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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
1964-1966
THE GOLDEN YEARS III: 1964 - 1966
1964:
Graeme Changa Langlands - St George rugby league history Graeme Langlands scores another spectacular try.
Click on the pic for larger image (60Kb)
SAINTS RECORD BUMPER YEAR AT GATE
After 18 rounds of football, Saints were again minor premiers. 1964 was huge year for the Dragons financially as well. An average of 20,000 spectators came to see St George play each week making the red and whites the most followed Rugby League club in the world. Saints lost just three matches in 1964. The first being to Norths, then later in the season they were defeated by the  Ken Kearney coached Parramatta Eels and the Harry Bath coached Balmain Tigers.
John Raper cover defence - St George rugby league history Johnny 'Chook' Raper gives Parramatta's Barry Rushworth a lesson in cover defence.
Graeme 'Changa' Langlands had a fantastic season and seemed to save his best for the new pretenders, Parramatta. After going down to the Eels in round eight (5-2), Saints returned fire to thrash the western Sydney side by 36-0 in round 17 with Langlands scoring three tries and six goals.
In the major semi final, Saints humiliated Parramatta 42-0 with Changa scoring three tries and kicking nine goals. Parramatta's policy was to try and bash St George out of the match, the Dragons response was to show no mercy and pile on as many points as possible.
DRAGONS SEE OFF WESTS
Kogarah Jubilee Oval, 22 August 1964:
St George have defeated Western Suburbs 37-10 effectively 'seeing off' their old rivals.
Known as 'the millionaires', Wests had spent a fortune on players in recent years but were unsuccessful in their efforts to topple St George and claim a title. Season '64 was an unhappy one for Wests as injuries took their toll and the Magpies failed to make the semis.
BRIAN GRAHAM DEPARTS
Brian Graham - St George rugby league history1964 was the final season in the red and white for St George fullback, Brian Graham (pic left). Graham will go on to play with Newtown from 1965-67.
In late 1962 and throughout 1963, Graham had his career with Saints curtailed after being transferred to Korea as part his oil company work*.
Graham joined Saints in 1955 for a season and resumed playing again in 1957, playing in five grand final wins. A NSW rep in 1959, Graham was the Dragon's top first grade point scorer in 1960, 1961, 1962, and 1964, surpassing Doug Fleming's point scoring record. Brian played in 114 games for the Dragons in first grade. He scored 20 tries and 287 goals with Saints for a total of 634 first grade points. In addition he played
58 games in Reserve Grade scoring 228 points for a combined total of 172 games and 862 points. Graham would have scored more if not for work commitments and Harry Bath being the main goal kicker in the early part of the Golden Years.
A popular fullback, Graham brought a roar of approval from the Kogarah crowd when in 1964, he drop-kick a penalty goal from half-way.
The departure of Brian Graham opens an opportunity for newcomer, Graeme Langlands.
*Not Papua New Guinea with a banking job as noted in some publications.
1964
NSWRL First Grade
Ladder

(top 4 in semis)
St George p 30
Parramatta 28
Balmain 24
Norths 23
Souths 22
Newtown 18
Wests 17
Manly 11
Easts
4
Canterbury
3
p = Season Premiers

Saints 1964
AFTER 18 ROUNDS
Minor Premiership
Won-Lost-Draw
W
L
D
15
3
0
Points For 393
(1st best attack)
Points Against 154
(1st best defence)
MP Standing
1st

(10 teams)

FINALS
W
L
2
0
Points For 53
Points Against 6
Final Standing
1st

TOTALS
20 matches
W
L
D
17
3
0
Points For 446
84 tries
97 goals
Points Against 160
18 tries
53 goals
SAINTS SUBDUE TIGERS IN GRAND FINAL VICTORY
1964 GRAND FINAL FULLTIME:
Saints 11 Balmain 6
Scorers (St George) Tries:  Johnny King 1

