Rugby League - Drama is thy middle name (2018)

2018 has been a rather topsy-turvey season emotionally for many fans and commentators. The hatred over refereeing has seen some people claim they aren’t watching the games anymore. They say this every week, all but suggesting that they are still watching.

It reminds of another great Frontline quote about outraged people.

“They’re watching…they’ll be the first people to tune in next week looking to be outraged.”

And what exactly is getting everyone so vehemently upset with the NRL? Referee mistakes and indirectly the boss of the NRL, Todd Greenberg.

No one is perfect. No one.

NO ONE.

So it amazes that there are so many perfect humans, who have never been an NRL referee, or run a major sporting organisation, who seem to be so proficient in how both roles should be carried out.

It’s time for a bit of perspective. Has this been the most controversial year in regards to officiating and/or administration.

In 1908, the game’s founding fathers, politician Henry Hoyle (President), businessman James Giltinan (Secretary) and Test Cricket legend Victor Trumper (Treasurer), were so busy in the game’s birth that they were unable to produce a basic balance sheet in the General Meeting at the start of 1909. At that meeting in 1909, they were all removed from office with politician Ernest Broughton elected to take over as President.

Broughton lasted 22 days before stepping down due to work commitments and health concerns. He was replaced by another politician, Edward O’Sullivan, who last slightly longer before resigning upon learning about the League’s secret plan to sign the Wallabies. He was then replaced by Sir James Joynton-Smith, the man who funded the purchase of the Wallabies. The year ended with Balmain forfeiting the final for a number of reasons, the main one being that they didn’t think the Premiership final should be the undercard for an exhibition game between the Kangaroos and the Wallabies.

In 1917, one player appeared in one game for Glebe. He was Dan Davies from Newcastle and he was living in the region set aside for the Annandale club, under the residential rule that existed at the time. What transpired was Glebe losing 2 competition points and Davies banned for life. Glebe players protested their treatment later in the year over a number of matters by fielding a reserve grade team against defending premiers Balmain in what should have been a huge game. Balmain won 41-2. Glebe’s first grade players who refused to play were all handed lengthy suspensions.

Meanwhile, Dan Davies returned to Newcastle and began playing in the local competition. Once the NSWRL found out, they banned nearly every player, club and administrator in the Newcastle competition for life. They then set up a rebel league and continued playing the game outside of the control of the NSWRL. All the bans and suspensions were eventually repealed and Newcastle returned to a unified competition in 1920

This article could go on a lot longer, but the fact is, Rugby League will always find a way to have drama. Some of it is excessive by the game itself, other is blown out of proportion by the media, but all of them have only served to see the game grow stronger and bigger and better.

The petulant whines of a few sooks about referee blunders and how they are going to walk away from the game for good are coming from people with very short memories.

I urge those people to stop and ask yourselves this:

Is my constant whinging about the refereeing standards, the bunker and the assumed lack of leadership at the NRL really that bad. Would I prefer another Super League war instead?

This is solely a piece to offer some perspective. There’s no need to run with fearmongering rubbish, running stupid boycotts or blindly agreeing with everything some crisis merchant in the mainstream media constantly dribbles out.

If you want to genuinely help the game out, then be productive and offer solutions to issues.

If you hate the game, then please, stop watching it and go away.

The First Round of Games in 1908 (2017)

The opening round of the 1908 season saw four games played, comprising of all eight foundation clubs: Balmain, Eastern Suburbs, Glebe, Newcastle, Newtown, North Sydney, South Sydney and Western Suburbs.

The NSWRL premiership’s first round of games was billed against some stiff competition. The Easter Show at the Royal Agricultural Society Showgrounds was expected to draw in the vicinity of 80,000 people, while the horse races at Randwick attracted another 30,000.

That first weekend saw the fledgling code play a pair of double headers at suburban venues, with their marquee venue being used for the Easter Show. Both venues drew attendances of approximately 3,000 – a relatively pleasing turnout for the League.

