- Noel Kelly (rugby league)
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Noel Kelly Personal information Nickname Ned Born January 22, 1936
Ipswich, AustraliaPlaying information Position Hooker, Prop, Lock Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1958–1959 Brothers (Ipswich) 1960 Ayr 1961–1969 Wests (Sydney) 111 6 0 0 18 1970 Wollongong Total 111 6 0 0 18 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1959–1960 Queensland 8 1 0 0 3 1959–1968 Australia 25 2 0 0 6 1963–1967 New South Wales 6 1 0 0 3 Coaching information Club Years Team Gms W D L W% 1966–1969 Wests (Sydney) 85 43 2 40 51 1970 Wollongong 1973–1976 North Sydney 88 33 4 51 38 Total 173 76 6 91 44 Noel Kelly (born 22 January 1936) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and coach, who played at club, state and national level. He has been named amongst the country's finest footballers of the 20th century.[1] Kelly played at hooker, prop forward or lock for much of his top-grade career with the Western Suburbs Magpies.
Contents
Biography
Kelly was born at Ipswich Hospital and raised in Goodna. He attended primary school at St Mary's in Goodna, and a Christian Brothers high school, where he has said he was, "frequently belted or bashed or caned,"[2] by the Brothers. At age 12, his mother allowed him to enrol in the local state school, where he studied until he was 14.
Goodna's first team played in the local district reserve grade competition, and Kelly played for the club from his junior league until he was in the first team as a young man, mostly playing a lock or second rower.[2]
In 1956, Kelly began playing in the Ipswich competition, first with Railways, and then, two years later, with Brothers. At Railways he played in the same side as Gary Parcell and Dud Beattie. At Brothers he was coached by Dan Dempsey, who had played on two Kangaroo tours.[2]
The Bulimba Cup was a tri-series played between sides representing Ipswich, Brisbane and Toowoomba. Playing at hooker, Kelly played in the Ipswich side which defeated the Toowoomba Downsmen 15-10 in the 1958 final, in front of a crowd of 7242. Kelly said, the repeated success in 1959 was his, "spring board to state and international level."[2]
Kelly was chosen to play for Queensland in 1959 under captain-coach Clive Churchill. In an era when success in scrums was crucial, Kelly won the count in his debut 20-9 against New South Wales hooker Ian Walsh. He missed the second game of the series, but returned to see Queensland win the series 2-1.[2]
Kelly was picked as hooker for his first test match against New Zealand. Later that year he embarked on his first Kangaroo Tour, but pre-existing injuries to his knees hampered his performances on the tour and he played in only 14 of a possible 37 games, allowing St George player Ian Walsh to cement the spot as starting hooker.
Short of money, Kelly signed an ₤800 contract to captain-coach with Ayr for the 1960 season. Upon his arrival, he discovered the five local clubs had pooled their resources to afford the signing, and he was expected to rotate through all five clubs. He would captain-coach a club for a week, and then move on to the next.[2]
Kelly played more internationals in 1960 and had established himself as a Kangaroo representative before he moved to Sydney to join Western Suburbs in 1961. He was a stalwart of the Magpies sides of the 1960s and played in all of the club's consecutive Grand Final losses to St. George in 1961, 1962 and 1963. Kelly has said that he believes referee Darcy Lawler had accepted money to help St George win the 1963 Grand Final.[2]
Not a large player by the standards of the time, Kelly had the reputation as an aggressive forward. He was sent off eleven times whilst playing for Wests, though some send-offs were for scrum breaches rather than foul play.[2]
In 1963, Kelly made his second Kangaroo Tour, playing at prop forward as captain Ian Walsh was again chosen as hooker. In his third Kangaroo Tour he was back at hooker.
From 1966, Kelly took over as Wests' captain-coach, before moving to Wollongong for one season, a move he was to later regret.[3] He returned to Sydney to coach the North Sydney Bears from 1973 to 1976, never making the semi-finals.
Kelly was the first hooker/prop to be selected for three Kangaroo tours: 1959–60, 1963–64 and 1967–68. He is a board member and an ambassador for the Men Of League Foundation.[4]
Accolades
In September 2004 Kelly was named as captain and hooker of the Western Suburbs Magpies team of the century.[5] In February 2008, he was named in the list of Australia's 100 Greatest Players (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the Australian Rugby League and the National Rugby League to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia.[6][7] Kelly went on to be named as hooker 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.[8][9] In June 2008, he was chosen in the Queensland Rugby League's Team of the Century at hooker.[10]
The yearly award for the best forward at the Wests Tigers club is named the Noel Kelly Medal in his honour.[11]
References
- Alan Whiticker & Glen Hudson (2007). The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players. Wetherill Park, New South Wales: Gary Allen Pty Ltd. pp. page 282. ISBN 9781877082931.