Goals: Graeme Langlands 4
Referee: C. Pearce
Crowd: 61,369
Sydney Cricket Ground, 19 September 1964: The Dragons have won their 9th premiership in a row when they over powered Harry Bath's Balmain 11-6.
The turning of the match came five minutes into the second half. The Tigers were hanging onto a 4-2 lead and defending their own line with some desperate tackling when they received a relieving penalty from ref, Col Pearce. Balmain's Bob Boland put in big punt and at first it looked like a good touch finder.
But to Balmain's horror, Graeme Langlands stretched over the touchline, and caught the ball with his boots only an inch or two inside the field of play. The champion fullback then raced cross-field towards the Balmain line and then sent a cut-out pass to his soul mate, Billy Smith 25 yards out from the try line. The centre made further inroads before channeling a pass to Johnny King who sped down the left wing for 20 yards to score a diving try. This was the only try of the match with all of Balmain's points coming from great Southern Division and Wollongong fullback, 'Golden Boots' Keith Barnes.

Provan - the last of his line

1965:
SAINTS MAKE IT 10 IN A ROW IN FRONT OF RECORD SCG CROWD
Sydney Cricket Ground, 18 September 1965:  For the first time, a Rugby League Grand Final went without the traditional victory lap. At fulltime, St George Dragons and South Sydney Rabbitohs players were swamped by the huge Sydney Cricket Ground crowd. Official figures state that 78,056 spectators paid to see the Grand Final but anecdotal evidence suggests that the real crowd figure was closer 90,000.
SCG 1965 - St George rugby league history Click on the pic for larger image (218Kb)
In 1965, the SCG could comfortably accommodate 60,000. With the ground capacity already bursting at the seams, the SCG staff closed the gates at 1:00pm thus posting the figure of just over 78,000. But the surrounding streets and parklands were packed with people and traffic - an estimated 40,000 people were still trying to get into a ground! Hundreds chose to break in by storming the Member's gates. Scores more bought tickets to the Motor Show which was being held next door in the RAS Showground. From here they took up vantage points on the Showground Pavilions with good views of the SCG pitch.
1965 GRAND FINAL FULLTIME:
Saints 12 Souths 8
St George 12 (Smith, King tries. Langlands 3 goals) defeated
South Sydney 8 (Longbottom 3, Simms goals)
Referee: C. Pearce
Crowd: 78,056
Thousands more simply entered the SCG and proceeded to climb the Grand Stands, perching themselves on the roofs. Police were unable to stop this reckless display of people power and after consultation, allowed thousands to sit on the ground itself, covering the outer ring of the oval.
Police became even more concerned when the army band played 'God Save The Queen' and thousands stood up on the Grand Stands roofs - it was a recipe for disaster.
But as luck would have it, the day went by without major tragedy. At 3:00pm, St George captain-coach Norm Provan, the last player from the 1956 premiership-winning side, led his Dragons’ team onto the field.

NORM PROVAN'S LAST MATCH
NORM PROVAN
ST GEORGE 1950-1965
1st Grade games 256
63 tries, 1 goal (191pts) Grand Final wins: 10
Tests: 14 (7 tries)
Captain-coach 1962-65
Coach 1968
In one of the all time great Grand Finals, an aging St George team (average age 27) defeated a much younger South Sydney outfit (average age 22) by 12-8. Souths had already beaten Saints twice in 1965 and the huge crowd showed up expecting to see an end to the Dragons’ decade of dominance.

South Sydney fullback, Kevin Longbottom opened the scoring with a 55 yard penalty goal in the 20th minute - the kick receiving applause from St George fullback Graeme Langlands. St George replied with a Billy Smith try. Langlands and Longbottom exchanged penalty goals with both players booting the ball more than 50 yards.

