Tamworth High School First X111

2010 Farrer Tamworth

2011 Dubbo College

Many Tamworth High School players went on to represent Sydney Clubs as follows-

Backs-

Mick Ross Balmain
Ray Watterson Balmain
Bill B***y St George
Vic Davis Balmain
Graham Goodman Penrith
Richie Thornton Penrith
Bill Russell Newtown
Aub LeBrocq Norths
Brad Tighe Newcastle/Penrith
Garry Maguire Norths
Michael McKinnon Wests
John Faulks Norths
Ben Surtees Norths
Daniel Thomas Manly
Josh Brown Manly


Forwards-
Bob Belford Balmain
Don Doak Norths
Monty Porter St George/Cronulla
Steve Winter Wests
Graham Lisle Penrith
Dave Goldman Penrith
Robert Rowlands Wests
Keith Harris Norths/Canterbury/NSW
Garry Hinkelbein Newtown
Richard Tongue Souths
Barry LeBrocq Penrith
Merv Hayward Penrith
John Johnson Newcastle


Tamworth UNI Shield Wins
1926. Coach JP Austin

1927. Coach JP Austin

1928. Coach AW Taylor

1929. Coach WR Crisp

1931. Coach WR Crisp

1957. Coach Barry McGregor

1959. Coach Don Dennis

1961. Coach. Don Dennis

1964. Coach Don Dennis (22/5 over Maitland)

1965. Coach Don Dennis (8/4 over Wagga Wagga)

1968. Coach Don Dennis (Joint Winners with Orange 16 all draw)

1969. Coach Don Dennis (13/12 over Orange)

1971. Coach Roy Masters (16/10 over Wagga Wagga)

1975. Coach Gordon Lockhart (13/12 over Keira Boys High)

1978. Coach Ron Surtees (9/5 0ver Ashcroft High School)

Opposition teams that most consistently figured in finals against Tamworth were Newcastle,Orange, Yanco and Wagga Wagga.Several players from these teams went on to play in Sydney as well.
Only three THS teams won both the Uni Shield and State Knockout being the 1964,1965 and 1971 teams.

The nemisis in State Carnivals was Patrician Brothers Fairfield.

Ron Surtees holds a special record.

Played in the Uni Shield winning side in 1965 Coached the Uni Shield winning side in 1978. Had a 23 year coaching stint from 1977 to 1990 and 1993 to 2003. His son Ben also played in a THS First X111 team.
Little wonder the THS playing field is now known as the Ron Surtees Oval.

Barry McGregor had success in 1957 handed over to Don Dennis in 1959 and went on to manage Don Dennis Teams from 1964 to 1970.Now deceased.

Don Dennis had the most number of Uni Shield wins with 6 triumphs from 1959 to 1970 (11 years) . Now deceased . Don's teams also won the All Schools State Knockout competition in 1963 , 1964 ,1965 . Don continued his association with Rugby League on the West Tamworth Lions coaching staff.
Many players under Don's coaching attribute some of their success in life to his insistence on discipline , training , presentation , skills , fitness and above all an unrelenting desire to win but not at all costs . It was always known that if you were sent off for foul play you would be off permanently . THS sides had a record of not only winning but winning fairly.

Roy Masters took over the successful 1971 team after an unbeaten run with weight teams from 1966 to 1969 including three successive All Schools State Carnival knockout competition wins . Many of the 1971 side came through Roy's weight sides . The 71 First X111 side also went on to win the All Schools State Knockout Competition . Roy coached the NSW all age open weight team in 1969 , the Australian Schoolboys team to an unbeaten run in England in 1972 and went on to coach Penrith ,Wests and St George before retiring to concentrate on journalism . Currently resides in Melbourne where he has had an association with the Melbourne Storm.

Ron Surtees had early success with the 1978 team but then hit turbulent times during the 80's as other sports encroached on rugby league , technology began it's ever increasing attraction to students turning many into couch potatoes and continued their interest in Rugby League through television rather than on the field . He had a resurgence of interest with some talented players coming through in 1995/96 but due to some of the players leaving the following year his next Shield win eluded him . He finished on a frustrated note in 2003 but not before retiring the famous sky blue , black bands , red number on white patch jersey as it was not being respected . Interestingly this jersey was designed by Mick Ross's brother John and John Grayston (related to Barry McGregor- both played in the 1954 team) in 1955 . Ron also had a distinguished coaching record with THS Water Polo sides.A special thank you to Ron for providing some of the history for this site.

Points of interest

Jeff Hardcastle played the most number of games over five years.
1959,1960,1961,1962 & 1963 (Capt)

Lyall Weaver who played in a THS Uni Shield team went on to become Director of Education in the North West Area.Teams in the early seventies benefited from this as Lyall managed to get us off the buses and into planes.
Lyall's son Tony played in the 1963 team.

Many brothers have played in teams over the years but the record goes to
the Kay brothers Robert 1957 , Bruce 1961 , Geoff 1965 and Kevin 1978 all of whom tasted Uni Shield success , followed closely by the Hollis brothers Ralph in 1970/71 (won) , Garry in 1973 (also played in the 1972 Australian Schoolboys Team) Wayne in 1978 (won) /79 and Anthony in 1978 (won)/79/80. There were also three Russell brothers Maurice 1971 (won) Phillip 1975 and Murree 1978 (won) and three Bannister brothers Phillip 1969 (won) Robert 1972 (runners up) and Douglas 1975 (won). Col Jeffriess 1970 (Runners Up) ’71 (won) and Peter Jeffriess 1972 (Runners Up) ‘73 and Wayne Reading 1972 (Runners Up) and son Ben Reading.

