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Seasons In Review
(Contents)

Introduction

1907 - 1920

1921 - 1925

1926 - 1929

1930 -1934

1935 -1939

1940 -1944

1945 -1949

1950 -1955

1956 -1959

1960 -1963

1964 -1966

1967 -1969

1970 -1973

1974 -1979

1980 - 1984

1985 - 1989

1990 - 1993

1994 - 1995

1996

1997 - 1998

1999

2000 - 2002

2003 - 2005

2006

2007

St George Dragons Rugby League History
Since 1921 - Our Proud History
1960-1963
THE GOLDEN YEARS II: 1960 - 1963
1960:
SAINTS HAMMER PARRAMATTA
Sydney Cricket Ground, 2 April 1960: St George have begun their 1960 campaign with a 52-0 thrashing of Parramatta at the SCG. Reg Gasnier brimming with confidence after a successful Kangaroo tour scored 4 tries. A repeat of the 1959 unbeaten run seemed inevitable, but it wasn't to be with Saints losing to Manly 22-10 in round 2. This ended Saints' undefeated run of 22 matches. In fact, prior to the Manly defeat and since Saints began their run in 1956, the Dragons had won an incredible 70 matches with 10 losses and 1 draw. Saints ended the 18 rounds as minor premiers.
SAINTS MAKE IT FIVE IN A ROW!
1960 GRAND FINAL FULLTIME: Saints 31 Easts 6
Scorers (St George) Tries: Reg Gasnier 2, Johnny King 2, Bob Bugden 1, Dave Brown 1, Norm Provan 1
Goals: Brian Graham 5
Referee: D. Lawler
Crowd: 53,156
Sydney Cricket Ground, 3 September 1960: The St George Dragons have won their seventh premiership, and fifth in a row, with a 31-6 walloping of Eastern Suburbs. Saints scored seven tries to nil in a match that was comparatively clean to the previous two Grand Finals. Reg Gasnier was magnificent as he constantly dazzled the Easts defence.
Brian Clay was an inspiration as he set up his outside men and rookie prop, Kevin Ryan (who was sent off along with Easts forward, Brian Wright for fighting) made it look easy as he offloaded at will setting up both Gasnier and fellow newcomer winger, Johnny King.

Team 1960 - St George rugby league historyTHE ST GEORGE DRAGONS PREMIERS 1960
Monty Porter, John King, Bill Wilson, Norm Provan, Kevin Ryan, Brian Graham, Reg Gasnier, Dave Brown, Bob Bugden, Ken Kearney, Brian Clay, John Stathers, John Raper
Click pic left for larger image and scoring details (83Kb)


Ken Kearney - St George rugby league historyKILLER'S LAST GRAND FINAL
1960 GRAND FINAL - KEARNEY'S LAST
Although he would lace up in 1961, the 1960 Grand Final was 'Killer' Ken Kearney's last. Pictured right is Kearney being chaired off. Click pic right for larger image (42Kb)
From left: Kevin Ryan, Monty Porter, Johnny Raper, Bob Bugden, Ken Kearney, Reg Gasnier, Bill Wilson, Brian Clay and Johnny King.
1960
NSWRL First Grade
Ladder

(top 4 in semis, playoff for 2, 3, 4)
St George p 28
Wests 22
Easts 22
Balmain 22
Canterbury 22
Manly 20
Norths 16
Souths 12
Newtown 12
Parramatta   4
p = Season Premiers

Saints 1960
AFTER 18 ROUNDS
Minor Premiership
Won-Lost-Draw
W
L
D
14
4
0
Points For 456
(1st best attack)
Points Against 176
(1st best defence)
MP Standing
1st

(10 teams)

FINALS
W
L
2
0
Points For 62
Points Against 13
Final Standing
1st

TOTALS
20 matches
W
L
D
16
4
0
Points For 518
110 tries
94 goals
Points Against 189
29 tries
51 goals
KEVIN RYAN & JOHNNY KING
Saints made two significant additions to their playing ranks in 1960. 
John King - St George rugby league historyKevin 'Kandos' Ryan got his nickname from the cement town in NSW. He is regarded by many as being the toughest forward ever to play the game. Ryan's ability to set up crunching, but legal tackles made him the most feared forward in the competition. An Ipswich (Qld) rugby union Wallaby with five Tests to his name, Ryan was also an excellent boxer and almost certain to represent Australia in the 1960 Rome Olympics if he never joined Saints. Ryan began in reserve grade but got his chance in first grade when Billy Wilson was sent off and suspended for two weeks. On Wilson's return, Ryan was retained in the pack (second row) and his place in the team was assured.
Johnny King (pic left) came from Gilgandra as a fullback and joined Arncliffe Scots in the St George juniors. He trialled with Souths at the request of his father, Cec King. Souths rejected John as being too small. A short time later, King was persuaded to try out with St George. Within a few months, Johnny King was playing on the wing in first grade and capped of his first season with the Dragons by scoring two tries in the Grand Final.

