Eachweekofour100thyear,
BigLeaguewillreflectonthe
storiesthathavecaptivated
andimpactedonthegreat
game of rugby league.100CELEBRATINGYEARS OF YARNSD
ENNISTuttywasinthe
primeofhiscareerwhen
hestood– alone– against
theselfishpowerofrugbyleague
authoritywiththesilentsupport
ofa generationofplayers.
Hehadnoideahisstandwould
costhimtwoyearsofhiscareer,
hismarriage,givehima stomach
ulcerandalmostsendhimbroke.
Yethisstanceintakingthe
leaguetocourtandoverturning
themodelofclub‘ownership’of
individualplayersseeshimremain
a championofathlete’srights.
Therewasnoplayers’
associationinMarch,1968,when
TuttyfrontedBalmainTigersboss
KevinHumphreysandaskedfor
a payriseashis£500($1,000)
a yearcontracthadexpired.
Theruleatthetimewasthat
a player‘signed-on’fora clubat
thestartofhiscareerandwas
virtuallythepropertyofthatclub
untilit agreedtoreleasehimfor
a transferfee– paid to the club,
not the player.Hisrequestwasrefused,
andhisappealtotheNSWRL
failed,soheplayedthe 1968
seasononmatchpayments
aloneandworkedasa cleaner
atBalmainLeaguesClubafter
leavinghisjobasa clerk.
However,relationsbetweenhim
andtheclubhaddeteriorated,so
heagainapproachedHumphreys,
seekinga release.
Humphreys’replywastonot
onlyrefuse,buttoarrogantly
pokeTuttyinthechestand
declare“ifyoudon’tplayfor
usunderwhatwetellyouthen
youdon’tplayatall”.
ThreeBalmainteam-mates
alsoapproachedHumphreys
forpayincreasesorreleases–
futureImmortalArthurBeetson,
formerWallabyPeterJonesand
utilitybackLaurieMoraschi– but
theirrequestswerealsodenied
andtheyweregiventhesame
ultimatum.Beetsonstooddown
fora fewmatchesbutreturned,
while Tutty, Jones and Moraschisatoutthe 1969 season,missing
thechancetoplayinBalmain’s
lastpremiershipvictory.
Moraschiwasreleasedto
NorthSydneyattheendofthe
seasonfora $3,500feeandJones
returnedbrieflyin 1970 butnever
playedfirstgradeagain.Beetson
waseventuallyreleasedtothe
Roosters(fora $15,000fee)
wherehewontwopremierships.
Tutty,then 23 andapproaching
whatshouldhavebeenhisbest
years,refusedtobowtoBalmain’s
rigidattitudeandtheleague’srule
ofexclusivepossession.Hewas
introducedtoa Sydneysolicitor,
DavidMcKenzie,whofeltthere
wasa strongcasetochallenge
rugbyleague’semployment
rulesasa ‘restraintoftrade’.
Tutty,withnofinancialbacking
orpublicsupportfromother
players,tookonthechallenge
single-handedlyatgreatpersonal
cost.Hepresentedhisaffidavitto
courtinMay1969,waiteda year
for the case to be heard and it wasOctober 1970 beforetheSupreme
Courtfoundinhisfavour.
However,theNSWRugby
Leagueimmediatelyappealedto
theHighCourt.Shortonmoney
aslegalfeesincreased,Tutty,
aftermissingthe1969-70seasons,
wasforcedtoplayforBalmain
onmatchpaymentsonlyin1971.
InDecember 1971 theappeal
wasdismissedandthe‘retainand
transfer’systemwasoverturned.
Thelegalcasearchivedas‘Tutty
v Buckley’(theNSWRLpresident
wasBillBuckley)wasover.David
hadslayedGoliath– andseveral
othersportsusedhisvictoryas
a legalprecedent.
It ledtoa floodofplayers
becomingfreeagentsandsaw
thelikesofJohnO’Neill,Ray
Branighan(Manly)andRonCoote
(Roosters)leaveSouthSydney,
ParramattafavouritesonsDick
Thornett(Easts)andRonLynch
(Penrith)depart,andMaxBrown
(Manly)andJohnArmstrong
(Easts)leaveCanterbury
beforethe 1972 season.
Inessence,Tuttyhadpaid
exclusivelyfortheirnewfreedom
andwealth– indollars,exclusion
andhisowncareerdevelopment.
TuttyplayedwithPenrithfor
threeseasonsfrom 1972 andthe
Roostersin1975,butwasinjured
andmissedtheirgrandfinal
victory.Hehada farewellseason,
whenstilla veryfit30,with
Balmainin 1976 (withHumphreys
havingmovedontobetheNSWRL
andARLbossin1973).Tutty
thencoachedtheTigers’lower
gradesandhadoneseasonwith
thefirstgradesidein1980.
FormanyyearsTuttyhaslived
atForsterontheNSWnorth
coastandin 2008 theRugby
LeaguePlayersAssociation
honouredhisselflessdefiance
viaanannualawardfora player
whodisplaysleadershipand
a majorcontributiontothegame.It’salmostunthinkablethata clubwouldexclusivelyownplayersintheNRLera,buta modernstar’sabilitytotestthemarketislargely thanks to one man’s selfless efforts. ByNEIL CADIGAN.PHOTOS:NewspixRound 19BIG LEAGUE 2019 13