BY JOHN DAVIDSON
Malcolm Reilly has hailed his friend and former teammate Bob Fulton as one of rugby league’s greatest of all-time following the Australian’s sad passing.
Fulton died at the age of 73 on Sunday after a battle with cancer.
Together at Manly in the 1970s the pair won two premierships in Australia, and then faced off against each other in the international arena with Reilly representing Great Britain and England, and Fulton with the Kangaroos.
In the 1990s they locked horns as rival coaches for the Lions and Australia, and then famously as coaches of Newcastle Knights and the Sea Eagles in clubland down under in the mid-1990s, including in the 1997 ARL grand final.
The pair remained close friends for 50 years and a tearful Reilly said today he was stunned by the news of Fulton’s death.
“It’s heart-breaking, I just can’t believe it,” he told rugbyleagyehub.com Long Reads.
“He was just a fitness fanatic, but cancer doesn’t take prisoners. It’s very sad. We were very good mates.
“We played together, we coached against each other. He was the ultimate professional. I was so pleased that we were friends, you can’t be anything else when you’ve been in those situations [on the field] together.
“He was just immensely physical fit when we played. He had so many wonderful attributes as a player, I was in awe of him actually.”
Fulton was a star centre for Manly, the Roosters, NSW and Australia from 1966 to his retirement in 1979. He won three World Cups with the green and gold, won three grand finals with the Sea Eagles and then went on to have a successful coaching career for both club and country.
In 1981 Fulton, nicknamed ‘Bozo’, was named as one of the four original ‘Immortals’ of the Australian game along with Johnny Raper, Clive Churchill and Reg Gasnier.
Reilly believes the 73-year-old was one of the best three players he has ever seen in his lifetime.
“Honestly he’d be within the top three,” the Englishman said.
“And I wouldn’t name the one to three either, when you start talking about that level of brilliance – people like Andrew Johns would be in that category.
‘Boze’ was unique, he would have succeeded in any era of the game, not just when we played. Just a fantastic player.
“Preparation, that was the key thing. He helped me a little bit, when I went to Australia, to regain my fitness.
“I started to go and train a little bit with him and he was so powerful in the collision. He dominated the position he played.
“I have immense respect for him as a player and as a coach. We had a great understanding together and it makes me feel very sad.”
Fulton led Australia for a decade, with World Cup wins in 1992 and 1995 and on Kangaroo tours in 1990 and 1994.
Reilly said the pair remained friends despite coaching against other at the elite level.
“There was a Test, I remember the Kangaroos were in Leeds and the following day we were playing a pretty important Test match against Australia,” he said.
“Bob was coaching them and I was with Great Britain, and we went out together for a drink. And we never mentioned the game once, it never came into our thoughts.
“Subconsciously both of us would have been concerned about the outcome and the preparation, but we just went out together as two good mates. Had a few beers and a laugh and caught up with each other.”
Fulton kept his illness private and his passing on the weekend came as a huge surprise to most.
“I had no idea he was sick to be honest, it was a huge shock when I heard the news,” an emotional Reilly admitted.
“Rugby league won’t be the same without him, it’s made me really sad.”
