This week we catch up with our former captain, Alan Tongue.
Since making his NRL debut for the club in 2000, the versatile forward made 220 appearances for the club and scored 31 tries.
Tongue was named the 2008 Dally M Captain of the Year, 2008 Dally M Lock of the Year and also was the Canberra Raiders Player of the Year in 2006.
Alan Tongue
Canberra Raider #211
Appearances 220
What do you do for work now?
I work for the NRL as a community ambassador for the game so running a voice against violence program that I do a couple of days a week and I also run a mentoring program called the 'Aspire' program.
What's your favourite memory as a Raider?
When I captained the side for the first time against Manly in 2007. That was a really special time for me.
What did it mean to you to wear the Raiders jersey?
It means so many things on so many different levels. It gave me the opportunity to live out my childhood dream and it gave me an opportunity for mateships that I'll have for the rest of my life and it gave me some really valuable life lessons.
Who was your favourite teammate?
Early on it was Ruben Wiki. I loved playing alongside Rube, training alongside Rube and just hanging around him he's such a great guy. Kenny Nagas was a champion, I just loved playing cards with him every time we were on the bus and things like that. Josh Miller throughout the middle period and the backend of my time, just a lovely human being first and for most but a guy that you just love pulling on the same colour jersey with him because you just knew he was going to rip in and work hard for you.
Do you keep in touch with any of your former teammates?
Yeah there's half a dozen guys that I probably speak to more often but it's been great with out catch ups with the forever green boys and getting those back together again and I really want to keep building that with the club because Canberra is a bit like that and a lot of guys disperse but it's great when we all get back together.
What was your funniest moment as a Raider?
Just the general banter you used to get with blokes like Joel Monaghan, Josh Miller and Troy Thompson. Just those moments all the time when there is just constant banter going on at footy clubs which just makes it so fun.
Do you have any advice for any younger players?
I have this yarn that I tell them about '10,080' and we talk about the 10,000 that you need to look after as an individual. There's 60 minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day and there's seven days in a week and that equals 10,080 minutes in a week and if you get 10,000 right away from the field, it's just as important because all of those little things are shaping the person you are and the player that you become.
