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THE
GOLDEN YEARS III: 1964 - 1966
1964:
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 and the Harry
Bath coached Balmain.
Johnny 'Chook' Raper gives Parramatta's
Barry Rushworth a lesson in cover defence. |
Graeme
Langlands had a fantastic season and seemed
to save his best for the new pretenders, Parramatta.
After going down to Parra in round 8 (5-2), Saints
thrashed the Eels 36-0 in round 17 with Langlands
scoring 3 tries & 6 goals. In the major semi
final, Saints humiliated Parramatta 42-0 with Changa
scoring 3 tries and kicking 9 goals. Parramatta's
policy was to try and bash St George out of the
match. The St George response was to show no mercy
and ply 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. |
1964
(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
|
(18
ROUNDS)
Saints
'64 record
Win
Loss Draw
15W, 3L,
0D
Pts for/against
For 393 (1st)
Against 154
(1st) |
BRIAN
GRAHAM DEPARTS
 1964
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. |
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.
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 and then caught the ball with his boots
only an inch or two from the touchline. 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
tryline. 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.
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. 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.
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) Crowd:
78,056 |
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. |
1965
(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
|
(18
ROUNDS)
Saints
'65 record
Win
Loss Draw
15W, 3L, 0D
Pts for/against
For 394 (1st)
Against 142
(1st) |
Norm charges forward in 1965
|
NORM
PROVANS LAST MATCH
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.
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 |
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.
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 tenth 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 & 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. He 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.
NEW 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
 Sydney
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 '66. There
was a reluctance to preside over the demise. There
were a number of reasons for this pessimism. 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 '66, 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 '66. 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 scorelines were also dealt to Souths and
Newtown.
|
1966
(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
|
(18
ROUNDS)
Saints
'66 record
Win
Loss Draw
13W, 4L, 1D
Pts for/against
For 331 (1st)
Against 156
(1st)
Click on pic for larger image
|
SAINTS
BEST IN 1966
 One
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 yrsold) 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.
SAINTS FIRST LOSS AT KOGARAH
IN 13 SEASONS
Kogarah Jubilee Oval, 31 July 1966:
Wests have defeated St George 12-9 marking Saints'
first home defeat at Kogarah since 1954.
In what is almost certainly a record for a winning
streak, St George didn't lose a game at Kogarah for
an incredible 13 seasons between 1954-1966.
SAINT 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 the an outfit which didnt have the
'edge' of previous seasons.
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 |
SAINTS
MAKE IT No. 11
1966 DRAGONS
Click on the pic for names
and larger image (59Kb) |
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.
PICTURES
FROM THE '66 GRAND FINAL
To
view video captures of the 1966 Grand Final,
click here
(109Kb).
 WAV
(969 Kb) Click speaker to hear the roar of the
crowd, fulltime hooter & the marchin' song. |
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 before finding prop, Kevin Ryan
in support. It was a spectacular run from the evergreen
forward who out-raced his pursuers and dived through
the air to score effectively putting the match beyond
doubt.
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 setting record
was that was unlikely to be ever be broken.
|
NEW
SIGNINGS: Barry Beath was a quick and robust
forward who hailed from Eugowra (as did Ian Walsh).
Barry had already represented Australia in the 1965
tour of NZ. Aslo, Denis Preston, a goal kicking
winger was signed to replaced the outgoing Eddie
Lumsden.
DEPARTING PLAYERS
 Kevin
Ryan (pic right, top) 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 (RU
& RL), '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 practising Lawyer
in 1970 and then held the seat of St George from 1976-84
in the Wran Labour 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.
Eddie Lumsden (pic right, middle),
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). A NSW rep and
Test player, the classy flanker 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 (the father of
Scott), a former Irish RU international forward came
to Saints in 1963. He left the club after '66 Grand
Final and played in the bush after moving to Wauchope.
In all, Gourley played 35 games for the Dragons scoring
seven tries.
Monty
Porter (pic right, bottom) signed with the new
Cronulla Sutherland 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.
 GEORGE
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 pts.
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, his death was prematurely
reported whilst he was fighting in the Middle East
in W.W.II. |
THE
END OF THE GOLDEN YEARS
 We've
come to the end of the St George's golden reign when
they won 11 premierships in a row at a time when winning
Grand Finals was harder than ever before. Souths,
Balmain and Easts have claims to being great clubs
of the 20th century and their respective records speaks
for itself. But a quick scan of the stats 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 games
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 of the footballers who often
refused to be 'footballing widows' as they came out
in open and one-eyed support of St George.
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 ofcourse, 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 70s &
beyond and assured that Saints would be forever known
as the MIGHTY DRAGONS without contradiction. |
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