Country boys fill teams of century

"You could pick a Team of the Century and I could pick one completely different and they would be tremendous teams"

BREATHTAKING is about the only way to describe the high quality and enormous depth of talent involving those players nominated for the Country Rugby League Team of the Century to be announced at the Gala Dinner, sponsored by the Illawarra Mercury, at WIN Entertainment Centre tonight.

Every position from fullback to the front row has an incredible field up for selection.

As CRL chairman Warren Kimberley said: "You could pick a Team of the Century and I could pick one completely different and they would be tremendous teams."

You could probably multiply that because every player nominated would be worthy of being chosen in the prestigious CRL Team of the Century.

For starters, take a look at the nominations for fullback.

There are three Australian captains in Keith Barnes, Clive Churchill and Graeme Langlands, together with the versatile Brian Carlson and Noel Pidding who, like Langlands could also play centre or wing.

Three of the Australia's best custodians in Les Johns, Graham Eadie and Garry Jack round out the contenders for fullback.

Most of these players were outstanding goal-kickers, especially Barnes who went by the nickname "Golden Boots" after going from Wollongong to Balmain and then to captain the 1959-60 Kangaroos.

The fullback contenders are absolutely outstanding, every one of them reaching the zenith of rugby league.

The same can be said for the wing contenders.

How can you boil these nominees down to two?

Look at them. Carlson, Pidding, Lionel Cooper, Peter Dimond, Johnny Graves, Johnny King, Eddie Lumsden, Ian Moir, Alan Ridley, Ron Roberts and Bill Shankland.

Every one of them made a significant contribution over many years at club and representative level.

Roberts, for instance, scored the only try in the third Test of the 1950 series against Great Britain on a glue pot Sydney Cricket Ground, and secured the Ashes for Australia for the first time in 30 years and the first time in Australia.

Moving along to the centres and an amazing array of talent.

The nominations are Langlands, Jack Beaton, Michael Cronin, Peter Dimond, Bob Fulton, Joe Jorgenson, Matt McCoy, Cliff Pearce, Jack Reardon and Harry Wells.

Six of those candidates - Langlands, Cronin, Dimond, Fulton, Jorgenson and Wells - had or still have close affiliations with the Illawarra and South Coast, and McCoy was originally from Bega.

Two of them - Langlands and Fulton - have been inducted into the "Immortal" ranks and every one of them would not be out of place in such a hall of fame.

Fulton also has been nominated as five-eighth of the century, together with Bob Banks, Laurie Daley, Johnny Hawke, Frank Stanmore and Eric Weissel.

Another wonderful array of talent for the No 6 guernsey.

And if that is not enough, the halfback nominees read like a who's who of players in that position.

From the early days there are Chris McKivat who played from 1910-14 converting from rugby union in the formative days of rugby league, and Joe "Chimpy" Busch - most famous for his disallowed try when a touch judge reportedly over-ruled the referee in the third Test of the 1929-30 Ashes series at Swinton which would have given Australia victory.

Moving along to the 1940s there is Keith Froome, then to the late 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s the likely larrikin Tom Raudonikis, followed by Steve Mortimer and Peter Sterling through the 1970s and 80s, dual international Ricky Stuart and most recently Andrew Johns.

The nominees for lock forward are outstanding - Bradley Clyde and Ben Kennedy of more recent times together with tremendous players in their respective era, notably Wally Prigg, Andy Norval, Noel Mulligan, Ron Lynch and Jack Kingston.

Clyde, Kennedy, Lynch and Mulligan are also nominated for a second row berth, together with Les Boyd, Vic Armbruster, Jim Gibbs, David Gillespie, Herb Narvo and Jack Rayner.

Mulligan is rated one of the greatest players to emerge from the Illawarra, Port Kembla's home ground named in his honour.

Into the engine room where the front row contenders are some of the greatest props to ever play the game.

Boyd, Gibbs and Gillespie are also nominated in the front row as are Bill Brogan, Frank Curran, Paul Harragon, Glenn Lazarus, John O'Neill, Steve Roach, John Sattler and Craig Young.

Young and Roach are proud Illawarra products who went on to great careers with St George and Balmain respectively and represented NSW and Australia on numerous occasions.

Young emerged from Thirroul and Corrimal clubs while Roach is a proud Western Suburbs Red Devils junior.

There are just three nominations for hooker, proving quality reigns over quantity.

All three are specialist hookers.

Modern-day followers of rugby league need no introduction to Danny Buderus, born in Taree and establishing himself one of the best present-day players as captain of Newcastle Knights, and having an illustrious career with NSW and Australia.

Kevin Schubert began his career with Wollongong in 1947-49, then to Manly-Warringah in 1950-54 and 1956, representing NSW 19 times and playing 19 Tests for Australia.

Ian Walsh played for Condobolin in 1951, Parkes 1952-53, Forbes 1954-55, Eugowra 1956-61 and St George 1962-67.

Walsh had an established representative career behind him before signing with St George in 1962 .

Walsh played 24 games for NSW and 25 Tests for Australia, 10 as captain.

Both Schubert and Walsh were renowned ball winners when scrums were scrums and a crucial part of the game as the main way of gaining possession.

Of all the modern-day hookers no-one fits this specialist role better than Buderus.

Any team would definitely be proud to have Schubert, Walsh or Buderus as their hooker.

And so the CRL Team of the Century will be announced tonight and if the contenders are any indication, it will be something to behold.