As for previous articles in this series, I will attempt to put together a quality team for each NRL club made up solely of players since 1980 who never went beyond club level. The criteria for selection is:

– No representing at senior level: internationals, State of Origin, Prime Ministers XIII, City vs. Country or All Stars.
– Current players are excluded.
– Players are only eligible for the club they played the most first grade games for.
– For players who straddle the 1970s and 1980s, 30 games after since 1980 is generally the cut-off to qualify.

I have relaxed one rule slightly for Newtown, given they only have four seasons during the eligible period from 1980. If a player played more games for another club, but that was in the 1970s, they can still represent Newtown if they played for the Jets in the 1980s. Let’s call it the Graeme O’Grady rule.

Given the club only operated until 1983, this team is mostly made up of their famous 1981 grand final side.

Fullback: Ron Sigsworth (25) 1982-1983. 8 wins 15 losses. 11 tries 1 goal

The less famous Sigsworth, local junior Ron has a claim to fame as the last Jet to score a try at Henson Park in the NSWRL, against Balmain in 1983. Sigsworth played two seasons with Newtown, debuting in 1982. Eleven tries in only 25 games from fullback and centre is pretty good going.

After the demise of the club, Sigsworth moved to Canberra for a season and then finished in England for Castleford, losing the semi-finals of the Challenge Cup to Hull FC after a draw and replay. He came back and played some reserve grade for Souths, appearing in one Midweek Cup game in the top grade.

Wing: Ray Blacklock (32) 1981-1982. 16 wins 14 losses. 13 tries. 4 finals 2 wins

Ray ‘Bundi’ Blacklock played 93 games in the NSWRL in the 1970s and 1980s. He started with Penrith as a local junior but struggled to cement a first grade spot, playing just 32 matches in five seasons, although he did captain their under 23s to the club’s first-ever title in 1978.

Joining Newtown in 1981 he immediately became a regular in the top grade as the club made their first grand final since 1955. Blacklock scored tries in each of their three semi final wins to get them to the decider. He played half of the grand final with a broken arm.

Blacklock’s next season was hampered by injury and he left the club in 1983 for Canberra where he played for a further two years. He passed away in 2020 after a long battle with illness.

Wing: Chris Doyle (66) 1978-1983. 19 wins 44 losses. 14 tries

Chris Doyle played for the Jets from the late 1970s, playing 49 games in his first three seasons. He left for Canterbury after the club folded but only played a handful of games.

His claim to fame is scoring five tries in a single game in a Midweek Cup fixture against Wellington (from New Zealand) in 1983.

Centre: Mick Ryan (84) 1979-1982. 38 wins 41 losses. 22 tries. 4 finals 2 wins

Tweed Heads product Mick Ryan enjoyed a long career in the 1970s and 1980s, playing 157 first grade games over nearly a decade.

After playing for North Coast against the touring English and in the midweek AMCO Cup in 1974 he was picked up by Canterbury and played 57 games over four seasons for the Berries (as they were known then), including finals in 1975 and 1976.

He joined Newtown in 1979 (where his father Peter had played) and gave great service over the next four seasons, including scoring a double in their 1981 minor semi-final victory over Manly. After leaving Newtown he played a final season with Easts in 1983.

After leaving Sydney Ryan returned to the Tweed and captain-coached the Tweed Seagulls to two premierships and a grand final.

Centre: Mark O’Brien (55) 1977-1983. 20 wins 32 losses. 5 tries

Mark O’Brien was primarily a five-eighth, but I’m very short of centres and he played here twice for the club. O’Brien was a speedy half who played first grade for seven seasons, although never managed to fully cement a top spot. He played 10 games in 1980 and 12 in 1982. He passed away in 2021.

Five-eighth: Paul Morris (19) 1981-1983. 8 wins 8 losses. 2 tries 13 goals. 4 finals 2 wins

Five-eighth Paul Morris played three seasons for Newtown from 1981, after a couple of games for Balmain as a 17-year-old. In 1980 at Balmain he was taken straight from Jersey Flegg into first grade and played two games against each of the eventual grand finalists, Canterbury and Easts.

Morris also represented NSW Under 18s that year. He was convinced to move to Newtown by Tommy Raudonikis. Morris was so young that Raudonikis used to come and pick him up for training.

