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****

Just How Bad Are The Knights? (2016)

The Newcastle Knights have endured a horror season, but have seemingly been given a free ride from the media. They have been severely hampered financially, which – along with poor salary-cap management – impacted their recruitment.

This has seen a dearth of established talent available at the club, coupled with a horror injury toll and woeful form of experienced players, forcing new coach Nathan Brown to draw upon local juniors. Brown has used 35 players this year, 16 of whom have played less than 10 games this year.

While these are all legitimate issues, it should not excuse them from criticism. Western Suburbs Magpies were the laughing stock of the 1998-99 seasons despite suffering many of the same issues.

On win percentage alone, this Newcastle side is the worst since the 1984 Western Suburbs side, who won just one of their 24 games. It ranks the side at ninth for worst win percentage in a season. Their points difference is currently the fourth-worst in the game’s history, behind the 1999 Wests side (-659), the 1982 Canberra team (-593) and the 1935 Bulldogs (-510), but with a game still to play, this could change.

So just how bad, historically, is this Newcastle outfit?

When compared to every side since 1908 that won three games or less in a year and calculating the average points difference per game in conjunction with the win percentage, it is now possible to see.

There have been 108 sides since 1908 that have won three games or less in a season, with seven going through an entire year winless.

Let’s have a look at the top seven, worst of the worst.

1935 – University – Played 16, Won 0, Drew 0, Lost 16, For 109, Against 529 
The 1935 season is chiefly remembered as Eastern Suburbs superstar Dave Brown’s season. ‘The Bradman of League’ racked up pointscoring feats never seen before or since – and poor old University were on the receiving end of his magnificence. The season started promisingly with a tight five-point loss to Souths, but it was all downhill from there. The next week Balmain beat them 47-7, and two weeks later, the Dragons won 43-5. Round 5 saw the ‘Students’ square off against Easts, who won 61-5. Rod O’Loan scored 7 tries, Fred Tottey three and Dave Brown crossed twice. In Round 10 University lost 42-5 to Souths and their return match against Easts in Round 14 saw Dave Brown score 22 of his sides points from four tries and five goals in a 40-5 rout. The following week they lost 45-14 against Wests.

1937 – University – Played 8, Won 0, Drew 0, Lost 8, For 41, Against 309
The Students’ last season was their worst. Thankfully for them, the shortened season only lasted only eight games. But those eight games probably felt like an eternity. They lost their first game to Souths 63-0 before having a bye. In Round 5, University lost 52-5 to the near-unbeatable Easts side and were probably lucky that score wasn’t vastly worse. They went down 48-3 against Newtown the next week and a fortnight later were thumped 65-5 by St.George.

1921 – University – Played 8, Won 0, Drew 0, Lost 8, For 82, Against 292 
The second season for the Students was just as bad as their first. They opened the season on the end of a 57-0 flogging from the champion Balmain side. In Round 4 they went down to Souths 45-7 and followed it up with a 45-16 loss to Glebe the following week. In the penultimate round, they lost 55-11 to Easts.

1920 – Annandale – Played 13, Won 0, Drew 0, Lost 13, For 59, Against 382
The ’Dales last season in the top grade was their second winless season. They were kept scoreless in 3 of their opening 4 games and managed double figures just twice in their 13 games. They lost in Round 1 to Glebe 43-0 and after the opening five rounds had been played, they had scored just five points and conceded 118. In Round 6 they lost 42-10 against Easts before a return match against Glebe in Round 10 saw them thumped again 44-11. The following week Wests belted them 52-3 and their second-last game resulted in a Norths win by 44-3. Annandale’s last ever game was a 15-0 loss to Easts.

1918 – Annandale – Played 14, Won 0, Drew 0, For 73, Against 316
Annandale’s first winless season wasn’t one full of blowout scorelines, but it was one where the club averaged barely over one try a game and exactly one goal per game. In Round 2 they lost 36-15 to Souths and in Round 4 they lost 21-0 to Newtown before Balmain belted them 43-0 the following week. A fortnight later they lost 42-3 against Wests, followed by a 29-0 loss to Glebe. This horror period destroyed their season and was the beginning of the end for the club, who would be dead in two years’ time.

