While Tony Paskins spent only six seasons at Oberon in the 1950s and 1960s, he's arguably one of the best players to pull on a black and gold jersey for the Tigers.
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He was the man that captain-coached Oberon to its first premiership in 1961, the first of a record-breaking seven-straight premierships.
Originally a rugby union player, Paskins was signed from Randwick to play the 13-man code for Workington Town in England, winning the Challenge Cup in 1952.
He would return to Australian shores in 1955, signing for Eastern Suburbs, before making the switch to the bush in 1958 for the Tigers.
During his Oberon days, he pulled on the Country jersey several times and dominated his City opponents.
And these City players were hardly nobodies.
They included the likes of future Immortals Johnny Raper and Reg Gasnier, try-scoring legend Ken Irvine and St George greats Eddie Lumsden and Brian Clay.
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Country Rugby League enthusiast John Fitzgerald fondly remembers watching Paskins play for Country at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Fitzgerald only a 16-year-old at the time.
"He was a standout against City, who were a virtual Australian team with Johnny Raper, Reg Gasnier, Brian Clay, Eddie Lumsden and Ken Irvine," Fitzgerald recalls.
"My enduring memory of that match was watching the player with number six on his back breaking the City defensive line at will."
The match Fitzgerald remembers is the 1961 City versus Country match.
These matches were nothing like the City versus Country matches from a few years ago, when you represented the region you played your junior rugby league in.
This was Country-based players up against the might of the Sydney-based ones.
In 1961, City were no match for Country, with Paskins captaining the bush boys to a 19-5 win.
A year later, Paskins would do it all again, scoring a try in Country's 18-8 win.
"I would have Tony Paskins up there with the best of Country," Fitzgerald said.
Paskins would later play for Manly from 1963-64, before moving to Forster on the state's mid-North Coast to captain-coach the Forster-Tuncurry Hawks in 1968.
He would coach the team to the premiership that year and 1970, as well as the grand final in 1969.
The 1968-premiership winning Hawks outfit is regarded to be one of the finest teams in Group 3 in the post-war era.
He would retire from rugby league after the 1970 grand final win over Port Macquarie.
Paskins passed away in November 2019, aged 91.
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