Career
A Country New South Wales representative forward, he captained the Canberra Raiders for several seasons in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. While attending Farrer Memorial Agricultural High School in 1998, Tongue was selected to play for his country in the Australian Schoolboys team He spent the majority of his early years moving between the backrow and the interchange bench.
He established his position within the side in 2005, and in 2006 Tongue broke the record for most tackles in the regular season with 1,087.
The next highest ranking player was Nathan Hindmarsh with 911. At the end of the 2008 NRL regular season, Tongue was awarded Dally M recognition for Lock of the Year and Captain of the Year after leading the Raiders to 6th on the competition ladder.
Tongue was also named in the Prime Minister"s XIII at the end of 2008. Tongue was selected in the City vs Country match on 8 May 2009.
In this game he scored a rare try in a 40-18 defeat.
In his 200th game for Canberra, on 28 August 2010, a Tongue supporter commented on the opposition (North Queensland Cowboys, through its player Willie Mason) in a sexually suggestive crowd poster shown prominently at the stadium and in television coverage: "Who needs a Big Willie when you have a great Tongue?". Tongue announced his retirement on 17 August 2011. Tongue is an Australian Apprenticeships Ambassador for the Australian Government and an Apprentice Mentor in the NRL"s Trade Uttar Pradesh With The NRL Program.