2016 – Newcastle – Played 24, Won 1, Drew 1, Lost 22, For 305, Against 800
Newcastle has conceded 33.33 points per game, the worst since Souths’ 33.83 in 2004. The Knights have conceded 40 points or more seven times so far, including two 50-plus totals and a season-high 62 points. They have been held to nil three times and failed to reach double figures a further four times. The modern game is a vastly more even competition than those of the past, so to be this far behind the field is truly woeful.

1966 – Easts – Played 18, Won 0, Drew 0, Lost 18, For 147, Against 346
The last team to go through a season winless, but despite that, the Tricolours were rarely disgraced by blowout score-lines. A Round 14 loss to Manly by 53-0 was the only time they conceded more than 35 in a game. Seven of their 18 games had a margin of less than 10 – but they did lose all 18 games.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS
1946 – South Sydney – Played 14, Won 0, Drew 0, Lost 14, For 124, Against 353: One of the lowest ebbs for the ‘Pride of the League’, the Rabbitohs were the first of only two sides to go winless in the post-WWII era.

1984 – Western Suburbs – Played 24, Won 1, Drew 0, Lost 23, For 244, Against 620: Given a stay of execution by the NSWRL to remain in the premiership, the Ken Gentle-coached Magpies’ only win was a 13-10 defeat of fellow strugglers Illawarra. Wests leaked 40-plus points on four occasions.

1993 – Gold Coast – Played 22, Won 1, Drew 0, Lost 21, For 229, Against 572: The last team to win only one game in a season, Wally Lewis’ Seagulls side managed an upset of Newcastle in Round 6 before losing 16 straight. A 46-0 loss to Manly and a 50-6 defeat in the return clash with the Knights in the latter rounds capped a diabolical campaign that saw ‘The King’ abdicate.

Worst Points difference in a year
1999 – Wests (-659)
1982 – Canberra (-593)
1935 – Canterbury (-510)
2016 – Newcastle (-495)
2002 – Souths (-432)
1998 – Wests (-431)
1935 – University (-420)
2013 – Parramatta (-414)

Worst Win % in a year
1966 – Easts 0% (18 games)
1935 – University 0% (16 games)
1918 – Annandale 0% (14 games)
1946 – Souths 0% (14 games)
1920 – Annandale 0% (13 games)
1937 – University 0% (8 games)
1921 – University 0% (8 games)
1984 – Wests 4.17% (24 games)
2016 – Newcastle 4.17% (24 games)
1993 – Gold Coast 4.55% (22 games)

**This article appeared on the Commentary Box Sports website**

Stan Carpenter – Newcastle’s Rugby League Pioneer (2015)

Stanley Franzien Carpenter was born in 1879 and grew up in the Newcastle region with his brother Leslie (whom he would play football alongside) and sister Lily.

Stan started his Rugby Union career as a junior with the Carlton club based in central Newcastle where he became friends with Pat Walsh, who would go on to achieve success in three football codes across four different countries. Carpenter’s size and strength for a hooker (he weighed 80kgs and was 178cms tall), from working in the coalmines in Newcastle and on the construction of the railway line near Dungog, saw him quickly become one of the premier forwards in Newcastle.

After winning premierships at Carlton, Stan played for Central Newcastle, regularly earning representative honours.

In 1906 he married local girl Jean McDonald.

In early 1908, the New South Wales Rugby League was set to commence, but after talks to create a St.George side had broken down, League President Henry Hoyle decided to look outside Sydney for his competitions 8th side.

After a failed attempt in February to form a Newcastle side, Hoyle returned in early April with greater success, thanks largely to a small group of players who were angry towards the Rugby Union after the treatment of local Test star Pat Walsh, who had been dropped from the state and test sides for seemingly political reasons. This group was led by Stan Carpenter.

The Newcastle club was formed and they agreed to adopt the red and white striped jumper of the Carlton club, as a tribute to Walsh who was arguably their best player.

Walsh himself had left the country a long time prior, winning a premiership in Australian Rules football in an expatriate competition in South Africa before returning to Rugby Union in New Zealand.

