HARPO ’ s MARKS
Those of you who peruse this column know that I enjoy reminiscing about days of yore .
With the 2022 National Rugby League grand final just around the corner , let ’ s go back 100 years to when the North Sydney Bears won their last premiership .
That followed their only other success in the NSWRL first grade the previous season when they went undefeated over the eight rounds of the competition – seven wins and one draw .
The 1921 competition was played over just one round , after the second round was abandoned due to the departure of the 1921-22 Third Kangaroos ’ 36-match tour of Great Britain .
Five members of Norths ’ 1921 premiership side were members of the touring party – second-rower Clarrie Ives , centre Herman Peters and three absolute greats of the game – mercurial halfback Duncan Thompson and brilliant wingers Harold Horder and Cec Blinkhorn .
Frank Rule , who was Peters ’ centre partner at Norths , was also selected in the touring party but he had to withdraw from the team because he had just set up his own timber business .
All five Kangaroos backed in 1922 to help Norths secure their second and very last first grade premiership title .
Norths won 12 of their 16 matches to finish with the same number of competition points as Glebe but secured the minor premiership on points for-andagainst percentages .
The teams which also competed that season were Newtown , Balmain , Easts , University , Wests , St George and Souths .
Norths beat Glebe in both premiership rounds , 17-6 and 16-15 so those 15,000 fans who rocked up to the grand final were expecting to witness a close encounter .
But ‘ twas not to be with the defending premiers totally dominating the match , blitzing their rivals in the second half to turn a 10-0 lead halftime lead into a score of 35-3 .
Norths star-studded backline posted all the points with Rule , Peters , Blinkhorn and Horder all crossing for two tries apiece and Horder also chipped in with seven goals .
On the Kangaroo tour , Ives and Herman made limited appearances due to injury but Thompson and the two champion wingers had a busy time of it
Blinkhorn ran on in 29 of the 36 matches , Thompson made 26 appearances and Horder25 – all three champions appeared in all three Tests .
Horder was the leading scorer on tour , notching 127 points from 35 tries and 11 goals , Blinkhorn posted the most tries with 29 touchdowns while Thompson snared three tries and 49 goals to finish fourth on the point score list with 107 .
One notch above him on the points table was legendary lock forward , Frank Burge , the greatest try scoring forward in the history of the game .
“ Chunky ” Burge played in all three Tests and 20 other games , posting 33 tries and four goals to wind up with 111 points .
What a remarkable footballer was our Chunky !
He played 167 games mainly for Glebe ( 1914-23 and ‘ 26 ) and his final season with St George in a career spanning 1911-1927 – he had two years playing in the bush in 1924-25 .
Burge posted 146 tries throughout his career at an average of 0.87 – the best by any “ pig ” who ever played the game in this country .
The 1921-22 Test series was a ripper , with Great Britain winning the series after successes in the first and third Tests .
The Poms snuck home in both victories – 6-5 in the opening encounter and 6-0 in the third and deciding fixture .
However , the visitors , playing with a full-strength team , got the bikkies 16-2 in the second Test at Hull .
Cec Blinkhorn was a terrific winger but his good mate , Harold Horder , was exceptional .
Of all the players throughout the history of rugby league in this country who have notched over 100 tries in a career , Harold Horder stands supreme .
His career spanned 1912-23 during which time he played 136 games – 86 for Souths ( 1912-1919 and 1924 ) and 52 for Norths ( 1920-23 ).
He crossed for 152 tries at the amazing average of 1.12 tries per match which no player has ever got within cooee ! And on the subject of tries , I reckon the great Ken Irvine would have about doubled his 212 club try tally if he was playing today .
Back then , wingers marked wingers and if you hit the tryline post , you were in touch .
And finally on rugby league , I have a terrific idea how you can ensure the blind chaps in The Bunker can get it right - or maybe not !
Let another Bunker – Bunker Review – review the Bunker ’ s ruling , and then we could have Bunker Scrutinise review Bunker Review ’ s ruling … and then have Bunker Evaluation review Bunker Scrutinise ’ s ruling .
And then perhaps on to the High Court of Australia and the game could resume three weeks later ! Get rid of the bloody thing !
SAD MARKS 1 : The passing last month of the great Johnny Famechon . His defensive skills were remarkable – he danced around the ring like Rudolph Nureyev . A world featherweight champion , he fought the very best of his era including Jose Legra , Fighting Harada and Vincente Saldivar .
SAD MARKS 2 : The world ’ s loss of the incomparable Judith Durham . There ’ ll never , ever be another you .
WITH PATRICK STAVELEY
Panthers roaring into finals in both grades
The Penrith Panthers have enjoyed yet another outstanding season across both grades in the NRL and the Knock- On Effect NSW Cup , with the first grade side taking out the Minor Premiership for the second time in three years .
After a stellar campaign in the NSW Cup , the Panthers fell agonisingly short in their quest for the Minor Premiership in dramatic circumstances . Their last match of the season was a draw with South Sydney before they had the bye in
Penrith squad with the JJ Giltinan Shield for the Minor Premiership .
the final round . Needing the Newtown Jets to lose to finish first , the Jets landed a last second penalty goal to claim a draw and finish above the Panthers by a single point .
In the first grade , a player that ’ s always been recognised for his efforts by his own team and fans but perhaps has been neglected by the NRL public for his influence on his team is Panthers ’ fullback Dylan Edwards . In a scary warning to opposition sides , the custodian says they still haven ’ t hit their stride , “ We ’ re still not satisfied with how we ’ re playing . There are always areas to improve . It ’ s what we ’ ll be working towards in the next fortnight leading into finals .”
The last few weeks has been a challenge for the reigning Premiers , playing without key halves Jarome Luai and Nathan Cleary and vital forward James Fisher-Harris , but the depth of the squad has shone through . Edwards comments ,
“ It ’ s important mate . To be successful in this competition you have to have good depth in your squad and that ’ s what we have got at the moment . Our cup side ’ s doing really well . The boys train together almost every day so we get to know each other ’ s game pretty well .”
With Edwards posing as an outside threat of claiming the Dally M Medal , he says he doesn ’ t pay much attention to the outside noise of the media .
“ I don ’ t go ( on much ) social media or anything like that . I just try and do the job the coaches want me to do and that ’ s about it really .”
A player who could be set to make his own mark on Penrith ’ s period of dominance in the years to come is young centre Thomas Jenkins . Another country boy who joined the Penrith academy , Jenkins has had an outstanding season in reserve grade , scoring 20 tries to finish second on the try-scoring charts before finals .
He ’ s yet to get his first nod in such a strong first grade side but 2023 might be his year to do so .
“ I spoke with ( Ivan ) a little bit just around form and what to do and stuff like that but nothing specific like when it would be or when it would come . Just ( got to ) wait my turn and if it comes it comes , just trying to focus on my form and consistency at the moment . ( Form ) comes off a lot of hard work from the boys around me and helping me out in that area .” Jenkins said .
He also adds that the system in place for both sides is what makes the NSW Cup side scarily similar to the first grade team .
“ I think it all just comes down to the systems and the way the coaches have it set out . Versing each other and doing a post ( game review ) and training with each other every day . That builds the connections . I think that ’ s where you find the similarities between the teams – the same systems and the same principles and stuff .”
Penrith play 4th place in the first week of finals in first grade while they meet the North Sydney Bears in finals week one of reserve grade .
36 ISSUE 148 // SEPTEMBER 2022 theindependentmagazine . com . au THE HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT