Search this site
or the WWW

Search History
Search WWW

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
1967-1969
The Different Game

In 1967, Rugby League was a different game.

Billy Smith Banner 1968 at SCG - St George rugby league historyUnlimited tackles became a thing of the past with the introduction of the four tackle rule. Originally an English modification, the new rule allowed four attacking plays and at the completion of four tackles, a scrum was packed. The defending team was given the best chance of winning the ball by being allowed feed the scrum on their loose head prop side. Following the controversial rule change, coaches and players irreversibly changed their game plans. Kicks became commonplace as attacking teams desperately tried to find touch down field rather than be trapped with the ball. There were more scrums and with that, scrum penalties became a monotonous blight on the game. The traditional 'softening up period' was gone and replaced with a game where possession changed often.

Nevertheless, there were supporters of the limited tackle rule that pointed to the new game being faster and often swinging from one end of the field to the other.

The four tackle rule led to a completely new game of Rugby League and one that was the cause of much debate in its first year. In particular, it has often been blamed for the demise of the St George powerhouse during this period and that the Dragons couldn’t adapt to the new game - a claim which isn’t backed by research and is probably a myth.

In 1967, the St George Dragons were the defending premiers and had just won a world record 11 premierships in a row. But it was a vastly different world to the one that saw the Dragons beginning their dream run in 1956. Back then, Robert Menzies was Australian Prime Minister and the Melbourne Olympics was delivering stardom to Betty Cuthbert and Dawn Fraser. Ken Rosewall was winning Wimbledon and rock-and-roll was shocking parents in America. By 1967, there was Vietnam, protests and the Beatles released Sergeant Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band.

It was during this that the radical limited tackle rule came into being. This coincided with an end to the Dragons’ reign and gave rise to claims that the new rule was designed to stop St George. While it’s true that their forwards dominated while retaining possession for long periods, the St George of 1967 also adapted to playing under the four tackle rule. They still finished as minor premiers and scored more tries than anyone else. The Dragons had every chance to make it 12 premierships in a row.

But there were other factors going against them;

Firstly, core players in the team were one year older and some were having trouble backing up from representative duties. Injuries were taking their toll with key players taking the field on pain killers while others were nearing retirement. Journalist Mike Gibson wrote, “… a lot of them were looking more than just year older when we saw them rampaging last year.”

Secondly, the player depth was thinning. Lower grade players, tired of waiting for their chance, found better spots with other clubs. Additionally, there were two new teams in the competition, Penrith Panthers and Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and this gave more opportunities to players coming onto the open market. In a nutshell, Saints had lost key players, mainly forwards, and left it too late to find replacements. The reality being that the club was losing more key players than it was gaining.

Thirdly, Souths were on the rise and their young team of future greats were a year older.

These factors plus a series of internal disputes were to weigh heavily on Saints in 1967. In particular, club officials were to rue their lost opportunity to keep Kevin Ryan who, as captain-coach of Canterbury-Bankstown, would introduce many of the Dragons' training techniques. Ryan's Canterbury would be there in the semi-finals to narrowly defeat St George and finally end their premiership run.

The four tackle rule, having completed its first season, was still being hotly debated in the boardrooms and public bars of Sydney. A number of players despised the rule. Reg Gasnier didn’t mince words when he simply said, “I hated it.”

Test hooker, Ian Walsh wrote, “I didn’t like the four tackle rule. Under it, Rugby League became a game of chance and took much of the long-term strategy out of the game.”

The argument continued until 1971 when the rule was changed again with an extension to six attacking plays. Although the critics continued to debate the issues, it seems that this final six tackle modification silenced the antagonists forever and gave us the game we have today.


The end of the dynasty
1967:
DEPLETED DRAGONS STILL MINOR PREMIERS

Saints had always prided itself on it's recruitment drive. This had been the cornerstone of their growing success for almost 30 years but in recent times, the club's commitment to nurturing new talent had taken a number of falls. By the early 60s, the club had reached the pinnacle of sporting achievement and with that a certain amount of relaxation had crept into ranks of the administrators. Players leaving the club was nothing new but in earlier years, there was a strong reserve grade and the club had replacements trained and ready up to a year prior to the changeover.