Carpenter was elected as the club captain for its inaugural season, a testimony to the great respect he earned from the players in Newcastle who joined the League, most of whom he’d only ever played against.

Newcastle’s first game was against Glebe, who were considered the best team in the competition based on their overwhelming success in the Union game prior to changing codes. Glebe had to work very hard for their 8-5 victory.

Two days later, Carpenter captained a Newcastle representative side who suffered a heavy loss to the New Zealand All Golds side who were returning home after their tour of Great Britain.

Carpenter took on the All Golds again just 3 days later as he captained the Northern Districts team. His side was again on the receiving end of a heavy loss.

Carpenter led Newcastle in two losses against the visiting New Zealand Maori team before earning selection in the New South Wales side for their second match against Queensland. Despite playing well in a convincing victory, Carpenter was not selected for the state side again in 1908.

With James Giltinan successfully luring Pat Walsh from New Zealand Rugby Union across to Rugby League, Walsh lined up alongside Carpenter for the first time in years for Newcastle’s last two games of the year against the two competition leaders Eastern Suburbs and South Sydney. The impressive Eastern Suburbs side were unstoppable, with star recruit Dally Messenger scoring 18 of his sides 34 points to Newcastle’s 17, which pushed Newcastle out of the top 4 and the finals. The next week saw South Sydney work very hard to come away with an 8-3 win.

Carpenter played in a Possibles v Probables match to determine which players would travel to Great Britain for the inaugural Kangaroo’s tour. Carpenter was selected as the tours second hooker, however he suffered a broken leg and had to withdraw from the tour.

The 1909 season saw Newcastle get off to a slow start, winning 1 of their first 4 games, before they almost pulled off a miraculous victory over the visiting New Zealand side. The strong performance lifted the side, who went on to beat Glebe 26-8 and Western Suburbs 34-0 in successive weeks.

Carpenter’s form again earnt him state selection, in a game against the Kiwi’s and in 3 more games against the returning New Zealand Maori side. But most importantly, he represented Australia in all 3 test matches against the Maori.

Upon returning to club football, Newcastle pulled off arguably their greatest victory when they beat the undefeated South Sydney 5-0 in the last game of the year before the finals. The win secured Newcastle’s place in the finals, however they were trounced a week later against South Sydney 20-0.

Carpenter’s last match of the year was for the Kangaroo’s in a hastily organised fourth exhibition game against the Wallabies to be played straight after the 1909 final between Balmain and South Sydney.

The Newcastle side decided to leave the NSWRL and form its own local competition. Carpenter joined the South Newcastle side.

After such a stellar season, Carpenter was eagerly awaiting the new season with high hopes, however in March 1910, his young wife Jean passed away at their family home in Newcastle.

Despite the tragic loss, Stanley changed clubs, turning out for the newly created Eastern Suburbs Newcastle side, earning representative honours for Newcastle and Northern Districts against the visiting Great Britain team.

From 1911 to 1914, he continued his stellar representative career, representing Newcastle, Northern Districts, Hunter & Northern Districts and NSW Country against touring nations, interstate sides and other local representative teams. Meanwhile at club level, he achieved premiership success with Eastern Suburbs in 1913.

Within two weeks after war broke about, the widowed Stanley Franzien Carpenter enlisted with the Australian Imperial Force in the 2nd Battalion Infantry before transferring to the Medical Corps as a stretcher bearer.

Carpenter was part of the infamous mass of Australian soldiers who landed at Gallipoli on April 25, 1915 with the third wave of troops. On the very next day, Carpenter and fellow stretcher bearer, Edward Roberts, travelled along the beach by foot under heavy fire, looking for wounded men. They came across a boat that had been beached since the landing some 30 odd hours earlier. All of the men inside had suffered gunshot wounds, with all but five of them killed. Carpenter and Roberts waded and swam to the boat and rescued the survivors, carrying them ashore, one-by-one, to the aid station while constantly being fired upon by sniper fire. Carpenter’s bravery was observed by well known Australian War Correspondent Charles Bean and Lieutenant Colonel Braund. Braund was one of only two serving Australian politicians who died while serving in World War I. The other was former NSWRL secretary Edward Larkin. This incident was reported back to the Australian media by several soldiers.