1965
NSWRL First Grade
Ladder

(top 4 in semis)
St George p 30
Norths 24
Parramatta 23
Souths 22
Balmain  21
Newtown 19
Manly 12
Wests 12
Canterbury 10
Easts
7
p = Season Premiers

Saints 1965
AFTER 18 ROUNDS
Minor Premiership
Won-Lost-Draw
W
L
D
15
3
0
Points For 394
(1st best attack)
Points Against 142
(1st best defence)
MP Standing
1st

(10 teams)

FINALS
W
L
2
0
Points For 59
Points Against 15
Final Standing
1st

TOTALS
20 matches
W
L
D
17
3
0
Points For 453
89 tries
93 goals
Points Against 157
21 tries
47 goals

Norm Provan - St George rugby league history Norm charges forward in 1965
It was a tough encounter and was highlighted by the forward charges from Norm Provan, John Raper and Kevin Ryan. The brutality of the match was evident as both teams served up varying degrees of foul play.

The scrums in particular were no place for the faint hearted and St George forward, Kevin Ryan was being unsettled by the Souths' front row.

In one scrum, after seeing Rabbitohs’ hooker Fred Anderson reaching into the tunnel, Ryan stood on Anderson, raked him back and proceeded to literally walk all over him. The Dragons pack then surged forward forcing Anderson along the ground through the St George second row and out the back of the scrum. The 'keelhauled' Anderson sat dazed and bleeding on the ground with the ball still in hand.

1965 Grand Final fulltime - St George rugby league history Full time
At half time, Saints held a 5-4 lead.

The second half began with more penalty goals to Langlands and Longbottom. With 13 minutes to go, Johnny King scored and added to his amazing record of scoring tries in six successive Grand Finals. Souths' Eric Simms kicked a penalty goal giving them some hope but Saints held their line and at fulltime the score was 12-8.

St George had won their 10th consecutive Grand Final. At the sounding of the fulltime siren, the SCG was invaded by thousands of fans and the ground became a sea of people – any chance of a victory lap was soon overwhelmed.

Norm Provan and Kevin Ryan - St George rugby league history Norm Provan & Kevin Ryan are swamped
Norm Provan in his last match was surrounded by strangers and well-wishers. As always, he spoke as a true gentleman and thanked one and all.
Provan was the last of the players who played in the 1956 Grand
Final winning team and with his retirement came the final changing of the guard.
Ken Maddison - St George rugby league historyNEW SIGNINGS: Ken Maddison became hugely popular with the young supporters of Rugby League in 1965-66. He featured often on 'footy card' swaps of the time. On the real football field he gained recognition as a fast, robust and powerful player who could play in the centres or in the forwards. He went on to be an international and played in four Tests.


The final victory lap

1966:
IAN WALSH NEW CAPTAIN-COACH
Ian Walsh - St George rugby league historySydney Cricket Ground, 2 April 1966: The Dragons run on for their first game of the season against a strong Balmain team. St George have a new captain-coach in Test hooker, Ian Walsh (pic right). 'Abdul', a courageous player and widely regarded as the best hooker forward in the world got the top job unopposed. Outsiders were surprised that neither John Raper or Reg Gasnier lobbied for the job
but in reality, most insiders felt that the St George reign was set to come to an end in 1966. There was a reluctance to preside over the demise.

There were a number of reasons for this pessimism.

Rugy League News Magazine - St George rugby league history
Click on pic for larger image

Perhaps the main pointer being the retirement of former skipper and coach, Norm Provan who cast a shadow bigger than the game itself during the Dragon's decade of dominance. Other reasons included the number of players who were playing in their testimonial year or were just a season or two away from retirement. The team was getting older and the depth just didn't seem to be there anymore with a number of lower grade players finding comfortable first grade spots with other clubs. There was also a feeling that the other clubs had caught up to St George in terms of fitness, game plans and training techniques. Just as in 1965, Saints looked to be at the end of their run. Their opening round match typified this pessimism when they were beaten 19-16 by Balmain.

