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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
1970-1973

1970:
DRAGONS DEFEATED IN 'TRY-A-THON'
JACK GIBSON CALLED IN AS COACH
Jack Gibson coach - St George rugby league historyIn St George's 50th premiership season, the club called on the services of 'super coach', Jack Gibson.
A player of some note, Gibson played against Saints in the 1960 (as captain) and 1963 Grand Finals but never played in a winning grand final side himself.
'Gibbo' started his career with St George lower grades before shifting to Easts (1953-1961, 132 games, 26 tries). He then joined Newtown (1963, 11 games, 4 tries) before linking up with Wests (1934-1964, 19 games, 1 try). He also gained representative honours playing one game for New South Wales in 1954.
In 1967, Gibson took over the coaching of an Easts teams that had failed to win a game in 1966 and took them to the semi-finals for consecutive years.
Jack Gibson's basic philosophy was straight forward: no fighting, tough personal discipline and getting the basic things right. A commanding figure, Jack linked up with Saints in 1970 taking them to the preliminary final and then the grand final in 1971.
Sydney Cricket Ground, 14 June 1970: In perhaps the most entertaining match since the introduction of limited tackle football, Easts have defeated Saints 37-23 in front of an SCG crowd of 22,000 people. Between them, both sides scored no less than 14 tries with Easts snaring nine tries and Saints crossing five times.
Fulltime: Eastern Suburbs 37 (9 tries, 4 goals, 1 field goal) defeated
St George 23 (5 tries, 3 goals, 1 field goal). SCG Crowd: 22, 070.
Referee: D Lancashire.
SAINTS GO DOWN IN FINAL
Sydney Cricket Ground, 12 September 1970: The St George Dragons went down to Manly in the preliminary final 15-6. In a time when field goals were worth two points and becoming more commonplace, Manly booted their way to victory courtesy of no less than five field goals. Manly went on to the Grand Final which was won by Souths 23-12.

Prior to the final, Saints defeated Canterbury 12-7 in the minor semi final at the SCG on 29 August.

Fulltime: Manly 15 (1 try, 1 goal, 5 field goals) defeated
St George 6 (3 goals). SCG crowd: 43,147. Referee: D Lancashire.
ST GEORGE PROVIDE THREE AUSTRALIAN CAPTAINS
In 1970, the St George Dragons became the first football club (of any code) to provide three international captains in the same year. Graeme Langlands, Billy Smith and Phil Hawthorne had the honour of leading Australia in different games during 1970. Langlands and Hawthorne captained
Australia in Tests against Great Britain while Billy Smith captained Australia in the World Cup series in England.

Apisai Toga 1970 - St George rugby league history
Apisai Toga in full flight eyeing off Bob Fulton
STILL IN THE HUNT
Under Jack Gibson, Saints' flourished as a team and responded well to his no nonsense coaching style. He brought out the best in a number of players including popular forward, Apisai Toga. The powerful Fijian was often found running wide of the ruck.
Apisai came to St George in 1968 and was joined by brother, Inosai Toga in 1969. It was Apisai who said that when he pulled on a St George jumper, he felt 'ten feet tall'. And he wasn't alone with a number of players lifting in 1970.
After 22 rounds, Saints finished third and successfully qualified for the semi-finals for the 20th consecutive year and then went onto the preliminary final.

Saints biggest win of the season was against Norths in round four (18 April) when the Dragons downed the Bears 40-20.

1970
NSWRL First Grade
Ladder

(top 4 in semis)
Souths p 35
Manly 33
St George 30
Canterbury 28
Easts 26
Balmain 25
Cronulla 18
Newtown 18
Norths 15
Penrith 15
Wests 13
Parramatta
8
p = Season Premiers

Saints 1970
AFTER 22 ROUNDS
Minor Premiership
Won-Lost-Draw-Bye
W
L
D
15
7
0
Points For 408
(3rd best attack)
Points Against 329
(5th best defence)
MP Standing
3rd

(12 teams)

FINALS
W
L
1
1
Points For 18
Points Against 22
Final Standing
3rd

TOTALS
25 matches
W
L
D
16
8
0
Points For 426
64 tries
84 goals
33 field goals
Points Against 351
63 tries
66 goals
15 field goals