1961:
SAINTS WHIP NEWTOWN
Kogarah Jubilee Oval, 30 July 1961: St George have delivered a thrashing to Newtown defeating the Bluebags by 65-9. It was Saints biggest win of the season and Newtown's biggest ever defeat. It was also the biggest winning score since World War Two. Saints' try scorers were John King (3), Eddie Lumsden (2), Bob Bugden (2), Norm Provan (2), Peter Armstrong (2), John Raper (1), John Riley (1), Bill Wilson (1), Kevin Brown (1). Brian Graham kicked 10 goals. 
Johhny King had a magnificent year playing in all matches and scoring 20 tries for the season. Bill Wilson, Brian Graham and Kevin Ryan also went the whole season without missing a match. Despite all this, Saints were unable to pip Wests for the minor premiership with both teams completing the 18 rounds on 30 points each. Wests gained the minor premiership by having a higher 'points for' tally which gave them a slightly better for and against average. Saints finished second on the ladder. Interestingly, the £250 prize awarded to the minor premiers was divided in two between Saints and Wests so there is room for debate as to how the League viewed the minor premiership in 1961. Whatever the feeling, the issue of the minor premiership didn't deter Saints who went on to defeat Wests twice on their way to claiming the premiership for the sixth year running.
DRAGONS V WESTS
Sydney Cricket Ground, 2 September 1961: Saints have beaten Wests in the major semi final 9-4 in a tight match which yielded just one try to Norm Provan. Reg Gasnier had an ordinary match, rarely seeing the ball and knocking on twice. Despite their loss, Wests were confident of rolling Saints in the Grand Final. The Saints' selectors chose to overlook Ken Kearney who was just coming back from an injury lay off and was deemed not fit enough to risk in the semis, let alone the Grand Final. Killer, in his role as coach started playing mind games with both Wests and his own club, claiming in the press that he had been made offers from other clubs for 1962 and one of those clubs was Wests. This served to unsettle Wests more than anyone and they hotly denied the rumour. Kearney was then reported to say that Grand Final will be "Reg Gasnier's day" and that Saints would win by "10 points or more or be beaten".

SAINTS STUNNING IN 22-0 DEMOLITION OF WESTS
Sydney Cricket Ground, 16 September 1961: St George have won their sixth Grand Final in a row, stunning Western Suburbs by 22-0. Faced with murky conditions with rain tumbling down from time to time, Wests were knuckling down for another tight forward struggle as was the case in the major semi. However, Saints stunned Wests as they ignored the conditions and threw the ball around. The backline ran riot.
Eddie Lumsden (pictured right) had a tremendous match, scoring three tries and Johnny King scored another in a match that can only be described as overflowing with classic displays of champagne football.
Eddie Lumsden - St George rugby league history Brian Clay, the best player on the field cut loose against his opposite, the veteran Keith Holman.
In every attacking raid there was an abundance of St George players backing up as the Wests' defence became more and more compressed. At half time it was 17-nil and the match had been called. St George scored again in the second half and then proceeded to lock Wests out - which they did, winning 22-0.
1961 GRAND FINAL FULLTIME:
Saints 22 Wests 0

Scorers (St George)

Tries: Eddie Lumsden 3, Johnny King 1.

Goals: Brian Graham 5
Referee: D. Lawler
Crowd: 61,196

1961
NSWRL First Grade
Ladder

(top 4 in semis)
Wests 30
St George p 30
Manly 20
Balmain 20
Easts 19
Norths 18
Souths 14
Canterbury 13
Newtown 10
Parramatta   6
p = Season Premiers

Saints 1961
AFTER 18 ROUNDS
Minor Premiership
Won-Lost-Draw
W
L
D
14
4
0
Points For 367
(2nd best attack)
Points Against 167
(2nd best defence)
MP Standing
2nd*

(10 teams)
*the £250 prize awarded to the minor premiers was divided in two, equally between Saints and Wests
FINALS
W
L
2
0
Points For 31
Points Against 4
Final Standing
1st

