Johnny Raper

Infobox rugby league biography
playername = Johnny Raper
fullname = Johnny Raper
nickname = Chook

---

caption =
country =
position = Lock
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dateofbirth = birth date and age|1939|4|12
placeofbirth = Revesby, New South Wales
countryofbirth = Australia
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club1 = leagueicon|Newtown Jets|16 Newtown
year1start = 1957
year1end = 1958
appearances1 = 37
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points1 = 30
club2 = leagueicon|St. George Dragons|16 St George
year2start = 1959
year2end = 1969
appearances2 = 185
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fieldgoals2 =
points2 = 149
club3 = leagueicon|Sydney|16 Wests Newcastle
year3start = 1970
year3end = 1972
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club4 = leagueicon|Sydney|16 Kurri Kurri
year4start = 1973
year4end = 74
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teamA = leagueicon|New South Wales|16 New South Wales
yearAstart = 1959
yearAend = 1970
appearancesA = 24
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pointsA = 15
teamB = leagueicon|Australia|16 Australia
yearBstart = 1959
yearBend = 1968
appearancesB = 33
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pointsB = 27
coachteam1 = leagueicon|St. George|16 St. George Dragons
coachyear1start = 1969
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coachteam2 = leagueicon|Sydney|16 Wests Newcastle
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coachyear3start = 1973
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coachteam4 = leagueicon|Cronulla Sharks|16 Cronulla Sharks
coachyear4start = 1975
coachyear4end = 1976
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coachteam5 = leagueicon|Newtown Jets|16 Newtown Jets
coachyear5start = 1978
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John Raper (born 12 April 1939 in Sydney, New South Wales) is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He was a lock forward for the Australia national team. He had a record 33 test caps between 1959 and 1968 and played in 6 World Cup games between 1960 to 1968. He captained Australia on 8 occasions in 1967-68 and has since been named as one of the nation's finest footballers of the 20th century.

Early life and childhood

Born in Revesby, in south-western Sydney into a working class family of nine boys, he played junior football for the Camperdown Dragons before representing Newtown's President's Cup side in 1956. He made his first grade debut for Newtown in 1957. Raper represented New South Wales Colts as a lock against Great Britain in 1958. Having agreed terms to leave Newtown to join the reigning premiers St George Raper sat out most of the 1958 season to comply with residential criteria.

Playing career

t George Dragons

Raper joined St George as a lock forward and it was in this position that he became an international rugby league star. His legendary cover defence and ball skills had him be acknowledged during his playing career as the best lock forward the world had ever seen. He played in eight Grand Final wins with St George between 1959 to 1966.

Raper attributed his success to a training discipline and fitness fanaticism that was ahead of its time. While St George's early adoption of circuit training in the late 50s was a major contributing factor in their 11 year premiership run, Raper's own commitment to additional running and weights every day and often alone, enabled him to achieve a personal goal of being the fittest player in the fittest team in the competition.

Raper's last season with St George was in 1969 as captain-coach.

Country twilight

He played three seasons with the Western Suburbs Rosellas in the Newcastle competition from 1970-1972 and finished his playing career with Kurri Kurri in 1973-1974.

Representative career

In 1959-60 he made the first of three Kangaroo tours, scoring a try on debut in the 3rd Test loss vs Great Britain at Wigan. For the next ten years he was rarely, except for injury, out of the Australian Test team.

Raper's performance in the 2nd test of the 1963 tour at Swinton which saw the Kangaroos register the biggest win in Anglo-Australian test history and become the first Australian touring team in 50 years to win the Ashes was pivotal. In the 50-12 victory, Raper had a hand in the first seven tries scored in an opening 25-minute routing and he gave the final pass in four of them.

In his 3rd Kangaroo tour of 1967-68 Raper suffered a cheekbone fracture in the opening 16-11 Test loss causing him to miss the 2nd Test won by Australia to keep the series alive. Captain-coach Reg Gasnier had broken a leg in the 1st Test so Raper upon his return to fitness was deputised and earned the ultimate Australian rugby league honour in captaining his country in the 11-3 win over Great Britain played in icy conditions on a frozen ground in Swinton on 21 October 1967. This test was the first time the Australians had beaten the English on English soil in many years.

