Placid back with Eastern

Press, 12 March 1985, Page 38

Placid back with Eastern

Kevin Placid, a former Canterbury rugby league second-row forward, has returned to the Eastern Suburbs club after having spent two seasons in France. The inclusion of Placid in the Eastern squad for the opening round of the Radio Avon pre-season knock-out tournament next Sunday has been particularly satisfying for the club’s premier coach, Bruce Dickison. “I am expecting big things from Kevin. He showed a lot of promise before going overseas and now has the experience needed to develop his skills,” said Dickison. Placid’s reappearance in the Eastern pack has come at a particularly opportune time for a team that struggled near the bottom of the premiership table last winter. Another representa-

tive forward, Derek McLaughlan, suffered concussion in a trial game and has been advised not to play at all this season.

Not only will Placid inject strength and speed to Eastern’s attacks, but he should also answer its goalkicking problem. He twice accumulated more than a century of points in a season before going overseas. In Placid’s absence Eastern has had to make do with several parttime kickers, who were lacking in both length and direction.

During his first season in France, Placid was in the second-row in the Roanne side that was comprehensively beaten by Australia. The Kangaroos were then in the course of becoming the first team to complete a full tour of Britain and France without losing a match.