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Lance Thompson talks through the highlights of his career


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THE rugby league community is in mourning after the sudden death of cult hero Lance Thompson.

The 40-year-old played with both the Dragons and the Sharks over an impressive 239-game career and has been remembered as a tough but genuine player who was the heart and soul of his teams.

A larrikin who was much-loved by fans and rivals alike, Thompson will be remembered for his wholeheartedness — from making his debut as a teenager while still at school, playing in two grand finals with the Dragons and two moments involving good friend Nathan Brown that became a part of rugby league folklore.

Recently, Thompson sat down with Fox Sports commentator Andrew Voss for an interview on The Fan, where he spoke about his legacy as a player, the famous falcon and the kindness Ricky Stuart showed to him when he was forced into retirement.

GRAND FINALS
Thompson played in two grand finals with the Dragons — one in 1996 and after the merger with Illawarra in 1999. Both were losses.

“We lost in ‘96, it was a bit of a blur,” he tells Voss.

“I was an 18-year-old schoolboy playing in a grand final but it was an amazing experience. The 1999 one is a sore point, not only for me but for a lot of Dragons players and fans.

“We amalgamated in 1999 and it was a tough time. We had a huge salary cap so we had a lot of great players so the expectations were pretty high. We pretty much exceeded those expectations where we started to gel as a team.”

THE FALCON
The topic then turns to the inevitable — that famous falcon when Dragons skipper Brown passes the ball at Thompson, who was falling to the ground, and he ‘falcons’ it.

It was Round 5 in 2000, the rematch between the grand finalists of the year before.

Anthony Mundine had created a lot of hype for the game with a few comments in the media, but Melbourne ran away with a 70-10 win.

“Here we go,” Thompson laughs when Voss mentions it, who then asks why Brown passed the ball.

“I’m still not sure,” he replies.

“I think his reaction after he passed it was pretty much priceless. There was a bloke in the background, a mystery sniper that I want you to know about.

“I thought ‘righto, I’ll take the hit up’ and started to run, but then Luke Bailey stuck out his leg and said ‘I’ll take it’ and that’s when I tripped over. I’m not sure why Nathan Brown passed it into my head, I’m still confused as to why he passed it. But all I’m doing is falling and that’s because of my man, Luke Bailey.”

SLAP HAPPY
The infamous slap incident happened once Brown began coaching the Dragons, with Trent Barrett copping a tap on the face during a sideline spray.

Thompson was on the end of Brown’s verbal tirade.

“The infamous three,” he says.

“I remember us all playing poorly, we were probably deserving of a fair spray. Whether Trent deserved to be slapped or not, I don’t know. Nathan’s admitted that though, and we all move on. We did deserve to get blasted and Nathan blasted us. Fair credit to him.”

EARLY RETIREMENT
Thompson was forced into early retirement due to chronic knee injuries despite having played 38 games for the Sharks and just two games of the 2008 season.

He describes his talk with then-coach Ricky Stuart, who allowed him to play his final game despite constant pain, enabling him to farewell his many fans properly.

“I said, I’m gone mate, can you give me one more game? And then I’ll retire for you,” Thompson says.

“To his credit, we sat down in the stands and shook hands and he gave me one more game. That’s a game I’ll always remember, I got to do a lap and there was a celebration at the start of the game where my family could see it and I scored a try which is something I’ll always remember.”

Despite his reputation as a gutsy and tough second-rower, Thompson’s representative career never went further than five games for City. He says injuries played their part, but he’s honoured to be remembered as a player both fans and opponents respected.

“I think injuries had a fair play in my career, maybe a fair bit of private life in the early stages but I was always a person to go out and give my all,” he says.

“I love my fans and I love my teammates and I can say that I was respected which is something that I’m proud of.”
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