Nathan Blacklock

The ‘Tingha Tornado’ became the first player in the history of the game to top the try-scoring list three years in succession (1999-01). In the 1999 grand final, the electrifying winger scored one of the most amazing tries seen in a premiership decider when he fielded a kick on the full and raced over fifty metres untouched to score under the posts. At the end of the 2000 season, Blacklock was awarded the Ken Stephen Memorial Award for services to the game. Consistently overlooked for rep duties because of perceived defensive lapses, Blacklock’s first taste of the ‘big time’ came in a rejuvenated City-Country fixture in 2001. The ARL then took the unusual step of taking him to NZ for the one-off Test as a shadow player. It was no surprise, then, to see Blacklock’s name read out in the Kangaroo squad at year’s end. Making his Test debut against Papua New Guinea in Port Moresby, local fans revelled in his characteristic back flip after his crossed for his second try. On the shortened Kangaroo Tour, Blacklock was called into the Ashes-deciding Third Test after an injury to winger Lote Tuqiri. The following year he left the club for an ill-advised tilt at a rugby union career with the NSW Waratahs. Despite a spectacular try for the Blues in one match in 2003, Blacklock languished in club rugby for much of the year before returning to the Dragons. He left the club for good at the end of 2004 – having scored a century of tries in just six seasons – to play for Hull in the English Super League.