This is the second article in the series where I’ll pay tribute to the pioneers of each of the eleven surviving clubs who entered the league since I began following rugby league back in the 1960s and tell you a little about who they were and where they came from.
Today, the men from the Shire, the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.
The Caringbah-Cronulla Rugby League Club was founded in 1963 and they were playing in the NSWRL second division competition in 1966 when it was decided to add the first new teams to the first-grade competition since Parramatta and Manly were admitted in 1947.
Cronulla and Penrith were chosen ahead of the far more successful and financially powerful Wentworthville club due to their prime geographic locations, and they were set to enter the competition in 1967. Re-badged as Cronulla-Sutherland, the club abandoned their brown jersey with a gold V, and adopted a sky blue jersey with a white V and black trim.
Their first game in the big time was against 1966 wooden spooners Eastern Suburbs at the Sydney Sports Ground on 2nd April 1967. Easts went through the entire 1966 season without a single win, and Cronulla weren’t about to help them out in early 1967, defeating the Roosters 11-5, with hooker John “Bomber” Hynes crossing for Cronulla’s first try in the NSWRL.
Here’s the Cronulla team that ran out that day in front of a crowd of just over 6,000.
Numbers in brackets are the total first-grade games the player played for Cronulla, and note that under the numbering system of the time, the hooker is number 12 and the lock is number eight.
Cox had five seasons with Parramatta before joining Cronulla in the second division in 1965 and retired from the top grade in 1970.
A noted speedster who first played for Cronulla in the second division, Hewett was the equal leading try scorer in 1967 with three tries, and left the club at the end of the 1967 season.
Ryan was a lower-grade player for St George and joined Cronulla for their inaugural season, captaining the side on many occasions. He left at the end of 1968 to take up a captain/coach opportunity in the Wollongong competition and went on to be one of the most successful coaches in the game in later years.
Miller played for Cronulla in both the 1967 and 1968 seasons.
Sylvester played just 5 games in the top grade in 1967, his only season at the club.
Danzey joined Cronulla in the second division in 1966 after successful stints with both Newtown and Balmain. He had two years with the club prior to his retirement in 1968, and later forged a very successful career as a referee.
Hughes was a star for Wentworthville in the second division before he was signed by Cronulla for their first season in the top grade. He top-scored for the club that year with 139 points, became the club’s first representative player when selected for City Seconds in 1967, and went on to win the Rothman’s Medal in 1968. He returned to Wentworthville in 1971 to finish his career after his first-grade opportunities at Cronulla diminished following the signature of English test star Tommy Bishop in 1969.
Barnes was a versatile and hard-working player who came to Cronulla for one season in 1967 after a successful career with North Sydney. He moved to Tamworth in 1968 to pursue a successful career as a captain/coach.
MacDougall switched from rugby union to play for St George before finding his way to Cronulla in 1967. He had three seasons with the club.
Cooper was a rugged and relentless forward whose career spanned 12 years. He joined Cronulla in 1967 and played for them for the next six seasons, before finishing his career in the top grade with North Sydney in 1973. He went on to become the trainer/conditioner for Canterbury during the 1980s.
Monty Porter was one of the best forwards in the game during his eight years with St George and he notched up six premierships while he was there. He joined Cronulla in 1966 and his experience and work ethic made him an ideal first leader for the fledgling club in 1967. He retired from playing in 1968 and maintained his connection with the game through various administrative roles.
After spending six years across the grades with South Sydney, Hynes joined the Cronulla team in second division in 1966 and held his place in the team when they were promoted to first grade, becoming the club’s very first try scorer.
McRitchie had several years with St George, mainly playing in the lower grades, when he joined Cronulla in 1967, going on to play with them for the next three years.
Ken Kearney was a St George legend, and had coached them to five premierships, four as captain/coach, and also coached Australia, Parramatta and Western Suburbs by the time he joined Cronulla in the second division in 1966. He spent three years with Cronulla without enjoying any real success and retired from coaching at the end of the 1969 season.
Cronulla used 27 players in first grade in their first season, and apart from those mentioned above, some other notable pioneer players were:
Abercrombie was a very athletic winger-turned-fullback who came from the Wollongong competition to join Cronulla in 1967 and had three seasons in the top grade before turning his hand to touch football.
Sambo was a Cronulla junior and made his first-grade debut as a tough-tackling centre in 1967. He soon transitioned into a back-rower and was signed by the Dragons in 1971, spending four years at Kogarah before returning home to Cronulla to finish his career. He retired at the end of the 1977 season.
Probably not many of this band of brothers from the Shire will be remembered by the Sharks supporters of today, but they were there at the club’s beginning, and led the way for many to follow.
Cronulla began their first season with a bang, knocking over Eastern Suburbs, and they were two wins from four matches after four rounds. Unfortunately, things went downhill from there, when they won just one more game and drew another, both at their Sutherland Oval home ground, and finished the season in last place.
But every club has to start somewhere, and they say that what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and these pioneers turned the porch light on for Sharks supporters.
