Craig Young was born on 25 June 1956 and is an Australian former representative rugby league footballer for the Australia national rugby league team, the New South Wales Blues and a stalwart player over 11 seasons from 1977 to 1988 with the St George Dragons in the NSWRL premiership competition.
18 Facts About Craig Young
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Craig Young had a strong grounding in the sport of soccer as a youngster and might have followed in his father's footsteps and turned professional.
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Craig Young's brother Warwick was a goalkeeper who played state league soccer for the Wollongong Wolves and for St George.
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At the age of 16, Craig Young was playing for Bellambi in the Illawarra soccer competition while he was competing for Corrimal Cougars in rugby league.
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League eventually won the battle and Craig Young was selected to tour Great Britain as an Australian Schoolboys team in 1972.
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Craig Young's signature was chased by several clubs but the St George Dragons eventually secured his services, and went on to become one of their greatest players.
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In 1979, Craig Young was awarded captaincy of the Dragons' side and at 22 years of age led the side to its 15th title.
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Craig Young captained the side through tougher times up till 1988 including the 1985 Grand Final loss to the Canterbury Bulldogs.
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Craig Young was selected for the 1978 Kangaroo Tour and played in all five Tests and eleven Tour matches.
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Craig Young first represented for New South Wales in 1979, making five appearances under the old selection rules.
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Craig Young was selected for the Blues in the first ever State of Origin fixture in 1980 and made four further State of Origin appearances up till 1984.
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In 1982 Craig Young was named man-of-the-match in Australia's series-winning second test match against New Zealand.
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Craig Young took up a coaching role at the Dragons in 1989 for two seasons until he was replaced by Brian Smith at the beginning of the 1991 season.
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Craig Young returned to the Dragons' coaching staff as recruitment manager in 2003.
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Since 2005, Craig Young has had a role as team manager with the New South Wales Blues squads.
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Craig Young is the father of former Dragons hooker Dean Craig Young, who played in the club's 2010 premiership team and later coached the club in 2020.
17.
Craig Young was awarded Life Membership of the St George Dragons in 1988.
18.
On 20 July 2022, Craig Young was named in the St George Dragons District Rugby League Clubs team of the century.