- Malcolm Andrews (1992). ABC of Rugby League. Sydney, New South Wales: ABC Enterprises. pp. page 298. ISBN 0733301762.
Footnotes
- ^ Century's Top 100 Players
- ^ a b c d e f g h Noel Kelly with Ian Heads (1996). Hard Man: A Life in Football. Ironbark. ISBN 0330358448, 9780330358446. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=pWKBAAAACAAJ&source=gbs_navlinks_s.
- ^ Whiticker, Alan and Hudson, Glen (2007). The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players. Wetherill Park, New South Wales: Gary Allen Pty Ltd. p. 282. ISBN 9781877082931.
- ^ "Men of League Heritage Round". Balmain Tigers. http://www.tigers.org.au/news/422/33/Men-of-League-Heritage-Round/d,Football%20Article/. Retrieved 31 May 2010.
- ^ westsmagpies.net (2008). "Western Suburbs Team of the Century". Wests Archives. Western Suburbs Magpies R.L.F.C. http://www.westsmagpies.net/archives/2008/php/wests_totc.php. Retrieved 2009-11-28.
- ^ "Centenary of Rugby League - The Players". NRL & ARL. 2008-02-23. http://www.centenaryofrugbyleague.com.au/site/the-players.aspx?cat=3&list=true. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
- ^ Peter Cassidy (2008-02-23). "Controversy reigns as NRL releases top 100 players". Macquarie National News. http://www.livenews.com.au/Articles/2008/02/22/Controversy_reigns_as_NRL_releases_top_100_players. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
- ^ Todd Balym (2008-04-17). "Johns, Meninga among Immortals". Fox Sports Australia. http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,23557351-23214,00.html. Retrieved 2008-04-17.
- ^ "Team of the Century Announced". NRL & ARL. 2008-04-17. http://www.centenaryofrugbyleague.com.au/site/news--reviews/media-releases/team-of-the-century-announced.aspx. Retrieved 2008-04-17.
- ^ Ricketts, Steve (2008-06-10). "Locky named No.1 but Wal's still King". The Courier-Mail. Archived from the original on 2009-05-20. http://www.webcitation.org/query?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.news.com.au%2Fcouriermail%2Fstory%2F0%2C23739%2C23843448-10389%2C00.html&date=2009-05-20. Retrieved 2009-05-20.
- ^ Wayne Cousins. "ELLIS NAMED PLAYER OF THE YEAR". weststigers.com.au. http://www.weststigers.com.au/default.aspx?s=article-display&id=20613&ellis-named-player-of-the-year. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
Further reading
- Noel Kelly with Ian Heads (1996). Hard Man: A Life in Football. Ironbark. ISBN 0330358448, 9780330358446. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=pWKBAAAACAAJ&source=gbs_navlinks_s.
External links
- Noel Kelly at the Rugby League Project
- Noel Kelly at NRL Stats
- Noel Kelly at Era of the Biff
- Noel Kelly interview at Kelly's Kids
- Queensland Team of the Century named - article at nz.leagueunlimited.com
- Queensland representatives at qrl.com.au
The Australian Rugby League Team of the Century 1908–2007 1. Clive Churchill • 2. Brian Bevan • 3. Reg Gasnier • 4. Mal Meninga • 5. Ken Irvine • 6. Wally Lewis • 7. Andrew Johns
8. Arthur Beetson • 9. Noel Kelly • 10. Duncan Hall • 11. Norm Provan • 12. Ron Coote • 13. Johnny Raper
14. Graeme Langlands • 15. Dally Messenger • 16. Bob Fulton • 17. Frank Burge
Coach: Jack GibsonThe Queensland Rugby League Team of the Century 1909–2008 1. Darren Lockyer • 2. Cecil Aynsley • 3. Tom Gorman • 4. Mal Meninga • 5. Denis Flannery • 6. Wally Lewis (c) • 7. Allan Langer
8. Duncan Hall • 9. Noel Kelly • 10. Peter Madsen • 11. Arthur Beetson • 12. Brian Davies • 13. Bob Lindner
14. Jimmy Craig • 15. Duncan Thompson • 16. Gene Miles • 17. Herb Steinohrt
Coach: Wayne Bennett • Manager: Dick TurnerCategories:- 1936 births
- Australian rugby league players
- Western Suburbs Magpies players
- New South Wales rugby league team players
- Queensland rugby league team players
- Australia national rugby league team players
- Australian rugby league coaches
- Western Suburbs Magpies coaches
- North Sydney Bears coaches
- Living people
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