TOTALS
20 matches
W
L
D
16
4
0
Points For 398
80 tries
79 goals
Points Against 171
25 tries
48 goals
'PUFF THE MAGIC DRAGON'
Reg Gasnier - click here - St George rugby league historyDubbed 'Puff the Magic Dragon', Reg Gasnier was a star. League stalwart, Harry 'Jersey' Flegg described Gasnier as the most exciting player in the game, comparing him to 'Dally' Messenger. Ken Kearney called him the best centre in 20 years.
Whatever comparisons were being drawn, one thing was certain, Reg Gasnier had become a household name. He was sought after by sponsors who wanted him to promote breakfast cereals, appliances, cars. But Reg avoided getting caught up with too many sponsorship deals. Generally, he only put his name to sporting goods. But as the pic (left) shows, he was pretty keen on milk as well.

Click pic (above) for larger image (45Kb)
Reg Gasnier speaks - click hereWAV (728 Kb) Click on the speaker & hear Reg Gasnier recall his time with St George
.
BOBBY BUGDEN QUITS SAINTS
''Bugs' came to Saints in 1954 and played half back in six Grand Final wins. He toured with the 1959 Kangaroos and played two Tests. He played one game for NSW in 1960. After the signing of George Evans as a potential replacement half back, Bob sought to an open transfer and was allowed to leave. He left on less than amicable terms in 1961 after arguments with club administrators and finished his career with Parramatta. Bob gave great service to Saints, scoring 57 tries in 140 games.

KEVIN BROWN RETIRES
Kevin Brown - St George rugby league historyOne of Saints' great club men, prop Kevin Brown (pic right) has decided to hang up his boots. Kevin played with St George from 1953-1961 and never played for any other club in the first grade. From 1957-1958, he played for NSW and was a member of the 1956 and 1957 Grand Final winning teams. He scored a try in the 1956 Grand Final. In all, Kevin Brown played 135 games for the Dragons, scoring 33 tries.
KILLER CALLS IT A DAY
In March 1962, Ken Kearney announced that he will be leaving St George to take up a non-playing coaching position with Parramatta. This cleared the way for Norm Provan to become the Dragon's new captain-coach.
'Killer' Ken Kearney first came to St George in 1952 originating in rugby union ranks in the Parramatta district. He was a Wallaby in seven Tests before playing rugby league in England. His reputation as a tough and uncompromising hooker was well known and he became the cornerstone of the
St George success story from 1956-61. Considered a tactical genius, he played in 25 Rugby League Tests and captained the Kangaroos in 1956. He also captained Australia in the 1957 World Cup. A knee injury put him out of football for much of  1961 but he remained as coach to see Saints win their sixth title in a row. In all, Ken played 153 games with Saints, scoring 18 tries and two goals.

1962:
PARRA BEAT SAINTS
Cumberland Oval, 15 July 1962: Under the guidance of Ken Kearney and with Bob Bugden at halfback, Parramatta had their first successful season and actually downed St George 19-8. Parramatta would go on to make the semis in 1962 but would fail to score a point against Wests in the minor semi final going down 6-nil on 25 August.
NEW SIGNINGS: In 1962, Saints signed winger Brian James, halfback George Evans, second rower Elton Rasmussen and hooker come prop Ian Walsh from Eugowra.
JUDGMENT DAY 1962
Team 1962 - click here - St George rugby league history
The 1962 premiers
Click on pic for larger image and names (50Kb)
1962 GRAND FINAL FULLTIME:
Saints 9
(Johnny King 1 try. Kevin McDonald 3 goals)
defeated Wests 6
(K Bray 3 goals)
Referee: J. Bradley
Crowd: 41,184
Sydney Cricket Ground, 15 September 1962: In a rain soaked Grand Final, St George were good enough to overcome Wests 9-6 and win their seventh Grand Final in a row. It was a tight forward struggle with many misdemeanors from sides. Wests did all they could to contain Reg Gasnier and were successful as the star centre was targeted by offside defenders who hammered Gasnier at every opportunity.
Kevin Ryan 1962 - St George rugby league history
Kevin Ryan holds the ball close to his chest as he is swamped by Wests' defenders during the 1962 Grand Final.
Click on pic for larger image (63Kb)
Saints were favoured by a strong breeze in the first half but as luck would have it, the wind dropped in the second half giving Wests no advantage. The only try of the match was scored in the 17th minute by Johnny King after Norm Provan busted through and found Kevin Ryan in support who in turn found King on the fly. The winger notched up another 'King Hit' when he ran 30 yards over sodden ground to score. Saints' best were Kevin Ryan, Ian Walsh and Johnny Raper (who played five eighth in place of Brian Clay who was having a bad year with injuries).
The match will also be remembered for a couple of off-the-ball incidents which began with Norm Provan being knocked out by Wests' Jim Cody five minutes before half time. 'Sticks' was assisted from the field and didn't return again until well into the second half. Cody got off scot free. Billy Wilson came out as captain in the second half and apparently squared things up when Cody was felled before the first tackle took place. Eye witness and Saints' forward, Monty Porter claims that Wilson was being grabbed at by Cody and received a back hander for his trouble. The 'back hander' saw Cody lying in the mud, unconscious and bleeding. The referee, most of the players and most of the SCG crowd had no real idea what happened. But a number of Wests' players were protesting loudly, the image of Cody on the ground was not a pretty sight. Referee Jack Bradley sent Wilson off and Saints were reduced to 11 men. Even when Norm Provan returned 15 minutes later, Saints had to dig deep.
In what can only be described as a heroic defensive effort, Saints held out Wests and won the match.

