928	12

Sources

★ Whiticker, Alan (2004) ''Captaining the Kangaroos'', New Holland, Sydney

★ Andrews, Malcolm (2006) ''The ABC of Rugby League'' Austn Broadcasting Corpn, Sydney

Footnotes

1. Whiticker quote p77