By 1967, the club's strength had descended to shallow depths. The Dragons were written off, however, the champion side out-stayed all to become minor premiers for the 11th time in 12 seasons.


SAINTS HUMBLED BY PENRITH
Penrith Park, 23 April 1967: 
St George suffer their first loss in 1967 in an embarrassing defeat to League newcomers, Penrith. Saints' have been suffering from a number of off field problems which no doubt contributed to the 24-12 round four loss.

SAINTS CRUSH BERRIES
Sydney Cricket Ground, 27 May 1967:  St George have responded to their critics with a resounding 26-8 victory over Canterbury Bankstown. In recent weeks, hooker and skipper/coach,  Ian Walsh was experiencing a drop in form and often found himself on the losing end of the scrum count. In short, his head was on the chopping block. A pre-game meeting sparked the team into action and the round 10 match became a turning point in Saints 1967 campaign. The following week, Saints thrashed Newtown 42-7.

DENIS PRESTON SEASON'S TOP POINT SCORER
Denis Preston
was the 1967 competition's top point scorer with six tries and 73 goals (164 points).


INJURY-RIDDEN SAINTS LOSE FIRST SEMI-FINAL
Sydney Cricket Ground, 2 September 1967:  Throughout 1967, Saints kept their title defence on track. This was despite a growing injury toll. John Raper and Graeme Langlands were playing on pain killers and Brian Clay had a damaged knee cartilage, an injury which eventually put him on the operating table. If it wasn't for the efforts of Billy Smith and Reg Gasnier, it is likely that Saints would have lost several more games in 1967 and may have failed to qualify for the semi-finals. Smith played on pain killers for much of 1967 and Gasnier was coming back from injury. 'Gaz' was a full yard slower following his horrific cruciate ligament injury which put out of action for most of 1966. However, he found new strength, setting up plays and putting others into gaps. He also increased his defensive workload.

In an exciting encounter, the Dragons lost their first semi final, going down to Souths 13-8 on September 2nd. In front of 51,915 spectators, Saints scored two tries to one and won the scrum count but in reality, the Souths pack out played the injury-ridden Dragons.
1967
NSWRL First Grade
Ladder

(top 4 in semis)
St George 33
Souths p 32
Canterbury 29
Easts 28
Manly 26
Balmain 26
Wests 22
Norths 17
Parramatta 16
Newtown 16
Penrith 12
Cronulla
7
p = Season Premiers

Saints 1967
AFTER 22 ROUNDS
Minor Premiership
Won-Lost-Draw
W
L
D
16
5
1
Points For 437
(1st best attack)
Points Against 267
(4th best defence)
MP Standing
1st

(12 teams)

FINALS
W
L
0
2
Points For 19
Points Against 25
Final Standing
3rd

TOTALS
24 matches
W
L
D
16
7
1
Points For 456
80 tries
102 goals
6 field goals
Points Against 292
36 tries
83 goals
9 field goals
DRAGONS CAN'T MAKE IT 12 IN A ROW
1967 PRELIMINARY FINAL FULLTIME:
Saints 11 Canterbury Bankstown 12
Scorers (St George) Tries: John King 1

