Ken Thornett

Infobox rugby league biography
playername = Ken Thornett
fullname = Ken Thornett
nickname = The Mayor of Parramatta


caption =
dateofbirth = 1937
placeofbirth =
countryofbirth =
height =
weight =
position = Rlp|FB
club1 = Parramatta Eels
year1start = 1962
year1end = 71
appearances1 = 129
tries1 =
goals1 =
fieldgoals1 =
points1 = 63
club2 = Leeds
year2start = 1961
year2end = 62
appearances2 = ?
tries2 =
goals2 =
fieldgoals2 =
points2 = ?
teamA = New South Wales
yearAstart = 1963
yearAend = 67
appearancesA = 3
triesA =
goalsA =
fieldgoalsA =
pointsA = 0
teamB = Australia
yearBstart = 1963
yearBend = 64
appearancesB = 12
triesB =
goalsB =
fieldgoalsB =
pointsB = 18
coachteam1 = Parramatta Eels
coachyear1start = 1965
coachyear1end = 66
coachgames1 =
coachwin%1 =
coachpremierships1 =
updated =
source =
new = yes

Ken Thornett is a former Australian rugby league player. He represented for the Kangaroos in 12 Tests in 1963-64 and on the 1963-64 Kangaroo Tour.

Ģ=Club and representative career=

He began his career playing first grade Rugby Union with Randwick,and was the youngest player ever to be selected to play in a first grade union side.He was a Fullback with the Parramatta Eels in 1960s. He played 136 games for the club. Thornett was the leading Australian Rugby League fullback in the early sixties after Barnes and before Johns & Langlands.

Ken played in all six Tests of the 1963 Kangaroo Tour and in ten minor tour games. He made a further six Test appearances and by the end of his representative career in 1964 had played three Tests each against Great Britain and New Zealand, five against France and one against South Africa.

porting family

Ken and both of his brothers were all exemplary sportsmen. John Thornett was a Wallaby captain who played 37 Rugby Union Tests for Australia over a distinguished 13 year career from 1955. Dick Thornett represented Australia at water polo, rugby league and rugby union. Much of Dick and Ken's club football career was played together at Parramatta and they have the very rare distinction of having played three international rugby league Tests together on the 1963-64 Kangaroo Tour.

Accolades

In 1965 he was named NSW Player of the Year.

In February 2008, Thornett 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]

External links

* [http://www.eraofthebiff.com/p97a.html Ken Thornett at eraofthebiff.com]

Footnotes