Alan Tongue walked into the change room for his NRL debut and had to pinch himself. The little tackling machine from Tamworth was about to play alongside Laurie Daley, Brett Mullins, David Furner and Jason Croker in his first game for the Canberra Raiders. He was about to run on to the field to play against a stacked Brisbane Broncos side, boasting the likes of Shane Webcke, Wendell Sailor, Lote Tuqiri, Darren Lockyer, Kevin Walters and Gorden Tallis. That moment in 2000 paints the perfect picture of Tongue's career, because while he was never the biggest or the best, he belonged next to rugby league's biggest names. "You know and every [rugby league] fan knows, I wasn't the most gifted rugby league player to lace on a boot," Tongue said.
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https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/6489907/tongue-of-courage-raiders-great-gets-hall-of-fame-nod/?cs=14239
Topic: Tongue of courage: Raiders great gets hall of fame nod