Goals: Denis Preston 4
Referee: C Pearce
Crowd: 49,941
Sydney Cricket Ground, 9 September 1967: Saints needed to beat Canterbury on September 9th to make it into the grand final.
The match set the pace for future confrontations when the neighbouring clubs put on one of the best Rugby League matches in living memory. The match began with Saints winger, Denis Preston, opening the Dragon's account with a penalty goal. A short time later, the injured Brian Clay, playing in his final (200th) game made a half break and set up John Raper who in turn set up Elton Rasmussen. Rasmussen found Johnny King who scored near the uprights. Preston converted and added further points with a penalty goal. After 20 minutes, Saints led 9-0 and looked as if they would go with it. But the Berries struck back and scored a try. From the kickoff, Preston kicked out on the full and Canterbury kicked a penalty goal from halfway. Suddenly it was 9-7.
chang speaks 1967 - click here - St George rugby league historyWAV (775 Kb) Click on the speaker to hear Graeme Langlands recall the 1967 final.
Soon after, Saints' 1967 hopes took a nose dive when Graeme Langlands had to leave the field with a groin injury, reducing the Dragons to 12 men. John Raper tried to fill the gap but he too was struggling. The day before, he was in a car accident and only a few weeks before that he was in a hospital bed in traction. In the 1967 final, he was wearing a special corset which kept his back rigid.
Canterbury's new skipper, ex-Saint Kevin Ryan rallied his troops, letting everyone on the SCG pitch know what was already evident, Saints were finished! A number of St George players were looking to their team mates in an effort to find out who was going to win the match - an attitude unheard of in the previous 10 years.
Canterbury scored again and at half time they held a slim 10-9 lead.
1967 final - St George rugby league historySaints started the second half well and 14 minutes in, Preston kicked a penalty goal which put Saints back in the lead, 11-10. But then the referee, Col Pearce penalised the St George front row for not packing down properly in the scrum. This trivial penalty turned into two points for former St George lower grader, George Taylforth when he kicked a goal from halfway putting Canterbury ahead 12-11.
With 20 minutes to go, Saints' remaining 12 players united and rallied in an effort to save the match. Reg Gasnier, struggling with a calf injury and centre partner,  Billy Smith, doped up with pain killers played their hearts out, tackling and running themselves to the point of exhaustion.
With the valor of champions, Gasnier and Smith threw their all into the final dying moments of the St George dynasty.
But it was not enough.
At fulltime, with no further scores added, it was a victorious Canterbury 12, defeating a gallant St George 11.
In an act of sportsmanship, St George formed a guard of honour and congratulated the victors. Afterwards, in the dressing room it was different story with grown men weeping uncontrollably.
After a long while, they sang with pride, 'We are the St George Boys'. Then with quiet resolved, they packed up their gear and departed.
BRIAN 'POPPA' CLAY RETIRES
Brian 'Poppa' Clay - St George rugby league history
A Newtown junior and captain coach of Griffith, Brian 'Poppa' Clay (pic right) came to Saints in 1957. Originally selected at lock and found himself in that year's Australian World Cup side.