1962
NSWRL First Grade
Ladder

(top 4 in semis)
St George p 27
Newtown 26
Wests 25
Parramatta 20
Easts 19
Canterbury 16
Manly 15
Balmain 12
Norths 10
Souths 10
p = Season Premiers

Saints 1962
AFTER 18 ROUNDS
Minor Premiership
Won-Lost-Draw
W
L
D
13
4
1
Points For 373
(1st best attack)
Points Against 194
(1st best defence)
MP Standing
1st

(10 teams)

FINALS
W
L
2
0
Points For 39
Points Against 15
Final Standing
1st

TOTALS
20 matches
W
L
D
15
4
1
Points For 412
86 tries
77 goals
Points Against 209
31 tries
58 goals
Norm Provan - St George rugby league historyNORM PROVAN NEW SKIPPER - COACH
Led by Norm Provan (pic left), Saints were minor premiers in 1962. The Dragons were yet again the No.1 attacking team in the competition with the highest 'points for' tally.
After Kearney's withdrawal, Norm, aged 29 was the natural selection for captain-coach. For 11 seasons he dominated both attack and defence from the back row. He consistently topped the St George tackle count; it wasn't unusual for Provan to make 50 tackles in a game.
In attack he would charge at the opponents defensive line, exhausting them of personnel before offloading to one of the many supports that followed him around the paddock. Once the opposition was spent, Norm would bust the line and score a try or two for himself.
He was also a fitness fanatic, only John Raper trained as hard.
Norm Provan speaks - click hereWAV (1691 Kb) Click on the speaker & hear Norm Provan talk about the habit of winning.
Reg Gasnier - St George rugby league history
GASNIER YOUNGEST EVER AUSTRALIAN CAPTAIN

St George dominated the 1962 Australian team with Reg Gasnier (pic right) being selected as captain - the youngest ever Test captain at just 22 years of age.
 

SAINTS GO DOWN TO GREAT BRITAIN 33-5
Sydney Cricket Ground, Wed 18 July 1962: A mid-week crowd of 57,744 came out to see St George suffer a humiliating defeat at the the hands of the powerful Great Britain side. Saints wore the old red & white hooped jumper so as not to clash with the Great Britain jumper.
The match started well for Saints after an Eddie Lumsden try (converted) put them ahead 5-0 and Saints held the Brits out for much of the first half. However, the tourists took advantage of the inexperienced stand-in half back, Dinny O'Bryan who at just 18-years-old was clearly in above his head. Lacking in confidence, O'Bryan continually offloaded the ball as soon as his could. Five eighth, Brian Clay was targeted as his half back kept selling dumps.
With the halves negated and the backs starved, the Brits then turned their attention to the forwards.
Ian Walsh - St George rugby league historyBilly Wilson copped a coat hanger that knocked him senseless. There were no replacements and the interchange wasn't even a gleam in the dream weaver's eye. Despite having little memory of the match, Billy played on.

By fulltime, Great Britain hammered the Dragons 33-5.

Ian Walsh speaks - click hereWAV (1025 Kb) Click on the speaker & hear Ian 'Abdul' Walsh (pictured) talk about the Great Britain match.

1963:
SAINTS SLAUGHTER PARRA
Sydney Cricket Ground, 6 April 1963: St George have opened their season with a 51-2 thrashing of Parramatta. Former Dragon, Bob Bugden was singled out by the Saints forwards and given 'special' treatment. Reg Gasnier and Eddie Lumsden scored three tries each. Ken Kearney's Parramatta team was humiliated.

