Craig Salvatori. Feud with Gus, losing his wife in the Bali bombings, and Salvo's Pub Crawl!

Craig Salvatori was a mainstay of the Sydney Roosters front row through the late '80s and early '90s, racking up around 140 first grade games between the Roosters and a final season at South Sydney, three State of Origin appearances for the Blues alongside Laurie Daley, and a Roosters life membership this year that came with the club's Indigenous Round honour.

He was also at the centre of one of Australian sport's most confronting personal stories: in October 2002, Salvatori lost his wife Kathy in the Bali bombings, and became an unlikely go-between for the Australian government's response on the ground, speaking daily with radio host Alan Jones and eventually meeting with then-Prime Minister John Howard. More than two decades on, he talks openly about grief, acceptance, and raising his daughters through it.

It's not all heavy going, though — Salvatori also revisits the infamous headbutt that cost him a five-week suspension, a near-miss at a premiership in 1987, and a colonoscopy story that nearly blew up his marriage. And after 45 years as a builder, he's about to set off on "Salvo's Aussie Pub Crawl" — a year-long lap of the country's pubs with his wife and dog in tow.

In this episode of Chiming In, Craig shares stories from a life that's been as tough as it has been full, and explains why he's chosen to talk about the hardest parts of it rather than look away.

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 - Intro

01:21 - Welcome: Craig Salvatori joins Chiming In

01:47 - Breaking news: retiring after 45 years as a builder

02:32 - The plan: Salvo's Aussie Pub Crawl

05:20 - The colonoscopy story that nearly got him busted

09:02 - Naming the tour and sorting sleeping arrangements

14:35 - Opening up about the Bali bombings and losing Kathy