Agmates Editor Steve Truman writes:
In the early 1980’s I played Rugby League for the Taroom-Wandoan Battlers in the Roma Rugby League competition.
Roma is renowned far and wide for being a production line of champions - Arthur Beetson, Ray Higgs, Charlie Frith (Pictured), Wally Fullerton-Smith, Willy Carne and Darren Lockyer are some of the best-known.
In 1982 after finishing a stellar career with the South Sydney Rabbitoh’s Charlie Frith returned home to the farm and played for the Wallumbilla Herefords.
Growing up in NSW I’d seen a lot of Charlie on TV and was very wary of the big man. QLD hardly got any NSW rugby league on TV in those days and none of my team mates or friends would really believe me when I told them of how lethal a Frith hit was.
Finally I can relay it now. Below is an extract from the article -
‘Enforcers being rubbed out of the Game‘ on the Courier Mail NRL web site. The article says:
“But perhaps the greatest tackle belongs to 1970s Rabbitoh Charlie Frith, who hit Wests prop Bill Cloughessy like a bag full of hammers.
Whacked him so hard that when Cloughessy was rolled over, all his teeth fell out.
“Mate, what if I’ve killed him?” Frith nervously asked fellow Bunnie Paul Sait as they stood over the carcass.
“Well,” came the reply, “kill another one.”
These days you’ll often see Charlie around the Roma saleyards. He is mild mannered, humble and all round terrific bloke who runs a great cattle operation near Roma.
If you didn’t know his past you’d never guess (and Charlie would never tell you) that he was one of the most destructive defenders to ever play the game of Rugby League in the toughest competition in the world. A true warrior and champion.
If you love Rugby League and the hard men that have played it over the years you will enjoy the Courier Mail article.
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Did you ever see Charlie play for Souths?
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I saw him play at Redfern. Souths weren’t that strong then but Charlie was. Christ he could hit,