Terry Randall 1970 to 1982

Tuesday, 27 February 2007 05:00

Terry Igor Randall is one the legendary Sea Eagles. Igor was probably the most feared tackler of the 1970s and 1980s and his was the cornerstone of the Manly forward packs that saw the club win four premierships during that period.

A Manly junior from the North Curl Curl club he began his career as a centre but his furiosus defence had him packing down in the second row after a short time. His no nonsense approach to the game and the massive hits he put on opponents saw him making regular appearances before the judiciary Terry Igor Randall is one the legendary Sea Eagles. Igor was probably the most feared tackler of the 1970s and 1980s and his was the cornerstone of the Manly forward packs that saw the club win four premierships during that period.

A Manly junior from the North Curl Curl club he began his career as a centre but his furiosus defence had him packing down in the second row after a short time. His no nonsense approach to the game and the massive hits he put on opponents saw him making regular appearances before the judiciary during his magnificent career.

However that approach brought the Sea Eagles many wins as it gave the Manly backs like Fulton, Eadie and Gartner the room to weave their magic. Such is his legend, Randalls savage play is still fondly recalled by both team mates and opponents alike some 25 years after his retirement.

When the game got tough Randall just got tougher. Whether in defence or attack he was like the emu and the kangaroo, he never took a backward step.

The best example of this was the wild semi final between Manly and Newtown in 1981 made famous by the Mark Broadhurst, Steve Bowden head butting incident. An all in brawl erupted and both teams traded blows and many vicious one on one encounters occurred. However Randall was faced by two Newtown Jets players who were intent on taking out the Manly enforcer.

Randall duly held his own and when he had one of his attackers on the ground he repeatedly kicked his opponent in the head to put his stamp of authority on the game. Randall got his marching orders and both teams were left with 12 men after Newtowns Steve Bowden also got sent off. Bowdens send off has gone down in history somehow Randalls discretion was just something that was expected of the footballing warrior.

The most successful period in the clubs history coincided with Igors reign of terror. He played 208 1st grade games for the club scoring 21 tries, he retired after the clubs 1982 grand final loss to Parramatta, the only grand final Randall lost during his career.

He represented his state 14 times but although not being credited with playing in test for Australia he played numerous world cup games for the green & gold, which amazingly were not given test status in the 1970s.

After retiring he spent many years on the board of the Leagues Club and also coached for a time in the lower grades. In recent years his son Chad continued the Randall legacy playing a number of seasons in the NRL for the Sea Eagles.

Even after 12 seasons of giving his body an absolute battering for the Maroon & White, Terry is still a regular attendee at Brookvale to this day and is always happy to have a chat to supporters who remember his many feats in the Manly jumper.

Terry Randall nice man, cruel defence

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