2pm: Eastern Suburbs 32 def Newtown 16 at Wentworth Park 

Easts 32 (Stuntz 4, Brown, D’Alpuget, Miller, Smith tries; Jones 2, Rosenfeld goals; Miller field goal) Newtown 16 (Scott 2, Manton, Williams tries; Scott 2 goals)

Easts: W.Fry; J.Stuntz, W.Smith, D.Brown, D.Frawley; A.Rosenfeld, L.D’Alpuget; R.Mable, L.Jones, L.O’Malley, H.Brackenreg, S.Pearce, H.Flegg. H.Miller (sub)

Newtown: E.Hurford; E.Burdett, J.Scott, F.Cheadle, L.Fairburn; C.Manton, E.MacFarlane; C.Powell, J.Williams, T.McIntosh, E.Courtney, W.Noble, H.Hamill. K.Henger (sub)

The first match at Wentworth Park saw an open and fast exhibition of the new rules. End-to-end action from the kick-off resulted in a try to Jack Scott, who put in an elusive run through the scattered defenders to score under the posts. He converted to give Newtown a 5-0 lead. The Tricolours went right on the attack and shortly after, Smith scored a try after supporting a fine run by Mable.

D’Alpuget converted to level the scores.

D’Alpuget, almost immediately after play resumed, scored out wide. After some enterprising play from both sides, the Easterners put on a great passing display between Frawley, Flegg, Rosenfeld and Stuntz, with the latter scoring easily. Easts now lead 11-5. Newtown then went on the attack and after sustained pressure, finally broke through for a try out wide to Williams, which was converted by Scott. Eastern Suburbs lead 11-10 at halftime.

The second half started with Easts on the attack. D’Alpuget fielded a kick and put Stuntz in space, who put in a great run to score under the posts. Jones converted and Easts lead 16-10. Brown then made a break and scored but missed the conversion from almost right in front. Easts up 19-10. More great passing by the Easterners’ backs put Stuntz in for another try. Brown again missed from almost right in front. Easts now out to 22-10. A tired Newtown side were rejuvenated when Scott snuck through for a solid try which could not be converted.

Stuntz was gifted yet another try when smart passing presented with an open line. Jones converted and Easts were now out to a 27-13 lead. A neat short pass from Fry put Miller in space who scored. Stuntz missed the conversion. Shortly after Miller calmly potted a field goal to give Easts a 32-13 lead.

Manton scored arguably the try of the day after a great solo effort saw him evade six defenders to run away and score under the posts. Cheadle’s conversion attempt was woeful and missed. Just before fulltime a fight broke out between two players and while they were being separated, three onlookers jumped the fence and ran to the aid of the Newtown players.

 2pm: South Sydney 11 def North Sydney 7 at Birchgrove Oval

Souths 11 (Anderson, A.Butler, Green tries; H.Butler goal) Norths 7 (Lutge try; Glanville 2 goals) 

Souths: A.Conlin; F.Jarman, F.Storie, E.Fry, T.Anderson; A.Butler, J.Leveson; H.Butler, J.Davis, J.Cochrane, R.Green, J.Rosewell, A.Hennessy.

Norths: W.Whitfield; A,Broomham, J.Mathieson, J.Devereux, W.McCarthy; S.Deane, M.Lyons; J.Coste, E.Boland, H.Glanville, J.Kendall, F.Notting, D.Lutge.

North Sydney put pressure on the Souths side very early on and after South Sydney were penalised deep in their own half, Glanville kicked a penalty goal to give the Northerners a 2-0 lead. South then received a penalty from a scrum infringement just inside their own half. Harry Butler kicked a splendid goal to level the scores. After fast play from both sides, Souths finally got an opportunity to pressure the Norths defence which eventually resulted in a try out wide to Anderson. The try was not converted and a spirited first half, South Sydney lead 5-2.

North Sydney started the second half as they did the first. Notting secured a loose ball and made a great run before being tackled. Lutge then scooped up the ball from dummy half and crashed over for a try which wasn’t converted. South Sydney again pressured the Norths line repeatedly before a good passing play resulted in a neat try to Green. Souths now lead 8-5. A penalty against South Sydney allowed Glanville to kick a penalty goal to bring Norths within a point. Right on full time Butler received the ball from a scrum and scored the match winning try.

3.15pm: Glebe 8 def Newcastle 5 at Wentworth Park

Glebe 8 (Davis, Venness tries; Moir goal) Newcastle 5 (Bailey try; Bailey goal) 

Glebe: W.Pendergast; L.Edwards, J.Ryan, E.Ogaard, A.Wright; C.Davis, A.Halloway; T.McCabe, A.Venness, P.Moir, J.Pearce, J.Moroney, A.Burdon.