The first round result set the tone for the season as Saints thrashed Easts (25-9), Souths (34-12 and 29-5), Manly (39-0), Norths (26-7 and 40-8), Newtown (25-7 and 40-4), Balmain (27-0), and Canterbury (54-5). Saints were easy minor premiers. In fact, Saints lost only two matches in the 18 rounds - to Wests when they went down 8-5 and 12-5. Despite the two losses, St George's 1963 statistics looked tremendous. In 18 rounds of first grade football, the Dragons scored 434 points but only conceded 95 points. This amazing defensive record had never been achieved before and has never been bettered since.

WESTS DOWN SAINTS IN SEMI
Sydney Cricket Ground, 10 August 1963:
Wests have defeated St George in the major semi final by 10-8. This is the third time that Wests have defeated Saints this year. There was some dispute over the first round result, won by Wests 8-5 when referee Darcy Lawler disallowed a 'fair' try to Reg Gasnier but in the end, Wests came away with a win thanks to four penalty goals (Saints scored the only try). There was no doubt over the second round result, won by Wests 12-5. It was the first time that Saints had been beaten by the same team twice in one season since they began their 'Golden Years' run in 1956. All three encounters were tough matches giving St George reason for concern and their arch rivals Wests every reason to believe that they had Saints' measure. To get to the Grand Final, the Dragons had to defeat a determined Parramatta team 12-7.
WESTS BATTER GASNIER IN MUDDY GRAND FINAL DECIDER
1963 GRAND FINAL FULLTIME:
Saints 8 Wests 3
Scorers (St George) Tries:  George Evans 1, Johnny King 1
Goals: Reg Gasnier 1
Referee: D. Lawler
Crowd: 69,860
Sydney Cricket Ground, 24 August 1963: St George have won their eighth Grand Final in a row in controversial circumstances, downing Wests 8-3 in front of almost 70,000 people.
Norm Provan - St George rugby league history
Norm Provan after the 1963 Grand Final. Click on pic for larger image.
From the opening whistle the 1963 decider was a grueling affair. The wet SCG pitch quickly became a quagmire and players became unrecognisable as the ground turned into a grey, thick mudheap. At one point, St George five eighth, Bruce Pollard was blinded by the mud so badly that he couldn't pass or catch the ball so he swapped places with John Raper and played out the second half at lock. Raper also set up the best movement of the match when he broke the line and found Reg Gasnier in support. Reg, with a Wests defender hanging off him, sent the ball to Norm Provan who was backing up out wide. Provan then found Johnny King in support who almost scored.
Team 1963 - St George rugby league history
The 1963 Premiers
Click on image for larger pic
As the match developed, it was clear that Wests had a game plan which was targeted at Saints' centre three quarters. Wests' player, Gil McDougall singled out Reg Gasnier and other Wests players joined in as Gasnier spent most of the afternoon getting punched, stiff-armed and kneed. He was bashed out of the match and became a passenger in the back line. Despite this, St George were getting an unusual favourable run from the referee, Darcy Lawler.
The game's No.1 ref, Lawler was sometimes accused of enjoying the odd bet. A number of Wests players believe to this day that the 1963 Grand Final was a rort and point to a number of questionable decisions. Just before half time, Wests had a try disallowed. Then with only 15 minutes remaining and the score slightly favouring Saints 5-3, Johnny King received a pass from newcomer Graeme Langlands and raced through the mud down his wing, fending off his opposite John Mowbray.

1963
NSWRL First Grade
Ladder

(top 4 in semis)
St George p 31
Wests 28
Balmain 24
Parramatta 22
Norths 20
Manly 14
Newtown 14
Canterbury 13
Souths
8
Easts
6
p = Season Premiers

Saints 1962
AFTER 18 ROUNDS
Minor Premiership
Won-Lost-Draw
W
L
D
15
2
1
Points For 434
(1st best attack)
Points Against 95
(1st best defence)
MP Standing
1st

(10 teams)

