Living to the ripe old age of 80 and beyond is an achievement for anyone and even more noteworthy after a rugby league career that has subjected your body to what some would describe as “cruel and unusual punishment”.
This article acknowledges just some of the great players who’ve defied the odds by well and truly exceeding the life expectancy of an elite rugby league player born in the late 1930s and 1940s, by selecting a team of living legends.
The only criteria for selection in this team is that the player must be at least 80 years of age.
1. Les Johns (Age 83) – “Golden Boy” was one of the greatest Bulldogs of all time and he played 103 games for the club between 1963 and 1971, as well as 14 Test matches and 16 games for NSW. Tipping the scales at just 70kg wringing wet, Johns played well above his weight, and injuries limited his career somewhat. A member of the Hall of Fame and a Canterbury Life Member, he was a great competitor, brilliant in attack, a very accurate goal kicker and one of the best cover defenders in the game.
To illustrate his standing in the game, when he was available for selection, he was generally the first-choice fullback for Australia and NSW ahead of fellow greats in Keith Barnes, Ken Thornett, and Eric Simms, and even future Immortal Graeme Langlands was shifted to the centres to include Johns in the team.
2. Johnny King (Age 83) – A Hall of Fame member and one of the finest wingers that the game has seen, King played 191 games for St George between 1960 and 1971, won seven premierships and scored 143 tries along the way. A winger renowned for his speed, positional play and rugged defence, King scored in each of six consecutive grand finals between 1960 and 1965, played 11 games for NSW and 15 Tests for Australia.
He retired in 1971 due to injuries suffered in a car accident and later coached Western Division to their famous victory in the inaugural Amco Cup in 1974.
3. Harry Wells (Age 93) – A bruising centre who was not to be trifled with, Wells joined South Sydney from Wollongong in 1951 and was part of their premiership winning team that year. He returned to Wollongong in 1952 but was back in Sydney four years later to join the Magpies, and he played 86 games for the club between 1956 and 1961.
There were few better outside backs than Wells in his day and he was an automatic selection for NSW and Australia, playing 35 games for NSW and 37 Test matches for Australia. He rode shotgun for a 19-year-old Reg Gasnier when he debuted for Australia in 1959 ensuring that he didn’t receive any unwanted attention, and meted out punishment to those who made the mistake of targeting the young centre.
Wells is a member of the Hall of Fame and was named in the Illawarra Rugby League and Western Suburbs Magpies Teams of the Century.
4. Johnny Greaves (Age 82) – A St George junior who debuted for the club in 1962, playing 28 games over the next two years. He found himself stuck behind star first-graders in Reg Gasnier, Eddie Lumsden, Johnny King and Billy Smith and headed to Canterbury in 1964 in search of more opportunities.
Fast, blessed with good footwork and also a strong defender, Greaves blossomed at his new club, becoming a regular first-grader, and went on to play over 100 games for the Bulldogs before he left to play in the Group 6 competition in 1973. He was a regular in the NSW and Australian sides from 1966 to 1968, playing 16 Tests and seven games for NSW.
5. Mike Cleary AO (Age 85) – Arguably the fastest player of his generation, Cleary played six Tests for the Wallabies before switching to rugby league with South Sydney in 1962, and later that year he represented Australia as a sprinter at the Commonwealth Games.
He crossed for 88 tries in 139 games in his nine seasons for the Rabbitohs, winning premierships in 1967, 1968 and 1970, before switching to the Roosters for his final season in 1971, and he played 8 Tests for Australia and 12 games for NSW. Following his retirement from the game he became a television personality and later the NSW state member for Coogee from 1974 to 1991.
6. Johnny Peard (Age 80) – He had two stints with Eastern Suburbs, with uneventful seasons with St George in between in 1972 and 1973, but he really hit his straps when he returned to Bondi in 1974, winning back-to back premierships under coach Jack Gibson, became one of the most feared “bomb” kickers in the game, and played for both NSW and Australia across the 1975 to 1977 seasons.
He joined Parramatta in 1976 and was instrumental in them going as far as the grand final in 1976 and 1977, but injuries saw his form fade in 1978 leading to his retirement in 1979. He then turned his hand to coaching spending time at the helm of Parramatta, Penrith and NSW.
7. Billy Smith (Age 83) – One of the best in the business in the 1960s and early 1970s who won four premierships with St George between 1963 and 1966, firstly as the centre partner of Reg Gasnier and later as halfback.