Newcastle: J.Smith; W.Bailey, E.McGuinness, A.Coleman, E.Patfield; G.Hardy, R.Lawson; A.Richards, P.Kay, A.Nicholson, C.Croft, S.Carpenter, J.Bartley. E.Smith (sub)

This game started off at a fast pace but it wasn’t long before some great work by Newcastle trio Lawson, Croft and Bailey produced the opening try of the game to Bailey in the corner. McGuinness just missed the conversion from out wide and Newcastle lead 3-0.

After 4 poor attempts to get on the board with a penalty goal, Glebe eventually scored through Davis as he barged over to score. Ogaard missed the conversion. Kay broke his finger and was replaced by Smith early in the half. Ogaard picked up a loose pass and set down the wing before drawing the defence and passing in-field to Venness who scored. Moir converted and Glebe went to the break leading 8-3.

Newcastle played the second half with just 12 men, however both sides were weary after the pace they played at in the first half. A Bailey penalty goal was the only score in the second half as the game become inundated with infringements.

3.15pm: Balmain 24 def Western Suburbs 0 at Birchgrove Oval

Balmain 24 (Graves 2, Latta 2, Fitzpatrick, Wilcox tries; Latta 2, Fitzpatrick goals) Wests 0

Balmain: J.Regent; G.Wilcox, G.Fitzpatrick, A.Walker, A.Latta; T.O’Donnell, A.Bryant; W.Fisher, A.Dobbs, E.McFadden, R.Graves, A.Ward, J.Apoloney.

Wests: G.Duffin; C.Blake, A.Brown, B.Duggan, P.Franks; L.Gormley, R.Gormley; E.Mead, W.Elliott, T.Phelan, T.Mount, J.Stack, J.Abercrombie.

The game was a lively one early on, with plenty of end to end action. Plenty of great runs and passing plays entertained the appreciative crowd thoroughly. Alf Latta opened the scoring after some good passing saw him in space. He managed to step and brush off several tackles in a clever dodging run to score. Balmain returned to the Westerners half and pressured them again which eventually lead to a good forwards try by Graves who crashed through. Balmain lead 6-0. Play continued at a good pace with Balmain in the advantage mostly, before half time sounded.

Balmain came out full of energy in the second half against a Wests side who looked tired. Latta put on another elusive run after a scrum to dodge and weave his way through the defence to score his second great try. Balmain continued pressing the Westerners line which resulted in Graves securing his second try. This was converted by Latta and Balmain lead 14-0.
 
Very little time had passed before Wilcox crossed for a try which Latta converted and Balmain led 19-0. With full time approaching, Fitzpatrick received a good pass and overpowered his opposite number to score a solid try, which he converted, topping off a stunning second half performance by the Watersiders.

****This article appeared on Commentary Box Sports website on  April 20, 2017****

Jim Devereux - The Other "Master" (2016)

While the legacy of the great Dally “The Master” Messenger has endured the tests of time, and rightfully so, there was another great pioneering centre who many argue was as good as Dally.

Jim Devereux.

James Devereux was born in 1887 in the St.Leonard's. He had 7 siblings - brothers Timothy and Michael and sisters Mary, Madge, Norah, Anne and Kathleen.

James played lower grade Rugby Union in the North Sydney competition, before eventually making his debut in their first grade side in 1906, shortly after turning 21.

The following season, Jim watched on as a rebel New South Wales outfit took on a professional New Zealand visiting side who were en-route to England to play against the rebel Northern Union sides.

The hosts lost the first game in a close battle. A number of changes to the NSW line-up were made for the second game, with Devereux getting called up to play on the wing in what would be his first representative jumper in just his second year of top grade Rugby.

The Kiwis were again too good in game two, but Devereux impressed, dubbed in the press as the “hero of the day,” to retain his place in the third match, which was another hard fought victory to New Zealand.

Three weeks later, Devereux, along with all the other men who played for New South Wales in the three games against the professional New Zealand side, were handed life bans from the Metropolitan Rugby Union.

