This
month marks 100 years of rugby league in Australia.Warrington has
had a long association with Australia
and Australians during the last century.The Australians enjoyed their first visit to Wilderspool so much in
November 1908 that they came back again before the end of their first tour of Great Britain.Larry O’Mally was the first of three players
from that first Australian touring side to play for Warrington.He has been followed by a further sixty three of his fellow countrymen
into the Primrose and Blue of Warrington.
Eight
of whom were honoured in the recently announced list of Australia’s Top 100 Greatest Ever
Players.They were:
Dave
Brown – Played for Warrington from 1937 to
1939, made 93 appearances, scoring 48 tries and kicking 91 goals for 326
points.He scored 2 tries in the 1937
Lancashire Cup final victory.He was one
of the most prolific scorers in the Australian game averaging a try a
game.He also captained Australia 6
times in Test matches.
Harry
Bath – Played for Warrington from 1948 to
1957, made 346 appearances, scoring 90 tries and kicking 812 goals for 1,894
points.Bath played in two Challenge Cup wins and two
Championship Final successes.He
returned to Australia to
lead St George to Grand Final triumphs and later become one of Australia’s
greatest ever coaches.
Brian
Bevan – Played for Warrington from 1945 to
1962, made 620 appearances, scoring 740 tries and kicking 34 goals for 2,288
points.Bevan is Rugby League’s greatest
ever try scorer and he played in two Challenge Cup wins and three Championship
Final successes.He is the only player
to be inducted into both the British and Australian Halls of Fame.
Dan
Frawley – Played for Warrington from 1909 to
1910, made 19 appearances, scoring 8 tries and kicking 2 goals for 28
points.He was a member of the first
ever Australia tour to Britain in
1908.
Bobby
Fulton – Guested for Warrington in the 1969/70
season, made 16 appearances, scoring 16 tries and drop kicking 1 goal for 50
points.Actually born in Warrington before his family emigrated to Australia.Fulton
captained Australia
in 7 Test matches.He later became one
of Australia’s
greatest coaches.
Andrew
Johns – Came over to Warrington for the end of
the 2005 season, made 3 appearances, scoring 1 tries, kicking 12 goals and a
drop goal for 29 points.Johns is the
highest scoring player in the Australian game, who captained his country on two
occasions.
Allan
Langer – Played for Warrington from 2000 to
2001, made 55 appearances, scoring 16 tries and kicking 4 goals for 72
points.He was a key player in the
successful Brisbane, Queensland and Australian sides of the late
1980’s and 1990’s.Langer captained his
country twice.
Steve
Roach – Guested for Warrington in the 1988/89
season, made 20 appearances, scoring 1 try for 4 points.“Blocker” was a tough prop forward from
Balmain who was a regular for Australia.
In addition “Dally” Messenger and “Sandy”
Pearce almost joined Warrington after the
1908 tour to Britain.Messenger’s doctor advised him not to travel
to England
due to a knee injury and Pearce would not travel without him.
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