Hail Tommy: Coach Turned Taxi Driver
Sun Herald
Sunday August 1, 1999
PICTURE it. The plane lands at Brisbane airport, you pick up your luggage and head to the taxi stand. And there at the wheel is Tommy Raudonikis - the man who less than a year earlier had piloted Wests' final season as a single entity in the NRL.
This is not as far-fetched as it seems.
"I'm not sure what I'm going to do next year if I don't get the job [as Wests Tigers coach]," Raudonikis said.
"There's a few options, like moving back to Brisbane, buying a small fleet of cabs and driving a couple of days a week.
"Or I could go back to the tomatoes, back to the markets.
"I want to stay with the club, but whatever happens next year, I'll land on my feet."
Raudonikis, like few others in professional sport, has little regard for outside opinion.
Whereas some would view his potential move into the taxi industry as a slide down the social scale, Raudonikis considers it another challenge.
"When I came down here, it was only going to be for two years," he said.
"It's been five now, and I've certainly learnt a lot in that time.
"Sure, there have been times after we've copped a 50-point flogging when you think if it really is worth it, and whether you should keep going, but you rally. You always rally.
"The last two years have probably been the toughest of my life.
"Who knows? Now Singo [John Singleton] has bought a few shares in the Broncos, I might end up CEO there."
© 1999 Sun Herald
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