1971:
MARK SHULMAN - 'BANTAM'
Mark Shulman - St George rugby league historyDubbed 'Bantam' by team mate Billy Smith, halfback Mark Shulman (pic right) joined Saints in 1970 beginning his career in third grade. Perhaps the smallest man in rugby league, Shulman stood at just 5 foot 2 inches (157cm) and weighed in at just 9 stone 4 pounds (59Kg). The 18-year-old made four first grade appearances for Saints in 1971 including a sparkling second half against Souths at the SCG.
Shulman was set to replace the patient Ross Strudwick who had to battle the evergreen Billy Smith (who had broken an arm in early 1971) for the halfback spot
.
CRONULLA DEFEAT SAINTS FOR FIRST TIME
Kogarah Jubilee Oval, 18 July 1971:
Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks have defeated St George for the first time, 19-15. The two teams first played each other in 1967 and this is the 10th meeting between the neighbouring clubs. Cronulla's win brings the head-to-head score to Saints 9 - Cronulla 1.
JOHNNY KING RETIRES
Winger, Johnny King (pic right) played just one first grade match in 1971 before heading off to play in the country. His retirement hastened following a car accident.
John King - St George rugby league historyRated as one of the best finishers in the game, Johnny King originally came from Gilgandra but was brought up through the St George juniors before joining Saints in first grade in 1960.

He represented NSW eight times in 1963, 64, 65, 69 & 1970 crossing for tries nine times. He played for Australia in 13 Tests from 1966-68 & 1970 scoring six tries.

The brilliant flankman established a record which is unlikely to be broken when he scored tries in six successive grand finals, known as 'the King Hits' (1960-65).
He was the club's leading try scorer in 1961 (20 tries) and 1965 (15 tries).
King was the centre of a controversy in the 1963 grand final when he scored a match winning try against Wests on a muddy SCG surface. To this day, Wests' players maintain that King was tackled prior to scoring and the ref, Darcy Lawler had called 'held'.
King maintains that he wasn't held and he never heard the ref call; replays of the footage supports King's claims. Darcy Lawler, who passed away in 1994, was accused of betting on the match outcome.
A lawn mower accident in October, 1966 almost resulted in King losing his foot but he made a remarkable recovery to make his Test debut and go on to play five more seasons with St George.
Following his departure, King went on to coach Western Division to the inaugural mid week AMCO Cup victory in 1974. He continuing coaching and saw Country seconds to an upset win over Sydney in 1984. In his only first grade appearance of 1971, Johnny King scored a three pointer to rack up a Dragons club record of 143 tries.
Johnny King, first grade stats 1960-1971:
191 games, 143 tries*, 7 goals = 443 points. *club record.

Barry Beath 1971 - St George rugby league history
Barry Beath making another powerful run in 1971

DRAGONS GRAND FINALISTS IN ALL THREE GRADES
In 1971, Saints won the Club Championship for the 16th time with all three grades reaching the grand final. It was a tremendous achievement but a disappointment when all three teams lost their respective matches. The third grade went down 19-5 to Canterbury, the reserves 11-5 also to Canterbury and the firsts 16-10 to Souths.


SAINTS RATED UNDERDOGS IN '71 GRAND FINAL
Col Rasmussen 1971 - St George rugby league history
Col Rasmussen speaks - click hereWAV (212 Kb) Click on the speaker to hear St George hooker, Col Rasmussen talk prior the '71 Grand Final.
Sydney Cricket Ground, 18 September 1971: In season 1971 St George qualified for the semi-finals for the 21st season in succession finishing third on the ladder and were eventual runners up.
The Dragon's march to the Grand Final came at the expense of Parramatta 19-8 (28 Aug) and Manly 15-12 (11 Sep). The semi-final victory over Parramatta was went into extra time with the fulltime score at 8-all. The 20 minutes that followed saw Billy Smith and Graeme Langlands hit top gear with Smith potting a field goal and then chipping ahead for Langlands who scored a spectacular try.
The defeat of
minor premiers Manly in the final was a boost considering the Sea Eagles' record throughout the season.