Braund and later Lieutenant Herrod nominated Carpenter and Roberts for the Distinguished Conduct Medal. Both were later recommended for a Military Cross for their heroic actions.

Carpenter then was transferred to the battle in Pozieres in mid-1916, the scene of one of the most horrific trench battles during the war. It was while serving here that Major General Walker recommended Carpenter for the Victoria Cross, the first Australian to receive such a recommendation in the Great War. Carpenter instead received the Distinguished Conduct Medal and a Military Cross:

“For conspicuous bravery during protracted operations under heavy shell fire. Time after time he went into ‘No Man’s Land’ to collect and tend wounded and it was owing to his fine courage that so few of his Battalion’s wounded were missing.

The Major General also added in his recommendation that “Officers and men are unanimous in their expression of admiration for him.”

Despite his heroics and constantly seeing death and destruction around him, he still ensured that every year while he was on duty, he placed a family notice in the Sydney Morning Herald dedicated to the memory of his wife on the anniversary of her passing.

Surprisingly enough, Carpenter met fellow serviceman Pat Walsh while they were both on active duty and spent some time convalescing near the end of the war.

In 1919, Stan’s sister Lily passed away after a severe bout of influenza.

Carpenter remained on active duty for the duration of the war before finally returning home in 1920, where he immediately joined South Newcastle. Later in the year he married Olla Stokes and they moved into their own home in Kempsey, ending his career in the Newcastle competition. Two years later they had a baby boy, also named Stanley.

Stan Carpenter went back to playing Rugby League and despite his age and absence from the game, managed to gain representative honours for the Northern Districts before eventually retiring at the age of 43 and took up coaching junior teams before moving on to senior coaching roles.

Tragedy struck his life once again when in 1933, his son was riding his bike home from school and was hit by a vehicle, killing him instantly, just 2 days after his 11th birthday.

Carpenter slowly removed himself from all forms of sport and lived a quiet life with his wife Olla up until his death on May 31, 1962, aged 82.

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

Pat Walsh - The Natural (2014)

Born in Cooks Hill on May 3, 1879, Patrick Bernard Walsh attended Newcastle Superior Public School where he received medals for running and in 1895 he received a medal for the best cricket all-rounder.

The following year he left school aged 17, to work as a railway porter. He joined the Norwoods Rugby Union club and was an integral member of their undefeated side who also avoided conceding a point during the 1896 season.

In 1897 Walsh and his team-mates were presented with medals to commemorate their previous season’s feats. While he was walking along a city wharf, the medal fell off his waistcoat chain. He returned half an hour later to find his medal had been crushed by a cart and the gold inlay was missing. Walsh kept the damaged medal remnants which remained one of his prized possessions.

In 1898 a residential system was introduced forcing players to join the team representing the district where they lived. Walsh and other players from the Norwoods and Carlton clubs formed the Newcastle Central team for the 1899 season, who won the premiership that year. Walsh would go on to win another four premierships with the club.

In 1899 he was selected to represent Northern Districts against the touring British side that contained the player Blair Swannell, whom Walsh would have several clashes with in his career.

Walsh again represented the Northern Districts in 1900 and in September of 1902, was instrumental in their 18-6 victory against the more fancied Sydney Metropolis side.

In 1903 Walsh moved to the Carlton Club where he was soon regarded as one of the premier forwards in New South Wales. He was selected in the Combined Country side that played Sydney Metropolis and the touring New Zealanders, before earning his first cap for NSW when selected to play against Queensland in the interstate series.

On July 2, 1904, Pat Walsh made his debut for the Wallabies against Great Britain. Despite his own good performance, the Wallabies went down 17-0. Joining him in the Australian team that day were future Rugby League pioneers Alec Burdon and Dinny Lutge. Walsh's opponent in the British side was Blair Swannell.

After the test, Walsh lined up for the Northern Districts against the British. During the game he had a collision with British winger Fred Jowett, causing the winger to retire from the match with concussion. The tourists went after Walsh, but he held his own.

