Publisher Description

He was the greatest footballer that I have ever seen and the best forward the game ever saw. And he was such a bloody good bloke ... a man of his word. I can't believe he's gone. the game has lost a great friend and a great man. tommy Raudonikisthe sudden death of rugby league giant Arthur Beetson OAM on 31 November 2011 unleashed a wave of emotion rarely before experienced in a game that has been labelled the most demanding on the planet. Hard men cried that day, among them some of the toughest characters that Australian sport has ever produced. Beetson proved himself a rugby league genius - whether at prop forward or second row, he is acknowledged as the greatest ball-playing forward the game has seen. And in becoming both the first indigenous player to captain his country in a major sport and, later, the towering inspiration for league's great innovation of modern times - State of Origin football - he has left behind legacies that will last as long as the game is played. Big Artie is Beetson's candid autobiography, told in Beetson's typical boots'n all manner - as you would expect from a man who played 372 matches of senior rugby league, most of them at the highest, fiercest level. Most I just broke up, I just started crying ... and I'm proud of it. Fellow league legend Johnny Raper, on hearing of the death of Big ArtieHe could do it all on a football field. He was an entertainer ... and a great player. the view of the late, legendary coach Jack Gibson on Arthur Beetson

Long Description

Arthur Beetson was the biggest and best player - and personality - of a football era that most rugby league fans over the age of 35 remember fondly, vividly, with great passion. The son of a member of the Stolen Generation, Arthur was a great forward, who won Tests and Grand Finals, but who was often sent off in crucial games, was once dropped while Australian captain and was even linked to the mysterious death of a team mate in a pub brawl. A popular image was of Beetson with meat pie in hand and his coaches sometimes questioned his work ethic. But as the game became a major television sport he evolved into the face of league. Arthur was the first Aborigine to captain his country in a major sport. Artie remained Australian skipper until 1977, and in 1980, in a famous farewell, inspired Queensland to victory in the inaugural State of Origin match. His legendary clash with Eels colleague Mick Cronin, which emphatically refuted suggestions that clubmates might go easy on each other, is still arguably the most significant of all Origin incidents. Today he is an Australian selector, a father figure at Easts, and a larrikin raconteur with a million yarns. He has witnessed close up all the big stories in rugby league - and many of the funniest - for 37 seasons (and been the pivotal figure in m

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