1971
NSWRL First Grade
Ladder

(top 4 in semis)
Manly 38
Souths p 34
St George 31
Parramatta 24
Balmain 22
Canterbury 22
Cronulla 20
Penrith 20
Easts 19
Newtown 15
Norths 11
Wests
8
p = Season Premiers

Saints 1971
AFTER 22 ROUNDS
Minor Premiership
Won-Lost-Draw-Bye
W
L
D
15
6
1
Points For 392
(3rd best attack)
Points Against 283
(2nd best defence)
MP Standing
3rd

(12 teams)

FINALS
W
L
2
1
Points For 44
Points Against 36
Final Standing
2nd

TOTALS
25 matches
W
L
D
17
7
1
Points For 436
82 tries
91 goals
8 field goals
Points Against 319
59 tries
70 goals
2 field goals

RULE CHANGES
1971
saw two significant rule changes.
1. The six tackle rule introduced in place of the four tackle rule.
2.
Field goal value reduced from two points to one point.
Billy Smith 1971 - St George rugby league history
Billy Smith speaks - click hereWAV (205 Kb) Click on the speaker to hear  Billy Smith talk prior the 1971 Grand Final
Trailing 7-4 at halftime, Saints came back to win in fine style with Smith and Langlands again proving the difference.
Graeme 'Chang' Langlands 1971 - St George rugby league history
Changa Langlands speaks - click hereWAV (130 Kb) Click on the speaker to hear Graeme Langlands talk prior the 1971 Grand Final.
Despite these strong showings, Saints went into the Grand Final against Souths as underdogs. Souths had a larger pack and the St George team, captained by Graeme Langlands was a much younger side.
The first half was gruelling affair with the only score coming from an Eric Simms field goal. At half time Souths were in front by the unlikely score line of 1-0.
Souths raced ahead in the second half and at one stage, held an 11-nil lead. But the Dragons fought back with tries to Barry Beath and Ted Walton. Langlands adding the extras which included a magnificent conversion from the touchline.
At 11-10 and with only 12 minutes remaining Saints looked to be getting on top of their more fancied rivals. But the experience of Souths won out when they eventually defeated Saints 16-10 thanks to a match winning try from Bob McCarthy.
1971 Sydney Grand Final - St George rugby league historyIn the end, it was desperately close match and has been rated as one of the greatest grand finals ever played.
1971 GRAND FINAL FULLTIME:
South Sydney Rabbitohs 16 St George Dragons 10
Scorers for St George:
Beath, Walton tries, Langlands 2 goals
Referee: K Holman
Crowd: 62,838

LANGLANDS TOPS COMPETITION SCORER'S LIST
St George fullback and captain, Graeme Langlands was the competition's top point scorer in 1971 with 14 tries and 77 goals - a personal rally of 196 points.


1972:
CHANGA NEW CAPTAIN COACH
In 1972, coach Jack Gibson stepped aside and Graeme Langlands was installed as captain-coach. Under Langlands, it was another successful year as Saints came within one match of the grand final. After 22 rounds, Saints finished third on the ladder and were defeated in the preliminary final. It was successful year in all three grades with premiers in the the thirds and grand finalists in the reserve grade. The Dragons fell just one point short of taking out the Club Championship.

'Lord Ted' Goodwin 1977 - St George rugby league historyNEW SIGNINGS:
Ted Goodwin (pic right). Signed from Dapto, 'Lord Ted' represented Country before linking up with Saints in 1972. Playing at centre or fullback, Goodwin chimed into the backline perfectly.
Rod Reddy. Originally a centre, 17-year-old Reddy stood at 6 foot 3 inches and would eventually make his name as a back rower. Hailing from Rockhampton in Queensland, 'Rocket' debuted for Saints on the 21st May at Kogarah Jubilee Oval and had an immediate impact.
Lindsay Drake. NSW lock forward, Lindsay Drake signed with Saints following two seasons with Manly.
Roy Ferguson. Experienced centre from Wests, Roy Ferguson lived up to his reputation as a tough competitor.
John Peard. Five-eighth from Easts. Clever around the ruck, Peard would later re-join Easts and then Parramatta, transforming the game with a lethal 'up and under' kicking style and and bringing a new term into rugby league; 'the bomb'.