During the summer of 1907/08, 8 MRU clubs decided to break away and form their own competition, playing Northern Union rules. One of those clubs was Devereux’s own North Sydney, who on February 7, 1908, officially became a Rugby League club, with Jimmy elected as a committee member at the inaugural meeting for the iconic club.

After a strong start to the inaugural 1908 Rugby League season, Devereux was selected at centre, alongside Dally Messenger, for New South Wales against the returning New Zealand side in 2 games before earning a place at centre alongside Messenger in Australia’s first ever Rugby League game and Test, against New Zealand. Despite the narrow loss, Jim was retained for the second test before being moved to the wing for the third.

Devereux’s form saw him earn a place in the Pioneering Kangaroo tour of 1908-09 to England, where he became the first player to score a try in Tests between Australia and Great Britain, when he crossed for the first of 3 tries in the first test played in London.

Team mate Tom McCabe described one of those tries:

He raced for the corner, finding no opening in that direction he wheeled almost at right angles, and beat man after man, and scored between the posts.

Devereux played in 2 of the 3 tests against Great Britain and a mammoth 31 games on the tour, with a total of 17 tries, more than anyone else in the squad.

Another team mate, Peter Moir, revealed in a letter to the Evening News that “Devereux (was) the champion three-quarter.”

Harry Dannatt, a director on the board (and former president) of the Hull Rugby League club managed to secure the services of Devereux and his North Sydney colleague Sid Deane for “a fair price” at the conclusion of the tour in 1909.

Devereux played in 4 games for Hull at the end of the 1908-09 season before staying on for the following season which saw him picked in the York representative team. Hull made it to the final of the 1909-10 Challenge Cup against Leeds which ended in a 7 all draw. Devereux lined up for Hull in the replay just two days later, however Leeds were too strong, running out 26-12 victors.

Jimmy played the first half of the 1910-11 season with Hull before deciding to head back to Australia, accompanying the 1910 Great Britain touring side. He again turned out for North Sydney in just two matches before returning with the British tourists to Hull.

After making a good start to the 1911-12 season, Devereux suffered a series of injuries which hampered him for the rest of the season. He again returned to Australia, this time sharing the ship with the returning 1911-12 Kangaroos, who had just completed a successful tour of Great Britain. Once in Sydney, he played the last 5 games of the year for North Sydney.

1913 saw Devereux earn selection for New South Wales for the first time in 5 years. He played in two games against the visiting New Zealand side, with the hosts winning both games. He then set sail for England yet again.

Once back in England, Jim again played for Hull, playing a starring role in their 1913-14 Challenge Cup victory over Wakefield Trinity, despite playing out of position at halfback.

Devereux scored an impressive 21 tries in just 19 games for Hull in the 1914-15 season before the outbreak of war. Devereux enlisted with the British Army in 1916, earning himself selection in an Australasian Servicemen Rugby Union team later that year. Devereux rose to the rank of Lance Corporal. At the conclusion of the war, he married Daisy Heath, a local lady whom he had known prior to enlisting.

Hull won their first ever Championship in the 1919-20 season in a hard fought 3-2 victory over the mighty Huddersfield side. Hull won back-to-back Championships when they defeat nearby rivals Hull Kingston Rovers 16-14, in a match which saw Devereux score the match winning try.

Devereux and his wife travelled to Australia in 1921, where Jim again made himself available to play for North Sydney, but was unable to break into the all-star backline of Blinkhorn, Peters, Rule and Horder, thus only appeared in 3 games in reserve grade, before retiring from the game.

Jim took on the role of coach of the back-to-back premiers North Sydney in the 1923 season. With his side sitting third and only a slight hope of reaching the final two, the club suffered a cruel setback when legendary halfback Duncan Thompson was wrongly suspended for kicking a player. Thompson was aghast at the accusation and sentence that he vowed never to return to Sydney again. Norths lost all of their remaining games.

Devereux’s team slid again in the shortened 1924 season, winning just 3 of their 8 games and finishing second last. They turned their fortunes around in 1925, running second to the dominant South Sydney outfit right up until the last round, where a loss to Western Suburbs saw them finish the season in fourth.

Jimmy retired from coaching at the end of the 1925 season and went to work on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. On December 3, 1929 he suffered horrific injuries when he was struck by a 35 ton girder that had fallen off a truck. He suffered fractures to his pelvis, left shoulder and right leg, as well as receiving severe head injuries. He miraculously survived, however he had the lower half of his right leg amputated.

