Ben Elias
Benny Elias was another integral member of the successful Balmain Tigers side of the 1980’s. Elias was a hooker with great skills that revolutionised the role of the hooker forward. While many of his opponents were content to pass and serve their team-mates and run from dummy half when the opportunity arose, Benny would throw dummies, run to the line and attack with the flair that became his trademark.

Elias represented his beloved Tigers in first grade on 233 occasions between 1982 and 1994. Over these years Elias was a part of arguably the greatest Tigers pack of all time, when he combined with Steve Roach, Paul Sironen, Wayne Pearce, David Brooks, Kerry Hemsley and others.

Benny would also play for his state and country whilst also proudly captaining NSW to Origin glory. In 1998 two sides of Origin legends were chosen for their contributions to State of Origin and along with 3 of his Tiger team-mates Benny Elias was named as hooker in the NSW Legends side.

A moment etched in State of Origin history was when Laurie Daley replaced Benny as NSW captain. Benny was still in the team and when Daley was knocked out, Benny rose to the occasion and led the Blues to victory despite having several trips to the blood bin to stop the flow of blood from his head. Bandaged and bloody, Benny led the Blues and once the game was over, his proud mother ran on to give her son a hug.

Elias would also captain his beloved Tigers and when Alan Jones replaced Benny as captain and gave the honour to Paul Sironen it did not take long before Sironen relinquished the captaincy and returned it to his little team-mate who he knew would do a fine job.

As can be said for most of the Tigers of his era, Benny Elias personified the Tiger spirit. He was a fiery hooker who played with the guts and determination of a champion and also had the skills to make the game look easy.

Keith Barnes is full of praise for Benny Elias. In a new book, written by Gary Lester and Ray Chesterton, that is set for release soon, Barnes commented,

"I know no better ambassador for rugby league than Benny Elias. Why? Just go to any junior league function Benny attends. You will see a crowd of kids and there, in the middle and not much bigger than some of them is Benny Elias giving advice and signing autographs. That in itself is the inspiration. A little man with a big heart."

Barnes also cites three "occasions in his distinguished career where Benny showed his natural traits of guts, determination and genius for his club, his state and his country."

"The last round of the 1989 premiership saw us needing to beat Penrith to qualify for a top three position. Anyone who was there will never forget what happened right on half time when Benny kicked, regathered and threw several dummies to score a try. It broke the game wide open and set us on course for the 1989 Grand Final."

"The following year the Kangaroos lost the first Test to Great Britain. The recall of Benny for the second test saw him lead the way from dummy half to help us square the series and subsequently go on to retain the Ashes."

"Thirdly, in the 1993 State of Origin match at the Football Stadium as replacement captain for injured Laurie Daley, Benny, with his head streaming blood despite a bandage, refused to be replaced. He lifted NSW to a win against the odds."

"I would have liked to have added a fourth occasion but a small piece of wood got in the way" why can't they make cross bars on goalposts a bit thinner.

This profile was compiled by Anthony Sinclair.

Source: A new book written by Gary Lester and Ray Chesterton is in the process of being printed. Quotes from Keith Barnes were obtained from this publication.