SAINTS THRASH MANLY, SOUTHS, CRONULLA
Kogarah Oval, 3 April 1972: Following an outstanding defensive display, St George have defeated Manly 18-0 in front 6,182 people at Kogarah Jubilee. Saints' points came from tries to Bob Clapham and Tony Branson with Graeme Langlands kicking six goals. Saints locked out Manly, the eventual premiers.

Kogarah Oval, 9 April 1972: Saints have swamped the Cronulla Sharks 37-0 in round three. Scoring seven tries to nil, it was one of the biggest wins of the year. Crowd: 13,484.

Sydney Cricket Ground, 6 May 1972: The Dragons have smashed Souths Sydney 24-7 in front of a huge SCG crowd of 47,298 people. Scoring four tries to one, Saints outclassed last year's premiers in one of the biggest matches of the year. Outstanding for Saints was forward Barry Beath who crossed for two tries. Ted Goodwin and Tony Branson scored a try each. Graeme Langlands, who was having a tremendous season, added six goals.


SAINTS DEFEATED IN FINAL
Sydney Cricket Ground, 9 September 1972:
Eastern Suburbs Roosters have defeated the St George Dragons 8-6 in a try-less preliminary final.
A tense match, the winner was decided by a penalty goal six minutes from fulltime. With the scores locked at 6-all, referee Keith Page awarded Easts a penalty when St George lock Graeme Sams came into contact with Easts five-eighth John Ballesty who had just kicked the ball.
It was then up to former St George fullback, Allan McKean who responded to the pressure by converting the penalty into points and winning the game for Easts.
Fulltime 1972 final score:
Easts 8 (A McKean 4 goals) defeated
St George 6 (R Strudwick 2, G Langlands 1 goals).
SCG Crowd: 41,313. Referee K Page.

1972
NSWRL First Grade
Ladder

(top 4 in semis)
Manly p 37
Easts 35
St George 34
Souths 28
Newtown 24
Canterbury 24
Wests 17
Cronulla 16
Norths 15
Balmain 13
Penrith 11
Parramatta 10
p = Season Premiers

Saints 1972
AFTER 22 ROUNDS
Minor Premiership
Won-Lost-Draw-Bye
W
L
D
16
4
2
Points For 398
(5th best attack)
Points Against 221
(1st best defence)
MP Standing
3rd

(12 teams)

FINALS
W
L
1
1
Points For 20
Points Against 18
Final Standing
3rd

TOTALS
24 matches
W
L
D
17
5
2
Points For 418
74 tries
94 goals
8 field goals
Points Against 239
41 tries
57 goals
2 field goals
STRUDWICK MOVES ON
1972 was the final season in Sydney for halfback Ross Strudwick. In an era when Billy Smith dominated, Strudwick battled hard to cement a first grade spot. A player of class and a valuable goal kicker, Strudwick agreed to terms with Valleys in Brisbane and went on to play for Queensland and Australia. Ross Strudwick made 32 first grade appearance for Saints between 1969-1972, scoring one try, 56 goals and two field goals for a personal tally of 117 points.

BILLY LACES UP FOR TWO GRAND FINALS
Grand final day 1972 saw Saints represented in both the third and reserve grades. Making his back from from injury, Billy Smith was inspirational in the third grade Grand Final against Souths which was won 19-7 by Saints.
Billy then backed up for the last eight minutes of the reserve grade grand final to try and rescue the match. But it was too late with Saints going down 14-3 to Canterbury.