REG GASNIER OUT FOR SEASON
Cumberland Oval, 9 April 1966:
In a major blow to the Dragons 1966 campaign, Reg Gasnier has torn a cruciate knee ligament while playing Parramatta at Cumberland Oval. He was later ruled out for the season. In fact, Gasnier's playing future was put in serious doubt with two specialists advising that he risked permanent damage. Saints managed a 12-all draw against an ineffective Parramatta team and after two rounds, there appeared to be disharmony in the St George ranks.

In the weeks that followed, Ian Walsh had fall outs with club officials and team mates. Billy Smith protested being moved into the centres and John Raper resented being moved into the front line defence because according to Walsh, he was 'getting too old' to be a cover defender. Walsh, as captain-coach also had a vote on the selection committee and in that role wielded considerable influence. Players who didn't do as they were told were threatened with demotion to reserve grade. A number of sports commentators and League followers had written the Dragons off.

Despite these upheavals, Walsh had the support of Frank Facer. The skipper was also unwavering and determined in his leadership. From the outset of season 1966, he enforced a tough training regime on the players. Walsh commissioned the skills of Changi survivor, pep talker and physical fitness expert, George Daldry to get the men into shape. The team soon hit form and remained the front runners for the rest of the season.

St George did indeed string a few great wins together in 1966. After a slow start, Saints thrashed the season's battlers, Easts 26-0. Graeme Langlands was on hand to destroy Wests 30-2. He was magnificent again against Manly (34-15). Similar score lines were also dealt to Souths and Newtown.

1966
NSWRL First Grade
Ladder

(top 4 in semis,
playoff for 4th)
St George p 27
Balmain 24
Manly 22
Newtown 20
Wests 20
Souths 18
Parramatta 18
Canterbury 16
Norths 15
Easts
0
p = Season Premiers

Saints 1966
AFTER 18 ROUNDS
Minor Premiership
Won-Lost-Draw
W
L
D
13
4
1
Points For 331
(1st best attack)
Points Against 156
(1st best defence)
MP Standing
1st

(10 teams)

FINALS
W
L
2
0
Points For 33
Points Against 6
Final Standing
1st

TOTALS
20 matches
W
L
D
15
4
1
Points For 364
68 tries
80 goals
Points Against 162
18 tries
54 goals

SAINTS BEST IN 1966
Dick Huddart - St George rugby league historyOne of Saints' best for 1966 was second rower, Dick Huddart (pic right) who did his best to put to rest the notion that Saints' were finished without Norm Provan. Combining with John Raper and Ian Walsh, the ex-British forward often ripped through the opponent's defensive line. The younger players also had a tremendous year. Graeme Langlands and Billy Smith (both 23 -years-old) where the star players of the year and natural selections for Australia in the 1966 Test series against Great Britain. Ian Walsh, John Raper and Kevin Ryan also gained selection as did Johnny King  who made a remarkable comeback to football after nearly severing his foot following an accident with a lawn mower.
THE NEW AGE OF MATCH FURY
Sydney Agricultural Showground, 22 May 1966: The Souths match in round eight was described by the Sydney press as the most violent Rugby League match in living memory. After being Grand Finalists in 1965, Souths were back in the gutter in 1966 following some club in-fighting. For some time, Souths had been considered the thugs of Rugby League but the similar descriptions were given to St George in the early parts of their reign.
On a rough RAS pitch, Souths set upon St George from the opening whistle. The Rabbitohs were without at least seven key players and opted to bash Saints out of the game. In Cricket, captains set an attacking field - in 1966 South Sydney Rugby League, they set up a murderous pack and scrummed down with three props.
In the first half, front rower, John O'Neill  was sent off for kneeing Saints' Barry Beath in the back. Champion back rower, John Sattler made it his quest to knock out Saints' hooker, Ian Walsh.
The St George skipper was copping plenty from Sattler's scrum and Kevin Ryan and Robin Gourley wanted to drag Sattler into the scrum and deal with him accordingly but Walsh wouldn't have a bar of it for fear of the match getting totally out of hand. After being head butted, Kevin Ryan went toe-to-toe with his attacker, Richie Powell. Both men were sent off. By fulltime, the fight was over as was the match, won convincingly by St George 33-5.
KOGARAH STREAK STATS
First win: Round 18, 21-Aug-54, Saints defeated Canterbury 41-14
Last win: Round 11, 26-Jun-1966, Saints defeated Parramatta 18-8
Number of wins: 55
Number of draws: 1 (in 1959)


