A halfback, Tommy began his career with the Western Suburbs Magpies in 1969. Tommy captained Western Suburbs from 1971. Tommy played 211 games for Western Suburbs over 11 seasons (32 tries). In 1980, Tommy joined the Newtown Jets as captain. Tommy led Newtown to the 1981 Grand Final. Tommy played 44 games for Newtown over 3 seasons (6 tries). In 1983, Tommy joined Brothers Brisbane as captain-coach. Tommy played 9 games for Brothers Brisbane.
Tommy played 8 games for City Firsts from 1972-80 (4 tries). Tommy played 24 games for New South Wales from 1971-80 (11 tries). Tommy played 20 test matches for Australia from 1971-80 (2 tries). Tommy captained Australia in 1973. Tommy played 4 games for Sydney in 1976 (1 try).
In 1985, Tommy was appointed coach of the Ipswich Jets. Tommy coached Ipswich to the 1988-89 Grand Finals. In 1990, Tommy was appointed coach of the North Brisbane Devils. Tommy led North Brisbane to the 1990 Grand Final. In 1995, Tommy was appointed coach of the Western Suburbs Magpies. Tommy coached Western Suburbs for 114 games over 5 seasons (39 wins, 1 draw). Tommy coached New South Wales from 1997-98 (3 wins).
From 2016-17, Tommy was a member of The NRL Footy Show.
In 1972, Tommy was awarded the Rothmans Medal. In 1982, Tommy was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM). In 2000, Tommy was selected on the Western Suburbs Team of the Century bench. In 2008, Tommy was chosen as one of Australia’s 100 Greatest Players. In 2018, Tommy was inducted into the NRL Hall of Fame. In 2019, Tommy was inducted into the NSWRL Hall of Fame.
Tommy passed away on April 7 2021.