GREATER Northern's four Tigers representative sides will all wear black armbands in Saturday's Country Championship matches at Lismore in memory of Scone and Northern Division star Don "Bandy" Adams.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Adams passed away in Scone on Wednesday.
Born in Maitland in 1934, he played for his home side Maitland, winning a number of premierships in the process.
He also represented NSW Country Firsts in 1955-56 before gaining selection in the 1956 NSW and Australian teams.
He played five Tests for his country, scoring five tries and was named man of the match in one against Great Britain at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
He also played nine games for NSW and posted nine tries for his state and two for Country Firsts.
Adams moved to Scone in 1968 to play for the Scone Thoroughbreds.
Unbeaten all year, the Thoroughbreds lost the Hunter Valley Group 21 grand final to Denman at Muswellbrook.
However, Adams then captain-coached the side to success in 1969 and 1970.
He also won another premiership in 1976 and played for Northern Division (now Greater Northern).
In 1979 he was also a selector for Northern Division and picked the Cleal boys, Les and Noel, who were playing at Scone, on the wing against Great Britain.
The two giants from Warialda played on opposite sides of the field and terrorised the Englishmen, registering a great win and backing Adams' faith in them.
The Northern Division squad also toured New Zealand that year and gave Adams some of his fondest memories.
He didn't just coach Scone's first grade sides either.
He also mentored the under-18s in the 1970-80 period.
They played in every grand final in that decade and Adams coached four or five of those teams to premierships as well as the first grade outfits.
His sons and grandsons have also starred for the Thoroughbreds as well as Northern Division and in the NRL.
His memory will be richly noted by the Tigers rep sides in Lismore when they wear their black armbands in memory of a true great, on and off the field, of the game.
His funeral will take place from 11am next Tuesday, March 10, at the Scone Catholic Church.
Greater Northern has four teams playing Northern Rivers Titans at Crozier Oval, Lismore on Saturday.
The Steve Haylen-coached under-16s kick off the day at 10am when they play the Titans seeking their first win in four games of the Andrew Johns Cup campaign.
GREATER NORTHERN TIGERS
Teams to play Northern Rivers Titans at Crozier Oval, Lismore on Saturday, March 7
GNT UNDER-16s (kick-off 10am):
1 Malik Hunt (Aberdeen), 2 Lewis Hippi (North Tamworth), 3 Corben Hampstead (Singleton), 4 Hunter Marsh (Denman), 5 Matthew Jones (Aberdeen), 6 Kurt Fisher (Gunnedah), 7 Jermaine Craigie (Moree), 8 Thomas Donehue (Singleton), 9 Junuh Warden (Scone), 10 Maxwell Smith (Farrer), 11 Billy Youman (Guyra), 12 Ben Jones (Aberdeen), 13 Malakai Griffiths (Glen Innes), 14 Aidan Bermingham (Farrer), 15 Gus Smith (Narrabri), 16 Joash Boney (North Tamworth), 17 Jake Clydsdale (Scone), 18 Jack Grob (Glen Innes). Coach - Steve Haylen (Muswellbrook), assistant coach - Brad McManus (North Tamworth).
GNT UNDER-18s (kick-off 11.30am):
1 Brayden Reid (Kootingal), 2 Blair Maloney (Dungowan), 3 Jacob Sukanaivalu (Singleton), 4 Luke Smith (Denman), 5 Blair Maloney (Farrer), 6 Mitch Henderson (Kootingal), 7 Pichai Dixon (Aberdeen), 8 Mark Simon (North Tamworth), 9 Liam Ball (North Tamworth), 10 Jack Todd (Dungowan), 11 Dan Kelly (North Tamworth), 12 Jackson Shade (Singleton), 13 Kalab McMillan-Basset (Narrabri), 14 Blake Ginman (Dungowan), 15 Kobe Bone (North Tamworth), 16 Hugh Collins (Aberdeen), 17 Seb Pianko (North Tamworth), 18 Toby Taggart (Kootingal). Coach - Tom Learoyd-Lahrs (North Tamworth), assistant coach - Richard Ingram (North Tamworth).
GNT UNDER-23s (kick-off 2.15pm):
1 Steve McGrady (Tingha), 2 Brennan Cosgrove (Bingara), 3 Hamish Wolfgang (Aberdeen), 4 Will Nieuwenhuise (Singleton), 5 Brady Curry (Scone), 6 Bailey Taylor vc (Muswellbrook), 7 Scott Berry (Dungowan), 8 Isaac Austin capt (Scone), 9 Ryan Ingram (North Tamworth), 10 Lincon Smith (Gunnedah), 11 Tyler LePrince-Campbell (Aberdeen), 12 Morgan Amidy (Singleton), 13 Jack Patterson (North Tamworth), 14 Ryan Hawkshaw (Scone), 15 Mitchell Sheridan (North Tamworth), 16 Bailey Cosgrove (Bingara), 17 Fraser Evans (Denman), 18 Isaac Harris (Gunnedah). Coach: Aaron Watts (Scone), Manager: Kevin Watts (Scone).
GNT WOMEN'S TACKLE (kick-off 1pm):
1 Hannah Rando (Murrurundi), 2 Lucy Prudden (Merriwa), 3 Shae Pemberton, 4 Shai Blackadder (Merriwa), 5 Tanika Darcy (Werris Creek), 6 Amy Barraclough (Glen Innes), 7 Lenikki Craigie (Glen Innes), 8 Gaynor Blackadder vc (Merriwa), 9 Sarah Stewart (Gunnedah), 10 Amelia Tunamena (Glen Innes), 11 Antoinette Wenner (Narrabri), 12 Lauren Clarke Glen Innes), 13 Kate Brown (Murrurundi), 14 Caitlin Albury (Aberdeen), 15 Jessica Baker (Werris Creek), 16 Joan O'Leary (South West Robins), 17 Jayne Bevitt (Manilla), 18 Tobi-Lee Clough (Werris Creek). Coach: Mick Schmiedel (Tamworth), manageress Adelaide Monica (Tamworth), Trainers: Kate McCulloch (Armidale), Kim Bevistock (Aberdeen), Tash Allen (Kootingal).
