- Brian Hambly
Infobox rugby league biography
playername = Brian Hambly
fullname = Brian Clinton Hambly
nickname = Grumpy
caption =
country =
position = rlp|PR|SR
currentclub =
dateofbirth = 1938
placeofbirth =
countryofbirth =Australia
dateofdeath =30 August 2008
placeofdeath =Drummoyne, New South Wales
countryofdeath =Australia
height =
weight =
club1 = South Sydney
year1start = 1956
year1end = 1958
appearances1 = 33
tries1 = 7
goals1 = 0
fieldgoals1 = 0
points1 = 21
club2 = Wagga Magpies
year2start = 1959
year2end = 1960
appearances2 =
tries2 =
goals2 =
fieldgoals2 =
points2 =
club3 =Parramatta Eels
year3start = 1961
year3end = 1967
appearances3 = 105
tries3 = 6
goals3 = 46
fieldgoals3 = 110
points3 = 110
club4 = Lithgow Workers
year4start = 1968
year4end =
appearances4 =
tries4 =
goals4 =
fieldgoals4 =
points4 =
teamA = New South Wales
yearAstart = 1959
yearAend = 1964
appearancesA = 11
triesA = 1
goalsA = 0
fieldgoalsA = 0
pointsA = 3
teamB = Australia
yearBstart = 1959
yearBend = 1965
appearancesB = 18
triesB = 2
goalsB = 2
fieldgoalsB = 0
pointsB = 10
coachteam1 =Parramatta Eels
coachyear1start = 1967
coachyear1end =
coachgames1 = 22
coachwins1 = 8
coachdraws1 = 0
coachlosses1 = 14
coachwin%1 = 36
coachteam2 = Lithgow Workers
coachyear2start = 1968
coachyear2end =
coachgames2 =
coachwins2 =
coachdraws2 =
coachlosses2 =
coachwin%2 =
source = [http://203.166.101.37/NRL08/playercareer.asp?lplayer=3644 NRL Stats]Brian Clinton Hambly (1938 –
30 August 2008 cite news|publisher="Fox Sports News (Australia)"|title=Rugby League legend dies |url=http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,24268218-23214,00.html |accessdate=2008-08-31|date=2008-08-30 ] ) was anAustralia nrugby league player, a representative forward for the Australia national team between 1959 and 1965. His club career was played with theSouth Sydney Rabbitohs and theParramatta Eels . He was considered one of the nation's finest footballers of the 20th century. [ [http://www.livenews.com.au/Articles/2008/02/22/Controversy_reigns_as_NRL_releases_top_100_players Century's Top 100 Players] ]Club career
ouths and Wagga
A South Sydney junior, Hambly was graded by the Rabbitohs in 1956 and played three seasons with the club. In 1959 aged only 21 he took on a captain-coach role in the country town of
Wagga Wagga, New South Wales for two seasons and it was from there as a country player that he made his state and national representative debuts that same season.Parramatta
In 1961 he was lured to the
Parramatta Eels on the then record transfer fee of 2,500 pounds.The Parramatta club had languished at the bottom of the ladder in their first 15 seasons after admission to the top grade competition in 1947 - they finished last eight times in the ten seasons from 1952 to 1961. But 1962 marked a turnaround.
Ken Kearney was appointed as coach; internationals Hambly and Ron Lynch had joined the club in 1961 withBob Bugden andKen Thornett arriving in 1962. The club was particularly competitive from 1962 to 1965 making the finals in all four years. Hambly, then at the top of his career, gave great service to the club at that time. He played on till 1967 in which season he was named captain-coach, however suffering the effects of knee injury during the year he sacked himself in favour of the young future Eels star Bob O'Reilly.Representative career
Hambly first appeared on the representative scene in 1958 for New South Wales Colts against Great Britain playing alongside future greats in
Johnny Raper andIan Walsh . From his country position at Wagga he was first selected for New South Wales at the senior level in 1959 and was picked as a reserve for Australia's test series against New Zealand that year and then for the 1959Kangaroo tour . Hambly played in all six Tests plus in 16 other minor tour matches. Hambly was the preferred lock in the first two Ashes tests of the 1959-60 Kangaroo tour but the great form ofJohnny Raper saw Hambly moved to the second-row for the remainder of this test career.He toured to Britain again the next year for the 1960 World Cup and made a second Kangaroo tour in 1963-64 where he played in five tests and 19 tour matches. He injured a calf muscle doing private training and missed Australia's 50-12 win at Swinton which secured the Ashes.
Hambly made a further overseas tour of New Zealand in 1965. In all, Hambly played in eight different test series, appearing against all of the major rugby league playing nations; Great Britain (five times), France (nine times) and New Zealand (four times).
Career playing statistics
Post playing and Accolades
Hambly was the licensee of the Willoughby Hotel on Sydney's North Shore from 1975 to 1979.
In February 2008, Hambly 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 ]Brian Hambly died on 30 August 2008, aged 71.cite news|publisher="Fox Sports News (Australia)"|title=Rugby League legend dies |url=http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,24268218-23214,00.html |accessdate=2008-08-31|date=
2008-08-30 ]ources
* Whiticker, Alan & Hudson, Glen (2006) "The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players", Gavin Allen Publishing, Sydney
* Andrews, Malcolm (2006) "The ABC of Rugby League" Austn Broadcasting Corpn, SydneyExternal links
* [http://rugbyleagueproject.com/players/Brian_Hambly.html Hambly Playing Record]
References
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