Terry Lamb

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Terry Lamb : biography

15 September 1961 –

Balmain led 6-4 with the Tigers scoring thanks to a mistake from Bulldogs fullback Jason Alchin. Hanley was wrapped up low by Andrew Farrar and as he went to offload the ball Lamb finished off the tackle. He hit the ground in an awkward position and was out concussed. Lamb denied he deliberately took Hanley out and denied Canterbury went out of their way to target one individual. Lamb commented in his 1992 book that Balmain had other important players such as Wayne Pearce, Ben Elias, Paul Sironen and Garry Jack.

Speaking to in August 2005, Hanley was asked:

What do you remember about that infamous tackle by Terry Lamb? "I don’t know if it was caused by Terry Lamb, or if it was just my head hitting the ground. I couldn’t tell you because I have never looked at it since. Some people have said Terry got a good shot on me. I suspect, however, it was more a case of my head hitting the ground. I like to think it was accidental. Afterwards, I was concussed and didn’t know where I was. I didn’t regain all my faculties immediately so, from a safety point of view, I had to come off the football field. It was a shame, but it is a physical game and sometimes things like that happen."

Have you spoken to Lamb since then? "No, I never have. I have never bumped into him. I have to say I respect him as a footballer. I don’t know him as a person, but by all accounts he is a good guy. Let me be clear that I have no malice towards him, none at all, regardless of the incident being deliberate or accidental."

The New South Wales Rugby League despite all the media pressure backed up Lamb’s version of events and deemed he had no case to answer. Lamb was later selected in the Australian squad for the World Cup Final against New Zealand at Eden Park. Lamb was again selected as a replacement and came on the field after 20 minutes when captain Wally Lewis broke his arm. It was to be Lamb’s last match in Australian colours.

Canterbury endured a tough year in 1989 as the ‘Wozzaball’ era out Belmore way was coming to a rapid close. Lamb didn’t have his best season where it was affected by injuries and off-field dramas. He played one final match for NSW with the Blues going down 36-6. He was out injured for the middle part of the season and missed selection for the New Zealand Tour.

After the 1989 season, Phil Gould was removed as coach with Chris Anderson taking over.

Coaching career

Lamb went straight from playing to coaching immediately after his retirement. Lamb was trainer in Chris Anderson’s last year at Canterbury and took on the reserve grade position in 1998 with Steve Folkes promoted to the top grade side. Lamb immediately tasted success steering the 1998 reserve grade side to a premiership and backed that up with a premiership in 2000. Lamb was also trainer for the first grade side.

The coaching success Lamb enjoyed in the lower grades saw him land the Wests Tigers head coaching position in 2001. However, the move to first grade proved to be a ‘king hit’ to his future coaching ambitions. This was a disastrous period for Wests Tigers, finishing in the bottom three in both 2001 and 2002. The club was plagued by player ill-discipline and suffered the embarrassment of the infamous finger-poking incident. Wests Tigers decided to revamp their coaching structure and replaced Lamb with Tim Sheens in 2003.

The salary cap dramas that were emerging at Canterbury saw Lamb return to the club and take up a position as director of the football club, which he held until the end of 2005. Lamb was rushed back to add stability through a tough time in the club.

Lamb coached the Cabramatta Jim Beam Cup side in 2005 and in 2006 accepted a marketing/coaching position at the Bulldogs. This appointment meant that Lamb stood down from his position as Football Club Director. Lamb returned to coaching again at the Bulldogs in 2008 when he was appointed as the Bulldogs NSW VB Cup Coach.

Western Suburbs Magpies career

Lamb was a non-playing reserve for the Canterbury Third Grade side in 1979 and was hopeful of a contract with his junior side in 1980. Lamb was told the best he could hope for was a position in the Presidents Cup (Under 21’s) side. Lamb believed he could play first grade and signed when Wests gave him the opportunity. Lamb impressed in the trials to win himself a contract, however he started off in Third Grade where he played six matches. Lamb only played one Reserve Grade match where he was called up to play halfback in the Amco Cup. Lamb was Man of the Match.