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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 5 IN A ROW!
Sydney Cricket
Ground, 3 September 1960: St George have won
another premiership 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.
 THE
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
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. Crowd: 53,156 |
Click
pic left for larger image and scoring details (83Kb)
|
1960
(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 |
(18
ROUNDS)
Saints
'60 record
Win
Loss Draw
14W, 4L, 0D
Pts for/against
For 456 (1st)
Against 176
(1st) |
 KILLER'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.
KEVIN RYAN & JOHNNY KING
Saints made two significant
additions to their playing ranks in 1960.
 Kevin
'Kandos' Ryan got his nickname from the cement
town in NSW. He is regarded 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
(Q) RU 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 Bill Wilson
was sent off and suspended for two weeks. On Wilson's
return, Ryan was retained in the pack (2nd 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 him 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 2 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 Blue Bags 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 W.W.II. 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 2nd
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 &
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".
|
1961
(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 |
(18
ROUNDS)
Saints
'61 record
Win
Loss Draw
14W, 4L, 0D
Pts for/against
For 367 (2nd)
Against 167
(1st) |
|
SAINTS
STUNNING IN 22-0 DEMOLITION OF WESTS
1961
GRAND FINAL FULLTIME: Saints 22 Wests 0
Scorers (St George)
Tries: Eddie Lumsden 3, Johnny King
1.
Goals: Brian Graham 5. Crowd:
61,196 |
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. 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. 
PUFF'S SPONSORS
'Puff
the Magic Dragon', Reg Gasnier was a star. League
stalwart, Harry 'Jersey' Flegg said of Gasnier
that he was the most exciting player in the game and compared
him to 'Dally' Messenger. Ken Kearney believed
Reg to be 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 (left) for larger image (45Kb)
 WAV
(728 Kb) Click on the speaker & hear
Reg Gasnier recall his time with St George.
|
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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 & finished his career
with Parramatta. Bob gave great service to Saints, scoring
57 tries in 140 games.
KEVIN
BROWN RETIRES
 One
of Saints' great club men, prop Kevin Brown (pic right)
has decided to hang up his boots. Kev 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.
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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 & 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 (pic
left).
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. Billy 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.
WAV
(1025 Kb) Click on the speaker & hear Ian 'Abdul'
Walsh talk about the Great Britain match. |
1962
(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 |
(18
ROUNDS)
Saints
'62 record
Win
Loss Draw
13W, 4L, 1D
Pts for/against
For 373 (1st)
Against 194 (1st) |
 NORM
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, and he was also as tough
as they come. |
|
JUDGMENT
DAY 1962
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)
Crowd: 41,184.
Referee: D Lawler.
WAV
(1691 Kb) Click on the speaker & hear Norm
Provan talk about the habit of winning.
|
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.
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 Johnny Raper
(who played 5/8 in place of Brian Clay who was
having a bad year with injuries), Kevin Ryan and
Ian Walsh.
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. It must have been some
back hander because Cody was 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 Wests'
players were screaming blue murder and the image of Cody
on the ground was not a pretty sight. Things looked bad
for Wilson and the referee, Jack Bradley sent him
off. 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.
GASNIER
YOUNGEST EVER AUSTRALIAN CAPTAIN
St George dominated the 1962 Australian team with Reg
Gasnier being selected as captain - the youngest
ever Test captain at age 22.
|
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1963:
SAINTS SLAUGHTER PARRA
Sydney Cricket Ground, 6 April
1963: St George have opened their season with a 51-2
thrashing of Parramatta. Ex-Dragon, Bob Bugden
was singled out by the Saints forwards and given 'special'
treatment. Reg Gasnier and Eddie Lumsden scored
3 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
& 29-5), Manly (39-0), Norths (26-7 & 40-8), Newtown
(25-7 & 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 & 12-5. Despite losing to Wests,
the St George 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.
|
1963
(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
|
(18
ROUNDS)
Saints
'63 record
Win
Loss Draw
15W, 2L, 1D
Pts for/against
For 434 (1st)
Against 95 (1st) |
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. Crowd: 69,860 |
Sydney
Cricket Ground, 24 August 1963: Sy 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 after the 1963 Grand
Final. Click on pic for larger image. |
From
the opening whistle the 1963 decider was a gruelling 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.
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, stiffarmed and kneed.
He was bashed out of the match and became a passenger in
the backline. 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 and with only 15 minutes to go and
the score slightly favouring Saints 5-3, Johnny King
scored the match winning try which created a sensation
in Rugby League circles.
Newcomer, Graeme Langlands passed to King who raced
through the mud down his wing after fending off his opposite,
John Mowbray. He 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 still not held and with no
marker he regained his footing and ran towards the corner
easily running past a relaxed defence who thought he was
tackled. If ever there was an example of playing to the
whistle, this was it. With a defender hanging off him, John
King scored one of the most controversial tries in Rugby
League history.
After the match, the debate raged on. Johnny
King claims that he was told by the ref to 'play on' while
Wests legend, Noel Kelly claims that King was tackled
and that Wests 'were robbed'.
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 won
their eighth consecutive Grand Final defeating a gallant
Wests team, 8-3 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.
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.
|
 St
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 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. |
 At
the end of the match, a magic moment was caught by photographer,
John O'Gready who captured with his camera
the actions of rival captains, Norm Provan and the
much smaller Arthur Summons who briefly embraced
each other. The photo (left), entitled 'The Gladiators',
won many international awards and set the standard as an
enduring symbol of Rugby League mateship. |
 'CHANGA'
LANGLANDS
Graeme 'Changa' Langlands hailed
from Wollongong. In '55, '56, & '57 he represented NSW
combined high schools. At the age of 18, he played first
grade for Wollongong in the strong Southern Division competition
in 1960. He represented Country when they defeated City
18-8 in 1962. With the impendimg 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 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
 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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