Morris broke into first grade at five-eighth with the Jets in Round 20 of 1981, just in time for their run to the finals. Despite still being in his teens, he also became the goal kicker, unfortunately only kicking one from three in the grand final.

Morris left for St George after 1983, cementing a first grade position and playing finals with the club in 1984.

On the 1981 grand final (courtesy of dansnrlcollectibles.com): “In the grand final I just focused on trying to stop Brett Kenny… Kenny (Wilson) took over with 20 minutes to go, probably the worst thing he (coach Warren Ryan) did, we were leading at that time.

“He also took off Geoff Bugden as well, in those days you shouldn’t take off your front rowers. It was a grand final you don’t get taken off. What had been happening in the semi-finals was Ken Wilson was replacing Tommy Raudonikis. On grand final day Tommy said replace me today and I’ll bash the f**k out of ya. So instead of taking Tommy off he took me off. I held (Brett) Kenny for 60 minutes. He (Warren Ryan) did the same thing at Balmain.”

Halfback: Ken Wilson (150) 1971-1983. 70 wins 72 losses. 25 tries 447 goals 28 FG. 4 finals 2 wins

Ken ‘Squeaker’ Wilson was a Newtown stalwart of the 1970s, making his first grade debut in 1971 and still playing as he captained the club in their last-ever match in the top grade in 1983. True to form, in that last game Wilson kicked a field goal as the club defeated Canberra 9-6.

Wilson was a prolific kicker both for goal and in general play (maybe due to his AFL background, with his older brother Danny representing NSW). He kicked 33 field goals in his career, one more than the tries he scored. Wilson’s grand total of 1001 points is a Newtown record and included 197 points in a season in 1980 to lead the competition that year.

After four years with the Jets from 1971 Wilson did leave the club for Penrith for three years in the mid 1970s, after first playing a season in Port Kembla in 1975.

Wilson finally played finals for the first time in the Jets’ run to the grand final in 1981 (Jack Gibson had dropped him just before the 1973 finals series), albeit from the bench behind Tommy Raudonikis and Paul Morris.

In 1973 Wilson made history by potting a field goal against St George for the only 1-0 win in the history of the NSWRL. Ironically he failed to get one over the cross bar in 1982 as he captained the club in their 0-0 draw against Canterbury.

Wilson is credited with being the one who gave Phil Gould his ‘Gus’ nickname. Warren Ryan said he never had a player as clever as Wilson.

Wilson on the changing demographics of Sydney which led to the demise of the Newtown Jets: “I spent the first 20 years of my life trying to get out of Newtown and now, I wouldn’t be able to afford to get back in.”

Lock: Graeme O’Grady (68) 1980-1982. 40 wins 24 losses. 13 tries 7 goals. 4 finals 2 wins

Graeme ‘Snake’ O’Grady played 89 games for the Wests Magpies but they were all in the 1970s, so I have invoked ‘The O’Grady Rule’ to allow his 68 matches for Newtown to place him in this side (he also played 61 matches for St George in the 1980’s). It would have been a shame to leave him out.

He was a tough and clever five-eighth and lock and I was surprised he never received any representative recognition. Well, actually he did. O’Grady was selected in NSW’s 1981 State of Origin team on the bench, but he never actually got onto the field and was not selected again.

O’Grady played finals with all three of his clubs, including Newtown’s 1981 grand final where he scored a try before halftime. O’Grady never did get to win a grand final, with his only other appearance being St George’s 7-6 loss to Canterbury in 1985. He did, however, win the midweek Amco Cup with Wests in 1977, being named player of the series.

In retirement O’Grady played country football in Cudgen, winning two titles as captain-coach in the late 1980s.

O’Grady was a Newtown legend even though he was named in the Western Suburbs Team of the 70s. His disallowed try in Wests’ 1978 tight preliminary final loss to arch-rivals Manly was a stand out moment in rugby league for those who think referee standards have fallen away in recent times.

‘Hollywood’ Greg Hartley ruled O’Grady offside in scoring from a kick – even though O’Grady had been the one who kicked the ball!

Second row: Col Murphy (66) 1976-1983. 22 wins 42 losses. 4 tries. 1 final 1 win

Local junior Col Murphy played for Newtown in the club’s last six seasons in the top flight. Injuries meant that he only played more than 20 matches in one season, 1982. He missed a chunk of 1981 after a serious knee injury in a trial match and ended up on the bench in the grand final without getting on the field.