Unable to work, the disability and accompanying medical costs almost forced Devereux and his wife into destitution. In 1932, upon learning of the despair of Jimmy, his old club North Sydney donated £50 to help him out. After amassing nearly £500 in medical costs and unable to earn any money, the donation was gratefully accepted. However it wasn’t enough and before the end of the year, he sold his house and decided to return to England with his wife to live a more relaxed life, in an attempt to get away from the hardships that had befallen him since his accident.

Sadly, he passed away just two years later.

He was made an honorary life member of the New South Wales Rugby League in 1914 and was named in the North Sydney Team of the Century in 2008.

Despite weighing just 60kgs, Devereux was described as “an aggressive centre in every sense of the term” by Tom McCabe.

He was fast and agile with a big side-step, was a ruthless tackler and a smart ball-player with great hands. He was constantly regarded as one of the best three-quarters in the world during his time as a player, some even suggesting he was better than Messenger.

Playing Career:
Australia – 1908-09 – 5 Tests, 3 tries, 1 goal

1908/09 Kangaroo Tour – 31 games, 17 tries, 2 goals
New South Wales – 6 games, 3 tries

North Sydney – 1908, 1910, 1912-13 – Played 17 games, 9 tries
Hull – 1908/09-1911/12, 1913/14-1920/21 – Played 172, 102 tries, 4 goals

(also played 37 games in War Leagues from 1915/16 til 1918/19, scoring 25 tries, 9 goals which are not included in official records)

***This article appeared in the Rugby League Review Magazine***

The First Boss - Henry Hoyle (2012)

Henry Clement Hoyle’s entire life read as the perfect plan for a man to become a senior member of the Australian Labor Party and as the first presidents of the game for the working class man, Rugby League.

He was born on November 20, 1852 in Millers Point and attended a convent in Balmain before transferring to the Fort Street Public School. Aged just 10, Hoyle entered the workforce, taking on light duties at a local sawmill before becoming an apprentice blacksmith at P N Russell & Co. In 1868 aged just 16, like many other his age at the time, began working on the docks in Balmain.

When he was 24 he joined the Railways Department and within a few brief years became a foreman. His passion for equality and fairness for all men saw him rise to a position of authority and as the spokesmen for his fellow co-workers. He was the key activist in the iron trade strike of 1882 that sought to obtain a better wage for all employees. Hoyle took a hard-line stance as he believed that his co-workers had earnt and deserved a significantly better salary. Even when the employer offered packages to senior staff to get them to cease strike action, Hoyle refused the offer. This strike lead to him founding and becoming the inaugural president of the Eight-Hours Conference. In 1885 Hoyle founded and became the inaugural president of the Railway and Tramway Association.

In 1877, shortly after he joined the railways, Hoyle married Maria Dillion and soon after, they moved into their first home in Surry Hills. They had 7 children born between 1878 and 1895 – Mary, Clement, Myra, Ida, Gladys, Leo and Clifford.

In 1890, the Railway Commissioners issued Hoyle an ultimatum: to surrender his role as President of the Eight-Hours Union or be relieved of his duties as President of the Railway and Tramway Association. Hoyle was given 24 hours to do as requested, but he refused and was subsequently sacked. He quickly set up his own real estate auctioneering business in Darling Harbour.

A year later he joined the NSW Legislative assembly, as a member of the Protectionist Party. The Protectionists ran mostly economic and trade policies that used trade restrictions and tariffs on imported goods between the states, mostly Victoria and New South Wales, to try and create fair competition. Australia’s first and second Prime Ministers, Sir Edmund Barton and Alfred Deakin, were both members of the Protectionist Party.

Hoyle remained with the Protectionists until losing his seat at the 1894 election. He then began writing for the Freemans Journal, an Irish Catholic publication.

During 1907, there was a growing discontent within Rugby Union player ranks in Australia, leading to a semi-revolt which saw some players keen to create their own competition based on the Northern Union game being played in England. Test Cricketer Henry Hoyle, entrepreneur James Giltinan and Hoyle regularly met for discussions with some disgruntled players at Trumper's sports store. These talks inevitably lead to a mass player revolt by the players, who took an enormous risk to create a breakaway competition.