He was moved to five eighth in 1958 and soon gained a reputation as a fearless defender and excellent ball distributor. 'Poppa' toured with the 1959-60 Kangaroos and played in all five Tests.
In 1962, he broke his arm and only came back in 1963 in Reserve Grade where he guided the seconds to a Grand Final win.
In first grade, he played in no less than eight Grand Final wins (1957-61 and 1964-66).
'Poppa' retired from Rugby League at the end of 1967, playing his 200th grade match for St George. In first grade, he played 183 games, scoring 33 tries.
IAN WALSH RETIRES
One of Australia's great captain coaches announced his retirement from Rugby League following the 1967 final. Hooker, Walsh had the thankless task of leading the Dragons to the 1967 final loss but is credited with leading St George to their 13th Grand Final win in 1966. 'Abdul' played in 25 Tests for Australia and in five winning Grand Finals for St George. In all, Ian Walsh played 94 games for the Dragons from 1962-1967 and scored four tries.
Ian Walsh speaks - St George rugby league historyWAV (2261 Kb) Click on the speaker to hear Ian Walsh recall the 1967 final.
The champion front rower went on to be a successful car salesman and later made a name for himself as a sports writer before finding more success as a marketing director with a printing firm
'Abdul' came back to football in 1994 as a City selector.
REG GASNIER RETIRES
Reg Gasnier - St George rugby league historyIn late 1967, in a Kangaroo tour match against a French Hopefuls in Avignon, the champion centre, Reg Gasnier (pic left) limped from the field. In an earlier match against Great Britain he had  broken his leg. He never played Rugby League again. Afterwards, Gasnier was offered more money than ever before to play with Saints in 1968. But after some consideration, he chose to retire, citing family and business as the governing reasons behind his decision.
Reg Gasnier speaks - click here - St George rugby league history WAV (490 Kb) Click on the speaker to hear Reg Gasnier recall the 1967 final.
'Puff the Magic Dragon' played for the Saints between 1959-1967 and never played first grade for any other club. Generally regarded  as a player who comes along once in a lifetime, 'Gaz' burst onto the representative scene in 1959, the same year he started playing first grade. He scored three tries for NSW and did the same for Australia against New Zealand. As if to make a habit of it, Reg scored another hat trick of tries for Australia in the first Test match against Great Britain. In 1962, he became the youngest ever player to captain Australia at just 22 years of age. In 1963, he also scored three tries in one match against Great Britain and on the same tour scored a double in the 'Swinton Massacre' to secure the Ashes. The most heavily marked man in Rugby League, he was the season's leading try scorer in 1960 (25), 1963 (24) and 1964 (18).
In all, Gasnier played 36 Tests for Australia and played 131 games for St George in first grade. He played in six Grand Final winning sides.
In nine seasons, Reg Gasnier made 125 appearances for the Dragons, scoring 127 tries and 20 goals (421 points).
A true local junior, Reg was born in Kogarah in 1939. Widely regarded as the greatest centre to play Rugby League, Gasnier went on to ABC commentary work and later became a successful marketing manager for a Sydney packaging firm. A Rugby League Immortal.
1968:
NORM PROVAN RETURNS AS NON-PLAYING COACH
Norm Provan
was urged back as non-playing coach for one season and had some success with Saints finishing in third position on the ladder. But in the end, Saints were unable to match it with new front runners, the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

SAINTS DEFEATED BY SOUTHS IN FINAL
Sydney Cricket Ground, 14 September 1968: Saints failed in their attempt to become premiers when they were defeated by Souths in the preliminary final, 20-8. Both sides scored two tries each with penalties going the way of Souths.

Saints had earlier beaten the Jack Gibson coached Easts side in the minor semi final, 17-10. Souths went on to win the Grand Final beating Manly 13-9.


SEVEN DRAGONS IN WORLD CUP SQUADPhil Hawthorne - St George rugby league history
Tony Branson - St George rugby league historyDespite not being able to re-claim their crown, Saints had seven representative players in the World Cup squad of 1968: Johnny Raper (c), Billy Smith, Graeme Langlands, Elton Rasmussen, John Wittenberg, Johnny King and Tony Branson.



NEW SIGNINGS:

Phil Hawthorne (pic above left): Wallaby international and champion utility back was signed by Saints in 1968 on a reported $30,000 contract.

Tony Branson (pic above right): Originally from Nowra, Tony was selected as Kangaroo five eighth before being was signed to Saints following an $8,000 transfer fee.

John Wittenberg: Experienced forward from Wide Bay who played with Toowoomba in 1961. A Queensland and Australian representative, Wittenberg was previously blocked by the QRL from playing with St George forcing the prop to sit out the 1967 season and forfeit his spot in that years Kangaroo squad.

Apisai Toga: A giant Fijian forward, Apisai was signed in December 1967 after playing two seasons with the Rochdale Hornets (UK).

SEASON'S TOP POINT SCORERS
Winger Stan Gorton was the season's top try scorer with 22 tries in 24 games. Hailing from Cairns, Stan first came to Saints in 1966 before cementing a spot in first grade in 1968.