During this game it was alleged that British player Denys Dobson swore at referee Harry Dolan. Dobson was immediately sent from the field. England's captain David Bedell-Sivwright was incensed at the decision and ordered his team to leave the field in protest, before soon returning. Walsh was one of five Northern Districts players that supported the referee's decision at an ensuing investigation into the “Dobson incident” by the NSWRU, who surprisingly sided with the English players, claiming the referee had heard wrong. This would prove to be a catastrophic decision by the NSWRU.

Walsh played in the second test at Brisbane but the British were again too strong, running out victors 17-3. Blair Swannell flattened Walsh in what appeared to be a personal vendetta.

The Wallabies lost 16-0 in the third test, where Walsh was one of the few shining lights for the Australians.

Walsh and the British squared off one last time when NSW played the tourists in their last tour match. The game was dominated by very heavy forwards clashes, most involving Walsh.

He retained his place in the state side for the first interstate game of 1905 and was considered one of the best three players in the losing NSW side on the day.

The next week Walsh played a starring role, leading NSW to victory against Queensland. The praise for his performance was great and unanimous, with commentators stating: “Walsh played grandly”, “Walsh played a brilliant game” and opinions suggesting he was one of Australia's best forwards.

However, it was oddly deemed not good enough to see him retain his place in the state side for the upcoming match against the touring New Zealanders. Walsh was replaced by Blair Swannell, the British tourist who was now playing for North Sydney.

His omission to this day is one of the most baffling made in either Rugby code in Australia. The Referee reported that “Walsh's exclusion is simply a Chinese puzzle” after state selectors suggested that Pat Walsh's form had dropped in his last two games.

After the third interstate game, the NSW squad was selected for an end-of-season tour of New Zealand. Walsh was again omitted.

He then captained the Newcastle side to a convincing 30-0 victory, putting in a best-on-field display, scoring three tries. The NSWRU still refused to select him. The Arrow reported:

“If the Australian team to visit New Zealand included Walsh, one would have no fear as to the forwards holding their own against anything in New Zealand. There is no better forward in Australia than Walsh, probably no one quite as good. In the Newcastle district, the “Dobson incident” inquiry is thought to have in some way prejudiced Walsh's chances of being selected. It is clear that the Newcastle forward has not been omitted on the ground of his ability not being good enough.”

Walsh played for Carlton in the Grand Final against Newcastle. Carlton had lost to Newcastle three times during the year, each time they were missing Walsh who was on representative duty.

Ten minutes before full-time, with Carlton holding a 2-0 lead, Walsh gathered the ball and ran twenty yards to score between the posts. Carlton won 9-0.

Pat Walsh then travelled to South Africa and participated in an expatriate Australian Rules competition in Johannesburg to maintain his fitness. He became vice-captain of the Commonwealth Football Team, who in November of 1905 won the Australian Football League Premiership.

Walsh returned to Newcastle early in 1906 where he learnt that the Northern Districts Rugby Union had lodged a protest with the NSWRU regarding his omission from the Australian touring team in 1905, however there was no resolution.

In April 1906, Walsh suddenly departed for New Zealand. Walsh admired the quality of football that the 1903 New Zealand tourists played and wanted to play among who he regarded as the best players in the world.

Upon arriving in Auckland, he was signed by the Parnell club and quickly earned selection in the Auckland Province representative team that toured New Zealand's South Island, a feat he repeated in 1907.

Many believed he should have been selected in the New Zealand All Golds squad that was to tour Australia and England, with one commentator stating “Walsh stood out as being the best player in the senior grade competition.”

In 1908, the Auckland press proclaimed Walsh was the best forward in New Zealand. He was expected to be named in a representative side to face the touring British side; however he was again oddly omitted.

Around this time, Walsh received a cable from James Giltinan in Sydney, who asked Walsh to join the newly formed Rugby League competition, where he could be selected in an end-of-season tour to England. He accepted the offer as he saw it as his last chance to visit England.

He was greeted at Sydney wharf on the Saturday morning of July 18 by NSWRL secretary Henry Hoyle, who took Walsh to the Royal Agricultural Showground. Walsh was given an hour to learn the new game before lining up for Queensland against NSW. Queensland lost 12-3 in Walsh's first game of Rugby League.