On August 8, 1907 at Bateman’s Crystal Hotel, Hoyle was elected as the inaugural president of the NSWRL, alongside James Giltinan (secretary) and Victor Trumper (treasurer). The trio helped finance the birth of Rugby League in Australia.

A week after the NSWRL was formed, Hoyle, Trumper and Giltinan hastily organised 3 matches between the New Zealand team en-route to England, known as the All Golds, and the best of the players in NSW who had decided to jump codes. The NSW team lost all three games in close contests, which were played in the space of a week. These three matches though served as a great promotion for the new game.

Hoyle made two hurried trips to Newcastle just weeks before the scheduled start of the inaugural 1908 season, upon learning that a Mr Chambers of Newcastle was interested in having a team compete in the Rugby League. Giltinan urged Hoyle to get Newcastle in the competition so as to avoid having byes, as they only had 7 teams ready for kick off at the time (Balmain, Easts, Glebe, Newtown, Norths, Souths and Wests). Hoyle persuaded the Newcastle men to join the competition by revealing there would be a team of players representing Australia to be sent to tour England by seasons end. Newcastle quickly joined the Rugby League soon after.

Hoyle then chaired a meeting where the committee and players had to decide whether to play Rugby Union rules, or whether to adopt the Northern Union rules. A vigorous debate was had culminating in Hoyle having to cast the deciding vote, which he made in favour of the Northern Union rules.

And Rugby League was born.

At the end of the 1908 season, the NSWRL had a debt of £500. A Kangaroo tour to England was proposed to make enough money to make a profit after the debt had been cleared. The tour was bankrolled by Giltinan and Arthur Rofe (who provided £2000). Shortly after the tour begun, it was cruelled by abysmal weather and workers strikes in Northern England. This affected gate takings and meant by tours end, Giltinan had run at a loss, the NSWRL debt remained outstanding and the Northern Union in England had to pay for return tickets for many of the Australian players. Giltinan managed to repay Rofe £1545, but was eventually taken to court by Rofe who sought to recoup the remaining £455. A protracted case dragged on throughout 1914, which eventually ruled Giltinan had to repay the monies. The decision eventually led to Giltinan declaring bankruptcy.

On March 5 1909, Hoyle was initially re-elected as NSWRL President before angrily resigning just ten days later over allegations of mismanagement and vote -rigging. On the same day, Trumper was sacked along with Giltinan, who was en-route to Australia after the Kangaroo tour amid allegations made by club board members surrounding a secret bank account that was set up by Trumper, Giltinan and Hoyle. The Bulletin newspaper explained that sums of money were banked into a trust account to help pay marquee players and to generate further interest in the game “by secret but not dishonourable means.” Hoyle, Giltinan and Trumper were really only guilty of poor bookkeeping.

Hoyle returned to politics in 1910, joining the Labor party to pick up a surprising win for the seat of Surry Hills over the very popular Sir James Graham. He won the seat for a second term in 1913, becoming the Member for Railways and Mines. It wasn’t long before he climbed the ranks to become a senior minister and assistant treasurer. He was involved in a lot of key policies, the most prominent at the time was the prevention of smoking in train carriages occupied by children.

Hoyle had also seemingly been forgiven by the NSWRL and returned to become president of South Sydney in 1913.

The breakout of war led to many heated discussions in parliament about conscription. Hoyle’s leader and Prime Minister Billy Hughes was adamant that conscription should be enforced, a stance that Hoyle sided with, as did the NSWRL Secretary and Labor politician at the time Edward Larkin, but he was defeated in two referendums.

In 1916, Hoyle’s youngest son Clifford joined the Australian Imperial Forces. On his first day of battle he lost a finger in battle. A few months later Cliff was sent back home after he was found guilty of absenteeism, when he left camp for ten days.

In 1917 Henry Hoyle resigned from the Labor party, returning to Vaucluse and reviving his auctioneering business, which he ran up until his death on July 20, 1926.

His funeral was attended by a large gathering of politicians and former colleagues. One notable omission though was Giltinan.

Horrie Miller was the only attendee to represent Rugby League.

Hoyle died as a life member of the NSWRL, a trustee of Taronga Park Zoo, a pioneer in the Unions, the Labor party and Rugby League.

****This article appeared in the Men Of League magazine****