Denis Preston was again the competition's top scorer with seven tries and 84 goals (189 points).
1968
NSWRL First Grade
Ladder

(top 4 in semis)
Souths p 32
Manly 31
St George 29
Easts 29
Balmain 28
Parramatta 25
Wests 24
Penrith 22
Canterbury 19
Cronulla 12
Norths
8
Newtown
5
p = Season Premiers

Saints 1968
AFTER 22 ROUNDS
Minor Premiership
Won-Lost-Draw
W
L
D
13
6
3
Points For 416
(1st best attack)
Points Against 320
(8th best defence)
MP Standing
3rd

(12 teams)

FINALS
W
L
1
1
Points For 25
Points Against 30
Final Standing
3rd

TOTALS
24 matches
W
L
D
14
7
3
Points For 441
73 tries
83 goals
28 field goals
Points Against 350
38 tries
87 goals
31 field goals
1969:
HISTORY SPOT

MAN WALKS ON MOON
SAINTS GO DOWN IN SEMI-FINAL
Sydney Cricket Ground, 30 August 1969: St George completed 22 rounds of football in 3rd position thereby qualifying for the semi finals. In a close match they were defeated 19-10 by Manly-Warringah thus ending their 1969 campaign. Souths & Balmain would eventually fight out the Grand Final with underdogs, Balmain winning 11-2

JOHN RAPER CAPTAIN COACH IN 1969
John Raper - St George rugby league history'Chook' Retires to end playing days with Wests Newcastle.
John Raper is remembered as THE greatest lock forward of all time. Some say that he is the greatest player of all time.

As a young boy,  'Chook' lived with his well known sporting family in Revesby. Some writers have laid claim that Raper was a Canterbury junior. In fact, Johnny Raper spent much of his younger years in Newtown while attending St Josephs Public School.

At 18, he signed with Newtown after the Bluebags supplied Raper with a false address in order to side step the strict residential regulations of the day. While at Newtown, Raper played lock, five eighth and centre before being signed by Saints. Initially, he was reluctant to join St George but after being offered more money than he expected plus seeing the professionalism of St George, John Raper decided to become a Dragon. However, he still had to qualify as a St George resident.

After moving into the district, John had to sit out an entire year of competition football. He resumed playing in 1959 and in that year played for NSW and the Kangaroos. It was Saints' unbeaten year and Raper played centre in the 1959 Grand Final and on tour.

In all, Johnny Raper played in 33 Tests touring with the Kangaroos 3 times (1959, 1963 and 1967) as well as representing Australia in two World Cups (1960 and 1968). He was captain of Australia in 1968 and holds the record of the most Test matches against France with 12.

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 played a blinder, destroying the Brits and having a hand in 9 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.


Off field, Raper had a reputation as one of the game's characters and 'mucked up' often. On field, he was an all round footballer. Regarded as the best cover defender in the game, Raper was also electrifying in attack just wide of the ruck. Very little got past him and very few could stop him.

'Chook' played in eight Grand Final wins for St George including one where he played five eighth in 1962.
In 1969, with the St George ranks depleted, Raper took over as captain-coach of the Dragons and steered his team to the semi finals.

At season's end, the 30-year-old quit Sydney football to play for Wests Newcastle as captain-coach. Although Raper will never play for Australia again, he is to gain further selection in the Country and NSW teams. He continued playing until 1972 by which time he was with Kurri Kurri. He would later take up coaching of Cronulla and eventually become an Australian selector.

Johnny Raper's record with Saints: 1959-69, 180 games, 47 tries, 4 goals, 149 points.
1969
NSWRL First Grade
Ladder

(top 4 in semis)
Souths 36
Balmain p 34
St George 28
Manly 28
Wests 22
Parramatta 22
Norths 21
Canterbury 20
Easts 17
Penrith 13
Newtown 13
Cronulla 10
p = Season Premiers

Saints 1969
AFTER 22 ROUNDS
Minor Premiership
Won-Lost-Draw
W
L
D
14
8
0
Points For 411
(2nd best attack)
Points Against 323
(5th best defence)
MP Standing
3rd

(12 teams)

FINALS
W
L
0
1
Points For 10
Points Against 19
Final Standing
4th

TOTALS
23 matches
W
L
D
14
9
0
Points For 421
67 tries
93 goals
17 field goals
Points Against 342
48 tries
80 goals
19 field goals
Corrections and enquiries: [email protected]

www.jubileeavenue.com.au/history