A clever half known for his speed durability and sometimes ruthless style of play, Smith became one of the great halfbacks during his career, playing 26 Tests for Australia and 17 games for NSW. He won the Harry Sunderland Medal in 1966 and 1977 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008.
8. Bill Hamilton (Age 80) – “Herman” was a big front-rower who joined Manly from the Newcastle competition in 1965, and went on to play 187 first-grade games for the Sea Eagles over the next 10 years, picking up premierships in 1972 and 1973.
Hamilton became excess to Manly’s requirements at the end of 1974 and joined North Sydney, where he was captain/coach in 1977 and 1978. He played four games for NSW and toured with the 1973 Kangaroos without playing in a Test.
9. Elwyn Walters (Age 82) – There were no better nor tougher hookers than Walters in the late 1960s and 1970s, and he was a key contributor to Souths’ premiership wins in 1967, 1968 and 1970, and played 129 first-grade games for the club between 1967 and 1973.
He wisely switched to Eastern Suburbs in 1974 and won back-to-back premierships under coach Jack Gibson in 1974 and 1975, before finishing his Sydney career with Manly in 1977. He played 20 Test matches for Australia and 11 games for NSW.
10. Kevin Ryan (Age 91) – A commanding figure during his time in the game who went on to even bigger and better achievements after he hung up his boots. Hailing from Queensland, Ryan represented the Wallabies in the late 1950s before joining St George in 1960, going on to win seven titles with the Dragons before heading to Canterbury in 1967 as captain/coach.
His move to Canterbury proved to be instrumental in ending St George’s 11-year reign when he led the Bulldogs to a one-point victory over the Dragons in the 1967 preliminary final. He represented NSW and Australia in rugby league and later not only became a successful barrister but also served as the NSW state member for Hurstville from 1976-84.
11. Bob McCarthy MBE (Age 81) – There was no more destructive a ball runner in the game in the 1960s and 1970s than this Souths legend. Big enough to run over opponents close to the ruck and fast enough to run through gaps out wide, McCarthy scored an incredible 119 tries in his 251 games in the top grade.
He won three premierships with the Bunnies, played 11 games for NSW and 15 matches for Australia, and was inducted into the Rugby League Hall of Fame in 2008. After he retired, he became a successful coach in the Brisbane competition and went on to become the inaugural coach for the Gold Coast Giants in 1988.
12. Barry Beath (Age 82) – Like McCarthy, he was as quick as many backs but never shirked the hard graft around the rucks. Beath was selected from the Country Firsts team for NSW and the Australian team to tour NZ in 1965 and joined St George the following year, but unfortunately wasn’t part of their 1966 premiership-winning team.
He played 198 games for the Dragons in his 12-year career and went out a winner, coming on as a replacement in the 1977 decider against Parramatta, his last game for the club. He represented NSW again in 1967 and made a second tour to NZ in 1971 but didn’t play a Test.
13. Ron Coote AM (Age 81) – A rugby league Immortal and winner of the Clive Churchill and Harry Sunderland Medals in his career, Coote was simply one of the greatest forwards of all time.
He won four premierships with South Sydney in his 148 games for the club between 1964 and 1971, before doing the unthinkable and joining arch-rivals Eastern Suburbs in 1972, where he won 2 more premierships.
Renowned for his skill and speed in attack and his flawless defence, Coote also played 15 games for NSW and 23 Tests for Australia. Following his retirement from the game he established a successful business career and was also instrumental in the formation of what’s now known as the Family of League program.
Let’s finish with a special mention to some of the games other living legends who were a credit to the game in their day: Col Brown (Age 87 – Canterbury), Mick Veivers AM (Age 86, Manly, Brisbane Souths, QLD and Australia), Barry Rushworth (Age 82 – Parramatta, NSW and Australia), Paul Cross (Age 80 – Eastern Suburbs and Balmain), Arthur Branighan (Age 82 – South Sydney), Don Parish (Age 88 – Western Suburbs, NSW and Australia), Bruce Pollard (Age 82 – St George), George Taylforth (Age 84 – Canterbury, Cronulla and NSW), Jim Mills (Age 81 – North Sydney, Wales and Great Britain), Bob Boland (Age 87 – Balmain and Penrith), Merv Hicks (Age 82 – Canterbury, North Sydney and Great Britain), and John McDonnell (Age 82 – Manly, North Sydney and Canterbury).
Can you think of any other living legends who’ve reached the ripe old age of 80?
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