Tommy Raudonikis gets personal in attack on NSW Blues Origin coach Laurie Daley
- From: News Limited Network
- February 04, 2014
Tommy Raudonikis lets fly at Laurie Daley 0:50
Tommy Raudonikis has launched a scathing personal attack on NSW Origin coach Laurie Daley, after the Blues mentor failed to invite him to a dinner of past Origin legends.
Tommy Raudonikis. Picture: Annette Dew Source: News Limited
NSW great Tommy Raudonikis has launched a blistering personal attack on Blues coach Laurie Daley.
Raudonikis, fuming at not being invited to a NSW dinner last month, took aim at the size of Daley's nose and branded Blues' assistant Trent Barrett "the most overrated player".
Raudonikis failed to get an invitation because he's not a former "winning captain" - the invitations going only to series winners.
Gavin Miller (1989), Ray Price (1983-84) and Max Krilich (1982-83) also missed invitations on the same grounds.
How we broke the story: Tommy on the outer
"Look, I'm a winner, I'm not a loser, and for him to only invite winning captains, well mate, I am cut to the bone," Raudonikis told Triple M's The Grill Team this morning.
"My great mate Arthur Beetson, he was invited to every State of Origin Queensland function and we kicked the damn thing off.
"Now, look mate, I'm that filthy and Laurie Daley wants to have a good look at himself and have a look at the staff.
"He also mentioned that when I go down to State of Origin or whatever, I bagged the players - well, why wouldn't I bag them? After losing for eight, for eight years, they deserve bagging."
Former NSW Origin player and coach Tommy Raudonikis. Source: News Limited
Raudonikis's spray soon turned personal.
"I'll tell you something about Laurie Daley, I think his big nose is getting in the way of a lot of things.
"Mate, he's got to teach New South Wales how to win, he hasn't done that.
"And another thing, I spoke to the New South Wales team a number of years ago and OK, they probably said 'who's this silly old bastard?' You know, if they would have listened to what I told them about hatred and winning, they mightn't be in this predicament today.
"I really mean that guys. New South Wales are very, very lucky that their supporters haven't turfed them…
"If your business is going bad, don't you sack people? Trent Barrett, he's the most overrated player. Now, I'm getting a bit nasty here, but why wouldn't I? That's the way I am."
Laurie Daley at NSW training. Source: News Limited
Daley said Raudonikis wasn't left off the invitation list as a directive.
"No one has got an issue with him in terms of a bloke, it's just that every time Origin rolls around they just cop it," Daley said.
"But it wasn't a directive at all.
"They have done all different ones and I was trying to do something a little different. I wanted to have the winning captains there.
"It wasn't a snub of anyone in particular."
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