Robbie McCormack was one of the originals when the Newcastle Knights joined the New South Wales Rugby League competition in 1988. He would remain with the club for nine years and go on to play more than 150 first grade matches for the Knights. He played a major role in getting Newcastle into the Play-Offs for the first time in 1992, a year that saw McCormack represent New South Wales in State Of Origin football.

“We had a good year in 1992.” He recalls,

“And everything seemed to be going well for me; it was a great feeling to play State Of Origin football because there were so many good players back then.”

He made his Origin debut in the opening match, coming off the bench in New South Wales’ 12-6 win over Queensland. Amongst the squad were Andrew Ettingshausen, Ben Elias, Bradley Clyde and Laurie Daley. McCormack made one more appearance for the Blues when he was in starting line up for game number two in 1993, It finished New South Wales 16-12 to win the series, but he had to make way for Ben Elias in the third and final match, a game that saw Queensland win 24-12.

He signed up with Super League and was soon playing for the Hunter Mariners in what would be their only season in 1997. Many of the fans in the Newcastle district boycotted the Mariners as war broke out between themselves and the Knights.

“That’s a long time ago. Plenty of water has passed under the bridge since then. We had a good squad with the likes of Brett Kimorley, Scott Hill, Robbie Ross and Paul Marquet on board,” said McCormack.

The Hunter Mariners just missed out on a spot in the semi-finals but reached the final of the World Club Challenge, going down to the Brisbane Broncos.

It was ironic that a year after leaving the Newcastle Knights, they would go on to win the Australian Rugby League (ARL) Grand Final with a last gasp 22-16 win over Manly. With both Super League and the ARL aware that two separate competitions were killing each other’s organisation, it was in their best interests that they should combine to form one competition. The Hunter Mariners and the South Queensland Crushers were both axed leaving McCormack without a club.

John Monie, who was coaching Wigan at the time, got in touch with McCormack and offered him one-year deal. He made his debut in the Challenge Cup match against Keighley at Cougar Park, scoring a try in the 76-0 whitewash that saw Jason Robinson race in for three tries.

“I loved it over there. I had a great time and everyone was fantastic. The fans were great and made more noise than 25,000 fans at Newcastle,” said McCormack,

“The intensity wasn’t there when you compared it to Australia. In England, you play hard matches from time to time but in Australia it’s a different matter because there are no easy games.”

McCormack played in 29 out of a possible 30 matches for Wigan, scoring three tries. He played hooker in the Super League Grand Final against Leeds. A crowd of 43,553 saw the Warriors win 10-4 at Old Trafford, Manchester, in what was the first Grand Final played in England. McCormack also played at the famous Wembley Stadium, before it was demolished when Wigan were beaten 168-8 by Sheffield in one of the biggest upsets in the history of the game. He was keen to stay for another year but Wigan had no room for him and he was forced to return to Australia.

“I wanted to stay another season but they signed a lot of new players and there was no room for me. My missus wanted to come home as well so I had no choice” he said.

He was captain-coach for Central Charlestown in the local Newcastle competition for two years before calling it a day at the end of the 2000 season. Since then he hasn’t been involved in Rugby League in any capacity, spending most of his time working as a scaffolder.

“At the moment, I haven’t got the time but I would love to get back to coaching. I believe I have the experience to make a difference,” said McCormack who is married with three children.

None of his three kids play Rugby League but his eldest son Geoff, after coming to England to play League, started to play Rugby Union.

McCormack remembers his time at Wigan with fond memories saying,

“I had a great time at Wigan and it’s something I will never forget. Everyone at Wigan was great.”

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