By Velu Nuumaalii
On 20th April, 2010 Men of League Welfare Officer Velu Nuumaalii along with former Balmain players Peter Duffy, Steve Stains, Paul Dalziel and young up and coming Balmain Tigers player Kyle Lovett caught up with Balmain legend and current Fox sports commentator Wayne “Junior” Pearce to visit former Balmain head trainer Steve Craig, who is currently recovering in the Spinal ward at Prince of Wales Hospital.
Steve Craig fell off his roof late last year and injured his back on impact and severed his spinal cord which has left him as a paraplegic. Steve has been in hospital recovering for now seven months; however he has had some setbacks though, with blood clots and sternum problems. He has overcome those challenges with his positive attitude and determination, and is looking forward to getting back home and train.
During the visit, Steve was in his electric wheelchair, had a positive attitude towards his recovery and was in high spirits. One of the yarns he told during the visit about his recovery in hospital was: “last week me and a few young lads in the ward were racing down the corridors in our power wheelchairs, just for fun” which made everyone in the room laugh and Wayne Pearce said “mate you are still the same, causing trouble!”
Steve Craig is the man responsible for Wayne Pearce’s nickname “Junior” and during the visit, Steve Stains explained how the name “Junior” came about. He explained that Steve Craig’s nick name was “Flexi”, when he was the trainer for the Balmain Tigers, because he was a gym fanatic and fitness freak and every chance he got he would always flex his muscles during gym workouts. When Wayne Pearce was graded in 1979 and was under the wing of Steve, he developed into a fitness freak through Steve’s guidance. Wayne revolutionized the game with his training methods and healthy lifestyle and was also known to flex his muscles every chance he got. So the Balmain players called Wayne Pearce “Flexi –Junior” and Steve “Flexi - Senior”
There were many stories about Steve’s involvement with the club and his influence on developing players into champions and about other players’ characters in the club, which brought back a lot of good and funny memories for Steve.
Men of League presented Steve with a polar fleece jumper and a cap for summer which he appreciated and mentioned “mate I’ll use the cap for my workout session when I get home.”
Steve is a proud member of the Men of League Foundation; who joined back when it was formed in 2002, as member number 245. He is also a member at the Caringbah Bussiness & Sports club where they are organising a luncheon through the Men of League to help Steve when discharged from hospital.