He played the last two games of the season for Newcastle, who wore the red and white striped jumpers of the Carlton club, as a tribute to Walsh. 

Walsh was a late inclusion in Giltinan's squad to tour England but was unable to get a ticket with the rest of the squad, so he had to board the SS Salamis instead. It was revealed he had brought a kangaroo with him as a mascot, which he hoped but failed to train to lead the team out carrying the ball. The kangaroo died after the tours completion, on the day before the players left England to return home.

Once in England, Walsh was selected in the Kangaroo's side to play Salford. He started the game very strongly but was moved to the backs later in the game which met with little success.

The 11^th game of the tour saw Australia face Northern Union champions Hunslet, whose forward pack contained the formidable “terrible six” and was led by champion Albert Goldthorpe. Walsh was a star performer, helping Australia to an impressive 12-11 victory.

Walsh played in all three of Australia's test matches against England. The first test was a 22 all draw, the second, a 15-5 victory to the English who also won the third test 6-5. Walsh played in 29 of the exhausting 45 game tour, including an impressive performance in an exhibition match in Glasgow where he scored “a skilful dribbling try.”

While on tour, he became the first Australian player approached by an English club and accepted an offer from Huddersfield, whom he would play 6 games for at the end of their 1908-09 season, after the Kangaroo tour concluded.

Kangaroo tour manager James Giltinan stated at the time that Walsh was “the finest forward in the Northern Union.”

In the 1909-10 season, Walsh suffered a knee injury in a game against Hull on a frozen field at Craven Park. Huddersfield paid for him to travel to London to have an innovative and rarely performed operation on his knee.

His first game back was against Hull Kingston Rovers at Fartown where he managed to get through the first half, displaying his trademark unrelenting defence, but just before full time he re-injured the knee.

Walsh then travelled to Liverpool where he had the damaged cartilage successfully removed. He revealed years later “The club regarded me as something of a guinea pig. When my operation proved successful, they sent three other players along to have their cartilages removed. They'd been on the crock list and weren't game to have the operation. I had it only because I knew that if I didn't take the risk with a surgeon in England, there was no one in Australia who could help me.”

He played 7 games for Huddersfield in the 1910-11 season before returning to Australia with his future wife Rebecca Eve, a lady he met while she was playing piano at post-match functions during the Kangaroo tour. Upon his arrival in 1911, Pat Walsh joined the Newcastle Central team and three weeks later captained the Northern Districts team on their tour to Queensland, winning all three of their games.

Walsh moved to Queensland, first working in a Brisbane Post Office, then with the railways at Townsville where he briefly coached a local side.

Early in 1915, Pat and Rebecca married before the outbreak of war. Walsh enlisted with the 12^th Light Horse Regiment and was promoted to Corporal two months later before being transferred to a railway construction unit. His younger brother Clem, also enlisted for service and was promoted to Major and later earned a Military Cross.

Pat suffered a number of illnesses while on duty; one caused paralysis in his legs which saw him require metal callipers on his legs and crutches to get around.

During the great depression, Pat would sit on his front veranda and talk to passers-by, offering them into the house for meals if they were hungry, much to the dismay of his wife. Pat's brother Clem would often take him sailing around Newcastle.

In 1922, his son John Patrick Walsh was born. John became a Rugby Union player for the Newcastle Wanderers, earning selection in a Newcastle representative side, but his career was unable to reach the lofty heights of his father. John later became secretary of the club.

Pat Walsh passed away on May 22, 1953, 3 weeks after his 74^th birthday.

While at Huddersfield he was described as “a grim, gaunt forward, with a deadly embrace, tackles with scrupulous fairness and proportionate effectiveness.”

James Giltinan succinctly described Walsh as “a generous-hearted, able forward and a sterling character.”

His mistreatment fuelled a simmering groundswell of animosity by some players against the Rugby Union which eventually led to the birth of Rugby League in Australia. Despite this mistreatment, he never complained. He became a successful player in three football codes across three different countries.

A true legend.

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