After Newtown folded, Murphy joined North Sydney and then South Sydney, but only appeared in a few first grade games for each club. Murphy stayed connected with the Jets, coaching the side to a hat-trick of premierships in the Metropolitan Cup between 1995 and 1997.

On his first grade debut at 17: “My first top grade match was against Souths and I came up against Terry Fahey, I still have the stud marks on my jersey from when he ran over the top of me.”

Second row: Ray Downie (15) 1983. 4 wins 10 losses. 1 try

Canterbury junior Ray Downie played for Canterbury from 1977 and made a few first grade appearances across 1981 and 1982. He moved to Newtown and played 15 matches in their 1983 final season. Downie’s only try in first grade came in the Jets’ biggest win of their final season, a 34-8 flogging of Penrith in Round 12.

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After the Jets folded, Downie moved to Cronulla and appeared in two more first grade matches in 1984. He then left the NSWRL and turned out for the Woy Woy Roosters, winning a premiership in 1985. He then returned to lower grades with Canterbury before going back to Woy Woy in 1988.

Props: Craig Ellis (84) 1978-1983. 36 wins 46 losses. 7 tries. 3 finals 2 wins

Craig ‘Araldite’ Ellis played over 100 matches in first grade for Newtown and then Wests. He played in the front row in Newtown’s 1981 grand final loss. Ellis moved to Wests after Newtown folded and played a further four seasons, although he only managed 26 first grade games for the Magpies.

To show not all forwards struggle to add up, Ellis was a chartered accountant.

Steve Blyth (44) 1979-1982. 19 wins 23 losses. 3 tries. 4 finals 2 wins

Steve Blyth was another who played for both Newtown and Wests, but in his case Blyth started with Wests in 1976 before moving to Newtown in 1979. He is our second beneficiary of ‘The O’Grady Rule’. Thanks, Wests Magpies.

Over four years Blyth only once played more than 10 matches in a season, but it happened to be 1981 when he propped up the scrum for the entire finals series including the decider.

Blyth retired in 1982, missing the Jets’ final season.

He was a tough piece of work, sent off twice for fighting: once against Canterbury’s wild man Geoff Robinson and once against Wests’ noted enforcer John ‘Dallas’ Donnelly.

Hooker: Jim Walters (39) 1977-1982. 18 wins 19 losses. 8 tries. 4 finals 2 wins

Jim Walters played 39 first grade matches across six years for Newtown. He forced his way into first grade during the Jets’ 1981 season. He started in two finals and played the grand final from the bench.

Walters sang ‘Who’s Sorry Now’ on the album Tooth Hotels Presents Footy Favourites in 1980.

Bench

Wayne Newling (20) 1982-1983. 7 wins 11 losses. 1 try

Wayne Newling played hooker for the club’s 1982 season. On debut in Round 1 he scored Newtown’s only try in their loss to Eastern Suburbs and never scored another in his career. He played two matches in early 1983 but suffered a serious injury at North Sydney Oval and never played first grade again.

Greg Brown (18) 1983. 4 wins 13 losses. 1 try

Greg Brown played halfback or five-eighth for 18 matches in Newtown’s final season. Brown made the side in Round 6, scored a try on debut and never got over the line again. He popped up a couple of years later on the bench for a single match for Wests. While playing he worked as a carpenter for the Canterbury Council.

Tim Barnes (20) 1983. 6 wins 13 losses. 4 tries

Tim Barnes is another who got an opportunity as the depleted Jets played out their final season in 1983. Barnes played 20 games as a fullback or centre and crossed the line four times, including the club’s last-ever try in their final game, against Canberra.

Barnes never really cracked first grade after that, appearing only four times each for Easts in 1984 and Parramatta in 1986.

Lance Thompson (13) 1983. 4 wins 8 losses. 1 try 1 goal

This is not the St George forward, but a shearer’s son from Nyngan who played a couple of games for Balmain in 1980 before turning up for 13 appearances for the Jets in 1983 as a utility back. Like a couple of others on the bench here, Thompson scored a try in his first appearance for the club, but never again, although he did kick a goal in Round 25.