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BACK
TO REALITY II: 1970 - 1973
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1970:
JACK
GIBSON CALLED IN AS COACH
In 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 Easts who 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. |
DRAGONS
DEFEATED IN
'TRY-A-THON'
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, a remarkable and historical event happened
for the St George Dragons who 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.
|
1970
(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
|
(22
ROUNDS)
Saints
'70 record
Win
Loss Draw
15W,
7L, 0D
Pts
for/against
For 408
(3rd) Against 329 (5th) |
Apisai Toga in full
flight eyeing off Bob Fulton |
A
SUCCESSFUL SEASON
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 wasnt alone with a number of players lifting
in 1970.
After 22 rounds, Saints finished 3rd
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. |
1971:
1971 saw the introduction
of the six tackle rule which replaced the
four tackle rule.
1971 also saw the field goal value
reduced from two points to one point.
 WAV
(205 Kb) Click on the speaker to hear
Billy Smith talk prior the 1971
Grand Final |
MARK SHULMAN - THE 'MIGHTY ATOM'
 Dubbed
the 'Mighty Atom', halfback Mark Shulman
(pic right) joined Saints in 1971 beginning
his career in third grade. The smallest man
in rugby league, Shulman stood at just 5 foot
2 inches (157cm) and weighed in at just 10
stone (63Kg). 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.
 Rated
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'.
|
1971
(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
|
(22
ROUNDS)
Saints
'71 record
Win
Loss Draw
15W,
6L, 1D
Pts
for/against
For 392
(3rd) Against 283 (2nd) |
Barry Beath making
another powerful run in 1971 |
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.
WAV
(130 Kb) Click on the speaker to hear
Graeme Langlands talk prior the
1971 Grand Final. |
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.
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
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
potiing 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.
Trailing 7-4 at halftime, Saints came back to
win in fine style with Smith and Langlands again
proving the difference.
WAV
(212 Kb) Click on the speaker to hear St
George hooker, Col Rasmussen talk
prior the '71 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 scoreline 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.
In the end, it was desperately close match and
has been rated as one of the greatest grand
finals ever played.
Fulltime 1971 grand final: South Sydney
Rabbitohs 16 defeated St George 10.
Scorers for St George: Beath, Walton tries,
Langlands 2 goals.
SCG crowd: 62,838. Referee: K Holman.
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.
|
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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.
 NEW
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.
|
1972
(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 |
(22
ROUNDS)
Saints
'72 record
Win
Loss Draw
16W,
4L, 2D
Pts
for/against
For
398 (5th) Against 221 (1st)
|
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. |
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.
HERB GILBERT SNR PASSES AWAY
 In
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:
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.
NEW
SEMI FINAL SYSTEM
1973 saw the introduction of the new
five team semi finals system. Under
the new system, the top 3 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
by Cronulla in the preliminary major semi
final 18-0. The new semi-final system
gave Saints another opportunity. |
SAINTS
& NEWTOWN IN SEMI REPLAY
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 Netown 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 won8-5, 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.
|
1973
(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 |
(22
ROUNDS)
Saints
'73 record
Win
Loss Draw
15W,
7L, 0D
Pts
for/against
For 372
(3rd) Against 213 (1st) |
 LANGLANDS
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 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: 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. |
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