SAINTS FIRST LOSS AT KOGARAH SINCE 1954
Kogarah Jubilee Oval, 31 July 1966: In round 16, Wests defeated St George 12-9, marking the Dragons first home defeat at Kogarah since 1954 (Round 12, 26-Jun-54).
In what is almost certainly a record streak, St George didn't lose a game at Kogarah for an incredible 12 seasons between 1954-1966.

MINOR PREMIERS AGAIN
After 18 rounds of football, Saints were once again in charge as minor premiers and competition favourites. Despite this, they still had their critics who pointing to an outfit which didn't have the 'edge' of previous seasons.

SAINTS MAKE IT NUMBER 11
WORLD RECORD FOR ANY CODE OF PROFESSIONAL SPORT
Sydney Cricket Ground, 17 September 1966: The Dragons completely outclassed Balmain in the 1966 Grand Final, winning 23-4. Balmain took an early lead after Keith Barnes kicked a penalty goal but Saints Brian Clay struck back when he set up a movement which led to a try to Bruce Pollard.
Team 1966 - St George rugby league history 1966 DRAGONS
Click on the pic for names and larger image (59Kb)
1966 GRAND FINAL FULLTIME:
Saints 23 Balmain 4
Scorers (St George) Tries: Bruce Pollard 1, Dick Huddart 1, Kevin Ryan 1.

Goals: Graeme Langlands 7. Crowd: 61,129
The turning point of the match came soon after when Ian Walsh  and Dick Huddart put on a set move as the Tiger's defence rushed up too early. Walsh busted through the line and with only the fullback to beat passed the ball to Huddart who raced 30 yards to score. Minutes later, Billy Smith sliced through and found Johnny Raper who got to the Balmain 25 yard line before finding prop, Kevin Ryan in support. It was a spectacular run from the evergreen forward who out-raced his pursuers before diving through the air to score and effectively put the match beyond doubt.
PICTURES FROM THE '66 GRAND FINAL
To view video captures of the 1966 Grand Final, click here (109Kb).

provanspeaks.wavWAV (969 Kb) Click speaker to hear the roar of the crowd, fulltime hooter & the marchin' song.
Also having a strong game was Graeme Langlands who kicked seven goals.
By the time the fulltime hooter sounded, St George had won their 11th Grand Final in a row thereby extending their incredible run of premierships and extending their world record for the most consecutive premiership victories for a professional sporting team.


DEPARTING PLAYERS
Kevin Ryan - St George rugby league historyKevin Ryan took up the offer to captain coach Canterbury in 1967 after he was unable to comes to terms with St George. The law student was regarded as one of the toughest men to ever play the game of Rugby League. A dual international (League and Union), 'Kandos' was also a Queensland Amateur Boxing Champion who trailed for the 1960 Rome Olympics.
Kevin represented NSW (1962-64, 7 games) and toured with the Kangaroos (1963-64, 2 Tests). In all, the the rock hard forward played 106 games for the Dragons scoring 19 tries.
Ryan was to become a practicing lawyer in 1970 and then held the seat of St George from 1976-84 in the Wran Labor Government.
He went on to become the president of the Players Association and in 1991 won an important court victory for the players to defeat the NSWRL draft system.

Monty Porter - St George rugby league historyMonty Porter signed with the new Cronulla Sutherland Sharks club who are scheduled to be in the first grade in 1967.
The prop come second row forward was an integral part of the St George first graders. Originally from Tamworth, Monty also played for Southern Division club, Thirroul. He also played with Wests in 1955 before finding a home with St George. In 1960, he was a rep for NSW.
From 1958-1965, Monty Porter made 119 appearances for St George (118 games + 1 replacement), scoring 13 tries.