Justin
Guest
The Roosters so called juniors , virtually all come from the Central Coast. They run Junior grades through the Central Coast called the Central Coast Roosters. So it’s not difficult to make that connection immediately. They are only the Sydney or Eastern Suburbs Roosters by name. Much the same goes for St.George. Most if any decent junior players that they bring through are from the Illawarra. The coastal area south of Wollongong is the fastest growing area in NSW for population. They are already associated with the Illawarra & owned by The WIN Corporation. Which has its head office in Wollongong. The Bulldogs have a small home ground, that’s never going to be rebuilt as a decent sized stadium. Have home games here & there . Buy most of any decent players that they now have from other clubs . Plus are simply called the Bulldogs . Which can combine with any areas name in front of it . They’re only able to buy players now because of independent wealthy backers . So they seem like the obvious third choice of clubs to move to a new area. Those areas that these clubs they’ve been associated with aren’t growing . Plus they all have supporters who don’t necessarily live anywhere near the club’s original home areas, As I said. Many supporters of those clubs may not like it . When you look at the facts , it’s obvious . :thumbup:
RedcliffeFan
Roar Rookie
Had this user name long before Dolphins were admitted. Ok?
Sports Prophet
Roar Pro
Strange comment from a person calling themselves Redcliffe Fan ????
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
I have replied to this. It's in the ether.
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
It's about geography and demography. Souths and Easts shared the eastern suburbs north of Botany Bay. Souths got most of them leaving Easts with small junior competitions. Norths had the whole northern suburbs of Sydney until Manly-Waringah entered in 1947 but most of the Rugby teams come from those northern suburbs. Wests got the sparsely populated western suburbs and since you had to play for the district in which you lived Wests got most of the wooden spoons. St.George was the Wests 3rd grade so they lost them in 1921 when the Dragon Slayers played their first game on St.George's Day, 23rd of April. Then Wests got premierships in 1930 and 1934 but lost some of their players in 1935 when Canterbury took more of Wests territory. Canterbury were premiers in 1938.
Tony
Roar Guru
Can't see it happening, unless the threat of closure was hanging over their head.
Tony
Roar Guru
It's a long, long time ago mate. I know I saw them play the Dragons that year but can't remember it. :happy:
Tony
Roar Guru
Sure was, and they went within a headbut of picking up a premiership earlier than most. It's amazing what a difference a couple of hard and experienced players can make.
Tony
Roar Guru
Thanks Woody
KenW
Roar Rookie
It would obviously make more sense for St.George to go permanently to the Illawarra Without being argumentative for the sake of it, it's not as obvious as you might think. The population of the St George area is roughly the same as the entire Illawarra region (St George slightly under 300k, Illawarra slightly over 300k). Considering that St George is a fairly well supported team outside the area, by remaining in Sydney they keep a connection to a far larger population, larger sponsors, etc. Not least of which is their identity, which they've never pretended was anything other than St George Dragons. No-one has moved to the central coast for similar reasons. The Bulldogs would never find another location with more opportunity than they already have. None of it would make sense.
Woody
Guest
Great article. However just a slight correction. CronullaCaringbah changed its colours in 1965 from Chocolate and Gold to Black and White. Cronulla Caringbah was joined by DeLaSalle to form Cronulla Sutherland District Rugby League Football Club, based in CronullaCaringbah Leagues Club in Banksia Road Caringbah. The newly formed club took its colours from South CronullaSurf Club representing the Blue (DeLaSalle) and Black and White (Cronulla Caringbah), hence the Colours ........ BLUE, BLACK and WHITE. The black white and blue rubbish was only used in a song because the author needed something to rhyme.
Bernie
Roar Rookie
love these nostalgia articles Tony. always had a soft spot for Cronulla, even got a jersey as a kid for the 1973 grand final. that must have been some coup to sign T.Bishop to a club only two years old.
Broken Shoulder
Roar Rookie
Cheers, Tony. That was a nice little trip down history lane. Not ashamed to admit I knew almost none of those facts - except for the brown jersey turning blue.
Tony
Roar Guru
Certainly no big names there Nat. Probably the biggest signing was Monty Porter, who was a pretty formidable forward in his day.
Nat
Roar Guru
Interesting look back. I can honestly say there only two names on this list I recognise and neither of them as players, Coach Kearney and Coach Ryan. Something new every day as they say.
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
I didn't see the first St.George v Cronulla game on 21/05/67 at Kogarah. St.George 20 {Gorton 2, King, Beath tries; Preston 4 goals} d Cronulla 9. I did see the second round clash at Sutherland Oval on 05/08/67, Saints won 42-6.
Tony
Roar Guru
Cheers Tim. You're right about the scrum penalties. Being a centre, I wasn't keen on the 4 tackle rule as we generally saw less of the ball, and there was a hell of a lot of kick chasing.
Tim Buck 3
Roar Rookie
Great work Tony. 1. The 1967 jersey was superb. No advertising helps. 2. Ken Kearney was a great coach, far better than Warren Ryan, and a great hooker. 3. 1967 was the first year of the 4-tackle rule. RLF secretary Bill Fallowfield proposed to the 1966 RL International Board meeting that it should adopt American football’s four downs followed by a turnover. The New Zealand delegates amended this to have a scrum formed on the fourth tackle. 4. Scrums and scrum penalties dominated the game. I would’ve loved a turnover, playing prop was a bummer but I did develop neck muscles I didn’t know I had.
Tony
Roar Guru
Google tells me that he coached 36 games for a 36% winning record. Even Trent Barrett had a winning record of 15% in his 34 games at the Bulldogs. Makes you wonder where Easts found him?
Tony
Roar Guru
No doubt Justin, all those clubs sprang from the Sydney suburbia as it was back then, but the greater Sydney demographic is very different now. Moving rusted on clubs like Sg George, Canterbury and the Roosters would be difficult.