One of the most 1970s rugby league things is a wild man with wild hair and ‘mo charging in, and Bruce McLeod ticks all those boxes. The Diehard became a Tiger and won over a new legion of fans with a Tiger premiership.
How did you get to Valleys?
I went to Padua College and a lot of Padua go to Brothers, but I was always a Valleys man and wanted to play for Valleys. I went to Valleys and went up through the grades to A grade.
Can you remember your debut for Valleys?
Sure can 1972, Easts at Langlands Park and I was only 18 in the second row. I got to play with my hero Marty Scanlan. John McCabe was out injured so in I came.
I won a George Symons suit. I got to go into the city and be measured up for a $100 suit. Can you believe that $100 suit in 1972 might as well have been million.
Grand Finals come straight away; Valleys was a such a great team?
I came into this great Valleys team with Marty Scanlan, Mick Retchless, Hugh O’Doherty, John Crilly and all these McCabe boys. I just couldn’t believe it. Big Al, what a player and mate.
I sat on the sideline in 1972 and watched Fyfe break all our hearts.
Favourite Diehard?
Favourite Diehard is Ian Sommer, just a great mate, I miss him. He wasn’t the most skilful player ever, but he just didn’t stop trying.
If you won a man of the match award during the season from the main game on a Sunday at Lang Park, you went into this draw to win a block of land at Redcliffe. So, Ian and I have decided on the way to the draw we would go halves no matter who won. Ian has won and we went halves in a block of land at Redcliffe.
You move to the Tigers in 1978?
I got an offer from the Tigers that I couldn’t refuse, and it was a chance to play with that Tigers forward pack. Lang (pictured, left with McLeod), Morris, Morris, Currie and one of my best mates John Abbott.
1978 Grand Final, talk me through the incident with Wally?
Wally makes a break and chip kicks ahead we are shouldering for the ball and Wally falls over in the in-goal.
Some say penalty try.
My Valleys mate Trevor Johnson who was hooker in the 1978 Grand Final for Valleys has never forgiven me, he has the incident on his phone and shows people. We will be at the pub or golf, and he will pull people up and say would you give this a penalty try?
Who did you play with that would be a superstar today?
From Valleys, Charlie Firth, he was the best defender I have ever seen and from Easts Tigers Greg Holben.
Holben was fiery and he could give it out but he copped it too and never whinged.
Take me back to your unit in St Lucis in 1978, and the Grand Final looming with your two roommates?
I lived at St Lucia with Peter McWhirter and John Abbott, John and I were fine with it but ‘Squirter’ couldn’t handle living with us the week of the Grand Final and moved in with Tom Duggan at Clayfield. We didn’t make him move out.
When he came back after the Grand Final, we didn’t say anything. You want to win of course but you don’t want your mates to lose.
1978 Grand Final, time ticking away, and you give a nice pass to Greg Holben to score?
Lindenberg did some beautiful work, I think everyone was a little bit more worried about him than me. I just got the ball from Lindy and turned it inside to Holben and he ran away to score. At that stage of the game, we were keeping it alive to find a gap.
What was your job off the field?
I drove a brewery truck for XXXX.
Who didn’t you like playing against?
Norths at Norths just wasn’t fun. John Payne was one of my best mates and he never made things easy.
