Background
Young had a strong grounding in the sport of soccer as a youngster and might have followed in his father"s footsteps and turned professional (his father Bob Young represented Australia).
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Craig Young
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He played at prop-forward. At the age of 16, Craig was playing for Bellambi in the Illawarra soccer competition while he was also competing for Corrimal Cougars in rugby league. Young"s signature was chased by several clubs but the Saint George Dragons eventually secured his services, and went on to become one of their greatest players.
In his 1977 debut season coach Harry Bath claimed Young was destined for a great future and in that same year Young was instrumental in helping the Dragons take the premiership title, beating the Parramatta Eels in the grand final.
In 1979, Young was awarded captaincy of the Dragons" side and at 22 years of age led the side to its 15th title. He captained the side through tougher times up till 1988 including the 1985 Grand Final loss to the Canterbury Bulldogs.
He was selected for the 1978 Kangaroo Tour and played in all five Tests and eleven Tour matches. He was named "Player of the Tour".
He first represented for New South Wales in 1979, making five appearances under the old selection rules.
He was selected for the Blues in the first ever State of Origin fixture in 1980 and made four further State of Origin appearances up till 1984. In 1982 Young was named man-of-the-match in Australia"s series-winning second test match against New Zealand. On the 1982 Invincibles Kangaroo tour Young played in five of the six Tests as well as six Tour matches.
His final national representative selection was at the Sydney Cricket Ground for the 1st test of the domestic Ashes series against Great Britain in 1984.
Young took up a coaching role at the Dragons in 1989 for two seasons until he was replaced by Brian Smith at the beginning of the 1991 season. He returned to the Dragons" coaching staff as recruitment manager in 2003.
The Youngs purchased the UnanderraHotel in 1991 the year after Craig was sacked as coach of the Dragons and The Cabbage Tree Hotel in 2008 Since 2005, Young has had a security role as team manager with the New South Wales Blues squads. Craig Young is the father of Dragons hooker Dean Young.