HERB GILBERT SNR PASSES AWAY
Herb Gilbert Snr - St George rugby league historyIn 1972, St George and Rugby League mourned the passing of football legend Herb Gilbert Snr (pic left). A champion winger and centre, Herb Snr was the first captain of St George first grade way back in 1921.
A dual international in both Union and League, Herb Gilbert joined Rugby League in 1911 initially linking up with Souths before joining Hull (UK) and winning the Northern Union Championship of 1912. Gilbert was also a NSW and Australian representative culminating into the Australian Test captaincy in 1920.
Retiring at the end of 1921, Gilbert became a non-playing coach at St George until 1924. The club respected his contributions enough to stage a testimonial match at the opening of Earl Park in 1925. Gilbert's three sons, Herb, Jack and Bob all played for St George. A St George, NSW and Australian selector, Herb Gilbert Snr was also a car and maintenance examiner on the NSW railways for 36 years. Herb was later employed as at the SCG as the doorman to the player's dressing rooms.
He passed away on January 3rd 1972, aged 84.
1973:
Apisai Toga - St George rugby league history
click on pic for profile
APISAI TOGA DIES
In early 1973, many were shocked when Apisai Toga collapsed and died from tetanus poisoning after training one night. The Fijian forward spent two seasons with English club Rochdale before linking up with Saints in 1968. Hugely popular with fans, Apisai Toga apparently suffered tetanus poisoning from an unattended coral injury while visiting Fiji during the off-season.
From 1968-1972, Apisai made 103 appearances for St George; 65 in first grade.

NEW SIGNING:
John Chapman. Centre and winger. Blayney junior and winger with St Patrick's club in Bathurst. In 1972, Chapman represented Country as an 18-year-old and then played two games for New South Wales before being signed by Saints in 1973.

DRAGONS, BLUEBAGS IN HISTORIC 1-0 SCORELINE
Sydney Cricket Ground, 12 May 1973:
Newtown have beaten Saints after a field goal was kicked to break a 0-0 deadlock. It was an historic scoreline and the first time a first grade rugby league match was won by 1-0. Prior to 1971, field goals were worth two points. Newtown's Ken Wilson kicked the winning field goal. Both sides had opportunities to win with eight failed attempts at penalty goal.

SAINTS & NEWTOWN 12-ALL IN SEMI
Sydney Cricket Ground, Sunday 2 September 1973: Saints and Newtown have played a 12-all draw in the minor semi final forcing a replay to be played in two days time. The match went into extra time but after 100 minutes of semi-final football, the scoreline was locked up at 12-all. Graeme Langlands kicked six goals with Newtown scoring two tries and two goals.
SCG Crowd: 24,390. Referee: K Page.

SAINTS GO DOWN IN SEMI REPLAY
Sydney Sports Ground, Tuesday 4 September 1973: With the knock-out semi-final unresolved, Newtown and St George met for the second time in three days. This time Newtown won 8-5, scoring two tries to one. Newtown advanced to the preliminary final five days later only to be knocked out by eventual runners up, Cronulla.
Sports Ground crowd: 27,791. Referee: K Page.

Graeme Langlands - St George rugby league historyLANGLANDS NAMED CAPTAIN-COACH OF AUSTRALIA
Already classed as one the game's greatest players, Graeme Langlands was elevated to the position of captain-coach of Australia in 1973, thereby becoming the last player to be selected as captain and coach of an Australian touring side. Langlands had previously captained Australia in 1970.

COMPETITION'S TOP POINT SCORER 1973: The appointment as Australian captain-coach capped off another fine season for 'Chang' who was also competition's top point scorer for the second time in three years. In 22 match rounds and three semi-final encounters, Langlands scored five tries and 84 goals for a personal tally of 183 points.

NEW SEMI FINAL SYSTEM
1973 saw the introduction of the new five team semi finals system. Under the new system, the top three teams would get a second opportunity to contest the finals if they should get beaten.
In 1973, Saints finished the 22 rounds in third position and were beaten in the preliminary major semi final (Cronulla 18-0). The new semi-final system gave Saints another opportunity..

1973
NSWRL First Grade
Ladder

(top 5 in semis)
Manly p 35
Cronulla 34
St George 30
Newtown 28
Canterbury 25
Easts 24
Souths 23
Norths 15
Wests 14
Balmain 14
Parramatta 12
Penrith 10
p = Season Premiers

Saints 1973
AFTER 22 ROUNDS
Minor Premiership
Won-Lost-Draw
W
L
D
15
7
0
Points For 372
(3rd best attack)
Points Against 213
(1st best defence)
MP Standing
3rd

(12 teams)

FINALS
W
L
D
0
2
1
Points For 17
Points Against 38
Final Standing
4th

TOTALS
25 matches
W
L
D
15
9
1
Points For 389
67 tries
90 goals
8 field goals
Points Against 251
42 tries
60 goals
5 field goals
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