Campo was instrumental in stiffening up the team that lead to us making the GF 2002. From 2001 he was like the missing piece that galvanised the boys, allowed them to believe the team was good enough, and stamped out any opposition teams who thought about bullying the Warriors on the field. He brought the "fuck around and find out" attitude that gave the team the confidence to play their best footy. I reckon he inspired Francis Mele to be the defensive beast he was too. Campo changed the Warriors on the back of his staunchness.
It was highlighted in the tackle on his ex-team mate Webke in round 23 of 2002. Campo wrestled Webke to the ground in a legit tackle 10m out from our goal line.. With Camp at marker, Webke sent a left jab his way as he went to play the ball. Campos first right hook caught him a beauty and he went down as the second landed behind his ear. Landmark moment in the game, the season and our history. As a one off event it sits beside Gutenbeil's hit on Cacic, and Rube's offensive hit on Soliola. Yes, Monty did fill a similar role, but he gave away too many penalties and didn't know when to turn it off. In the end the Faithful got pissed off with his negative play that cost us opportunities and I recall him getting booed from the East stand several times. I guess the desire to box got stronger than the desire for playing footy in the late stages.
In today's comparatively sanitised NRL environment, Mitch lives in much the same enforcer space. In today's game it's more about the the threat and capability aided by an uncompromising attitude in defence and a stubborn unwillingness to be brought to the ground on attack. We'll miss AFB, but we have gained Fish.