Eddie Lumsden - St George rugby league historyEddie Lumsden originally from Kurri Kurri, first came to Saints in 1957.
The best winger of his time, Eddie was the competition's leading try scorer in 1958 and 1962 and often notched up a hat trick of tries throughout his career (including three tries in the 1959 Grand Final).
NEW SIGNINGS
BARRY BEATH
- a quick and robust forward who hailed from Eugowra (as did Ian Walsh). Barry had already represented Australia in the 1965 tour of New Zealand.
DENIS PRESTON - a goal kicking winger was also signed to replaced the outgoing Eddie Lumsden.
A NSW rep and Test player, Lumsden retired from Rugby League in 1966 with 136 tries and 17 goals in 158 games for the Dragons. He later got involved in League administration and eventually became an Australian selector.

Robin Gourley - St George rugby league history
Robin Gourley, a former Irish rugby union international forward came to Saints in 1963.
He left the club after 1966 Grand Final and played in the bush after moving to Wauchope. In all, Gourley played 35 games for the Dragons scoring seven tries.




George Carstairs - St George rugby league historyGEORGE CARSTAIRS DIES
The sad news of the passing of George Carstairs reached St George Leagues Club in November 1966.
'Bluey' Carstairs played 79 games for Saints between 1921-29. A local junior from Marist Brothers, Carstairs scored 11 tries and 79 goals for a first grade career total of 191 points.
He has the honour of being the first ever St George player to score a first grade try when he crossed in 1921 against Glebe. In the same year Carstairs became the first ever St George junior to play for Australia when he was selected on the 1921-22 Kangaroo tour, playing in two Tests.
George was also at the centre of an all in brawl in a 1928 match which became known as the infamous 'Earl Park Riot'.
A digger in both World Wars, Carstairs' death was prematurely reported whilst he was fighting in the Middle East in World War Two.


THE END OF THE GOLDEN YEARS
SCG scoreboard 1966 - St George rugby league history1966 marked the end of St George's golden reign when they won 11 premierships in a row, a world record in first grade for an elite team in any sport, and an achievement that will most likely never be equaled.

This remarkable run was achieved at a time when winning a rugby league grand final was harder than ever before. Souths, Balmain and Easts have claims to being great clubs of the 20th century and their respective records speaks volumes. But a quick scan of the statistics will show that they won the majority of their premierships in less competitive times and often when there wasn't a semi-final system in place.

From 1956-1966, the St George Dragons were a class above the competition. How they maintained their dominance for so long is one of the great sporting questions.

The players say that they felt a sense of confidence which only comes from belonging to a well run family. They point to the weekend BBQs and the after game drinks (at Carlton's Royal Hotel) as being the fundamental reason behind this incredible success story.
They also point out the support of their families and in particular the wives and girlfriends of the footballers.

As well, St George had become a rich club which was managed in a totally professional manner; a fact that must have had a bearing on their success.

222 Matches 1956-1966
Wins 183, Losses 34, Draws 5
Total points for: 5109 (average 23.01 / match)
Total points against: 2153 (average 9.70 / match)
Then there's the 'success breeds success' factor with almost every young player wanting to be part of the best team and wear the Red V.

There is of course, the the Red V itself.
Players of past and present often say that when they pull on a St George jumper, they feel 10 feet tall. Perhaps, it's the Red V on white background that makes a man look larger than life or perhaps it's the tradition which empowers the imagery. Whatever the reason, there is no doubt that St George jersey has a strong effect on players and their supporters. Even in the first years of the 21st century, you can still go to the bush and find young rugby league players who want to wear the Red V football jumper.

Although the unparalleled success of St George placed future teams under unfair pressure, it has to be said that the golden years set the pace for the 1970s and beyond thus ensuring that Saints would be forever known as the MIGHTY DRAGONS without contradiction.

Corrections and enquiries: [email protected]

www.jubileeavenue.com.au/history