Sam Backo RIP

Last weekend, we learnt of the passing of Leeds crowd favourite from the 1980s Slammin' Sam Backo. 

Like so many of his countrymen before him, Aussie bulwark Sam Backo came to Headingley with a big reputation. 

In all, he donned the Leeds colours 18 times in his sole season, ten of them starts and crossed for one try which, in the context of the Yorkshire Cup run, was highly significant. The capture of the moustachioed, six foot three 17 and a half stone Canberra front rower created quite a stir when it was announced by the Leeds board at the end of July 1988.

Sensational form, which earned him the nickname ‘Slammin’ for his tackling style, had helped the Raiders to their inaugural Grand Final appearance the season before, where they narrowly lost to Manly. And it got better for the Ingham-born enforcer as he swept all before him in the 88 State of Origin Series.

On debut for Queensland, he won two man of the match awards as the Maroons triumphed three-nil in the series. Selected for Australia to face the Great Britain tourists, he then created history by becoming the first forward – and only the third player after winger Ken Irvine and team mate Mal Menninga – to score a try in each Test of the Ashes series. Not surprisingly, he was voted 1988 ‘Dally M Prop of the Year’ which was why expectations of him at Leeds were so high. Backo was something of a late developer in the sport, his first club Lower Herbert near his North Queensland home, before joining Cairns.

From there he ventured south and in 1981 he joined Group Eight side Woden Valley in the NSW Country League. It was then on to Yeppoon in the Central Division for a couple of seasons before linking up with the NRL side in the capital who had been admitted the year before. Debuting against South Sydney at Redfern Oval, he made five appearances that season, all in the second row despite his size.

From 1984 he established himself as a regular coming under the tutelage of co-coaches Wayne Bennett and Don Furner as the ‘green machine’ began to gather momentum, their Grand Final outfit captained by Dean Lance and including Peter Jackson who were later to coach and play for Leeds respectively.

Virtually unstoppable close in, he scored 15 tries in 97 matches for Canberra but arrived here having played his last for them, having agreed to follow Bennett to Brisbane Broncos for their second season in the competition. With the Raiders surprisingly put out of the NRL play offs early by Ellery Hanley’s Balmain, he was not match fit when he arrived and new Loiners coach Malcolm Reilly, who had seen Backo’s destructive capacity at close hand as coach of the Lions, used him off the bench initially. He made his debut as a sub in a stunning 32-0 home triumph over St Helens in late September 88 and again created an impact against Wakefield in the second round of the county cup as Steve Ella-inspired Trinity just lost out 15-10 in a nailbiter.

The trundling front rower made his first start against Hull at the beginning of October in a two-point loss, the sides meeting again in the midweek in the Yorkshire Cup semi. The visitors, 2-0 up at the break, led by eight points going into the closing stages, a Garry Schofield try and David Stephenson goal setting up a grandstand finish between the old foes. With time running out, Backo produced a trademark charge from close in, carrying three black and white defenders over with him near the posts to seal a dramatic win. He topped the week by starting against Wigan as they were beaten 22-14 at home.

A week later he came off the bench at Elland Road to help Leeds secure victory in the Yorkshire Cup decider and gained a winner’s medal in only his sixth appearance. Despite an appearance at Headingley for the Rest of the World against GB to commemorate the opening of the Whitbread Hall of Fame; that was as good as it got, injury blighting the remainder of his stay and curtailing his effectiveness.

On his return and taking up with the Broncos, he again starred in Queensland's State of Origin success in 1989 before touring New Zealand with the Kangaroos, taking his Test tally to six. A chronic knee injury limited his appearances in 1990, although he again played in two Origin clashes making his total seven and including three tries, resulting in his withdrawal from the Test side that took on France.

Further degeneration of the joint forced his eventual retirement at the end of the season having played only five times for Brisbane that year. In 1991, Backo attempted a short-lived return for Logan Scorpions in the Brisbane competition. In 2000, he was awarded the Australian Sports Medal and was selected in the starting line up for the Indigenous Team of the Century, a year later.

Later this week, we will release a special Heritage podcast tribute to Sam with his team mate Colin Maskill.