FINALS
W
L
2
1
Points For 28
Points Against 20
Final Standing
1st

TOTALS
21 matches
W
L
D
17
3
1
Points For 462
100 tries
81 goals
Points Against 115
15 tries
35 goals
The Gladiators, Provan and Summons - St George rugby league historyTHE GLADIATORS
At the end of the match, a magic moment was caught by photographer, John O'Gready who captured with his camera the enduring image of rival captains, Norm Provan and the much smaller Arthur Summons briefly embracing each other. The photo (left), entitled,  'The Gladiators', won many international awards and set the standard as the symbol of Rugby League mateship.
King appeared to be claimed by the cover defence of Don Parish but both players tumbled and in the slimy conditions and King was not held. He got up and was bowled over again but was still not held. He regained his footing and with no one in front of him (and no marker in any case), King ran towards the corner, racing past a defence that had momentarily relaxed. If ever there was an example of playing to the whistle, this was it. With a defender hanging off him, Johnny King scored the match-winner, and one of the most controversial tries in the game's history.
After the match, the debate raged on, creating a sensation in Rugby League circles. Johnny King claims that he was told by the ref to 'play on' while Wests legend, Noel Kelly claims that King was tackled and Wests 'were robbed'.

SAINTS WIN ALL 3 GRADES
In a tremendous club effort, St George won the premiership in all three grades  This feat has only been achieved once before by Souths, 38 years earlier in a competition which was run without any semi finals. As well as being club champions, Saints had a top year internationally when they whipped New Zealand 22-7.
In the midst of the noisy and muddy atmosphere, no one was doubting the word of any player. While some were questioning the role of the referee in bringing about the outcome, the only clear issue was that St George had defeated a gallant Wests team 8-3 and won their eighth consecutive Grand Final, and in doing so, destroyed Wests' hopes for the third year running. It was the final time that Wests would appear in a Grand Final.

John Raper - St George rugby league historySt George players dominate '63 Kangaroos
Reg Gasnier, Johnny Raper, Kevin Ryan, Ian Walsh (c) and Graeme Langlands featured strongly in Australia's Ashes winning team of 1963.
In the second Test at Swinton and in front of 30,843 people, Australia thrashed Great Britain 50-12. Dubbed the 'Swinton Massacre', Australia scored 12 tries. Johnny Raper (pic) played a blinder, destroying the Brits and having a hand in nine tries but ironically was unable to score for himself. The dominance of Raper prompted former player and highly respected League commentator Frank Hyde to describe it as the greatest 80 minutes of football by any one player.
'CHANGA' LANGLANDS
Graeme 'Changa' Langlands - St George rugby league historyGraeme 'Changa' Langlands hailed from Wollongong. In 1955, 1956, and 1957 he represented NSW combined high schools. In 1960, at the age of 18, he played first grade for Wollongong in the strong Southern Division competition. He represented Country when they defeated City 18-8 in 1962. With the impending departure of Brian Graham, Saints needed a new goal kicking back. Club secretary, Frank Facer had heard big things about Langlands, a young centre/fullback and sent club selector, Laurie Doust to investigate. Doust was not impressed but Facer insisted that Graeme Langlands should be signed. In the end, Doust reluctantly agreed. The story goes that Doust thought the £3000 transfer fee was too steep and he tried to talk Wollongong's club secretary into a transfer deal where Wollongong would be paid £1000 up front plus £1000 every time Changa played an international. Doust thought it unlikely that Langlands would ever make it in the big time. But the Wollongong official stood firm and in the end St George bought Graeme Langlands' contract for £3000. History shows that Changa played for Australia no less than 90 times.

(pic above) Graeme 'Changa' Langlands during a training run.
BILLY SMITH
Billy Smith - St George rugby league historyBilly Smith was a local junior who played with the Mortdale Mighty Midgets and later the Renown juniors. During these years he was a prolific try scorer, often crossing 40 or 50 times in a season. Saints tried to grade Smith into the big time in 1959 but were over ruled by Billy's father. He was finally graded in 1961 and mainly played in thirds, then seconds. An exciting centre, Smith looked certain to partner Reg Gasnier. In 1963 he was finally elevated to first grade as a halfback. He made an immediate impact as a tireless and tough player who constantly talked to his team mates and often sledged the opposition.
THE TAJ MAHAL
St George Leagues Club - St George rugby league history
In 1963 St George opened the doors to Sydney's first Super Leagues Club at 124 Princes Hwy, Kogarah. Dubbed 'The Taj Mahal' because of it's extensive use of white marble, the St George Leagues Club was perfectly positioned opposite Kogarah Jubilee Oval. Built at a cost of £800,000, the new 'club house' replaces the red brick offices on the corner of Princes Hwy and Rocky Point Rd (now Bethany Ladies Catholic College). St George Leagues Club remains as one of the most prestigious clubs in Australia.
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