Raper went on to captain Australia in the 1st and 3rd Tests against France in 1967-68 (Queenslander Peter "Pedro" Gallagher was the captain for the 2nd test when Raper was injured.} For the 1968 World Cup Raper captained Australia in their four games undefeated games of the tournament including the 20-2 victory against France in the final at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Career playing statistics

Point scoring summary

Matches played

Life after football

He returned to Sydney as coach of the Cronulla Sharks in 1975-76 commencing an association with that club later carried on by his sons Stuart Raper and Aaron Raper. Midway through the 1978 season he took over as coach of the Newtown Jets in a caretaker capacity after the resignation of Paul Broughton.

Raper's brothers Ron played for Canterbury in one grand final and also represented Queensland. Other brothers Maurie, Michael, Peter and Gerard also played for a variety of Sydney clubs.

In retirement Raper for a time played a larger-than-life celebrity role making a record, appearing in commercials for a tyre company and the Liberal party and as an in-demand speaker and guest on radio and TV talk shows. Much higher honours were to follow: an award of a Member of the British Empire; selection in 1985 as one of the initial four post-war “Immortals” of the Australian game with Churchill, Gasnier and Fulton; appointment in 1988 as an Australian Test selector and representative of the New South Wales Rugby League.

In 2002 he was inducted into the Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame. In February 2008, Raper was named in the list of Australia's "100 Greatest Players" (1908-2007) which was commissioned by the NRL and ARL to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia. [cite news|author=Peter Cassidy |publisher="Macquarie National News"|title=Controversy reigns as NRL releases top 100 players |url=http://www.livenews.com.au/Articles/2008/02/22/Controversy_reigns_as_NRL_releases_top_100_players |accessdate=2008-02-23|date=2008-02-23] [cite web|publisher="NRL & ARL"|title=Centenary of Rugby League - The Players |url=http://www.centenaryofrugbyleague.com.au/site/the-players.aspx?cat=3&list=true |accessdate=2008-02-23|date=2008-02-23] Raper went on to be named as lock in Australian rugby league's "Team of the Century". Announced on 17 April, 2008, the team is the panel's majority choice for each of the thirteen starting positions and four interchange players. [cite news|author=Todd Balym|publisher="Fox Sports Australia"|title=Johns, Meninga among Immortals |url=http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,23557351-23214,00.html |accessdate=2008-04-17|date=2008-04-17] [cite web|publisher="NRL & ARL"|title=Team of the Century Announced |url=http://www.centenaryofrugbyleague.com.au/site/news--reviews/media-releases/team-of-the-century-announced.aspx |accessdate=2008-04-17|date=2008-04-17] While playing football, Raper also served in the New South Wales Police Force and in 2008, rugby league's centennary year in Australia, he was named at lock in a NSW Police team of the century.

Always regarded as a larrikin in his playing days, Raper now is undoubtedly seen as one of Rugby League's most ardent ambassadors and senior statesmen. In 2000, his portrait was entered into the Archibald Prize.

ources

* Whiticker, Alan (2004) "Captaining the Kangaroos", New Holland, Sydney
* Writer, Larry (1995) "Never Before, Never Again", Pan MacMillan, Sydney

External links

* [http://www.sahof.org.au/hallOfFame/memberProfile/index.php?memberID=186&memberType=athlete John Raper biography at Sport Australia Hall of Fame]
* [http://www.playtheball.com/rlwc00/greatest/raper.asp Johnny Raper at playtheball.com]
* [http://www.eraofthebiff.com/p62a.html Johnny Raper at eraofthebiff.com]

Footnotes

Persondata
NAME=Raper, Johnny
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Australian rugby league player
DATE OF BIRTH=12 April 1939
PLACE OF BIRTH=Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=