Two players played in five consecutive THS First X111 teams

Dick Stewart 1928/29/30/31/32
William Cunningham 1937/38/39/40/41

Eleven players managed four consecutive years

Oscar Pengilley 1919,20,21,22
David Ramsay 1926/27/28/29
John Skerrett 1935/36/37/38
Mick Ross 1961/62/63/64
Graham Goodman 1964/65/66/67
Robert Langford 1966/67/68/69
Harvey Goodman 1967/68/69/70
Trevor Rowlings 1967/68/69/70
Garry Hinkelbein 1968/69/70/71
Bill Russell 1968/69/70/71

There have been a handful of players who captained THS teams more than once.

Graham Goodman heads the list 1965 (won) ,1966 and 1967
W B***y 1960 and 1961 (won)
Harvey Goodman 1969 (won) and 1970 (Runners Up)
Richie Thornton 1971 (won) and 1972 (Runners Up)
Craig Power 1994 and 1995

The 1964 team agreed to have a trial game with the QLD open weight side in preparation for their games against NSW. The THS side defeated them and QLD went on to defeat NSW.

In the 1960's THS won a record four All NSW Schools Carnivals at the SCG, some also winning the Uni Shield . Noteable that Belford , Ross , Finlay , Page and Davis played in three successive State Carnival wins with Bob Belford in both Uni Shield winning sides as well . Bob also captained the 1965 NSW CHS open weight team . There were five THS players in this team in addition to providing the Captain,Vice Captain and Manager (Don Dennis) on the tour to QLD.

Many THS players could have represented NSW but such was the commitment to the Uni Shield in many years players did not participate in NSW team Selection trials. Graham Goodman believes he was the first to play an International match having been selected for NSW under 15 open weights to play a test series against the touring New Zealand team.

In 1971 Merv Heywood made the NSW team from the THS Seconds side such was the depth of talent.When asked what his goal at the School was he said " to make the THS First X111 team " which he did in 1972.

When Richie Thornton was introduced to Steve Mortimer at an ARL Grand Final and Peter Wynne on a visit to Tamworth both commented " yes we remember you we watched you blokes play in those blue jersey 's with black bands"

Interesting that an entire THS First X111 team could be made up of past players that lived in Anthony Road at one time or another.

In the days when there was such a thing as an afternoon Sydney Newspaper the 1970 team who played the curtain raiser to the third test Australia V England, the headlines read "A bunch of School kids show Australia how to play" It was a quarter final against the crack Riverstone team captained by then Penrith player Zac Olejarnic which Tamworth won 19/6 and Zac was kept in check by a very capable Trevor Rowlands.Contrary to popular belief that immortal Artie Beetson never played a bad game those of us there that day saw Artie have his worst game in his distinguished history.It was never repeated.Little did Richie Thornton half back in that 1970 THS team realise he would be playing inside centre in the Penrith side that knocked Artie's crack 1975 Easts side (eventual premiers) out of the Amco Cup to make the final. It was a giant killing effort only to be repeated by Western Division turning the tables on Penrith in the final. Remember TV Ted Ellery! Bill Russell also met that same Penrith side that year playing for Northern Division who was doing well until in Bill's words "Bill Ashurst came on and turned a 13-5 lead by Northern Division into a 36-13 loss”.
Prior to the 1970 Test Match the major selling point for newspaper hawkers was "five cents to keep your arse off the grass"
So much for the news!

Scully Park was second only to the SCG in terms of eagerness to play on as that's all we were allowed to do on it with training restricted to Scully No 2.
Long before Sydney grounds became carpet like playing surfaces Scully Park with it's lush green surface was years ahead of it's time . It was packed many times for Uni Shield fixtures with players hardly visible when entering the field until they reached the playing surface Many a battle was won on this hallowed turf . The glory days of the sixties and early seventies was repeated by Northern Division teams who had wins over the touring Great Britain sides . Names like Marcellos , Bischoff , Payne , Barnes ,Thompson and Searle were well known.If you sit and take yourself back to those days the lingering smell of the West Leagues Smorgasboard wafted over the ground . It was the best feed in any club in NSW up until it closed , being the only food outlet people were prepared to line up and wait to get a seat. Scully Park has now been relocated to the prior Scully No 2 with an even better playing surface and new grandstand . An NRL match between West Tigers and the Newcastle Knights was played there this year (2018) and it received rave reviews from players coaches and commentators . It is hoped this will become an annual event. On the original Scully Park now stands a Mercure Hotel (4.5 star) linked to the club via a walkway . To this day the club still has some of the old familiar looks as it did but the club is bigger and the remainder of what was Scully Park originally is a bitumen sealed car park for Hotel guests .There was plenty of sweat left on Scully Park but not much skin , especially compared to many other grounds .

When it came to supporters THS sides had a fanatical following with many familiar faces visible in crowd shots at Scully Park . Several of these people travelled to watch the various teams over the years play .They still have as many fond memories of those past years as the players . To them every team owes them a big thank you as without them the atmosphere would not have been there.

Tamworth High School First X111 success was self perpetuating for many years with young players inspired by their deeds and desperate to wear the famous sky blue jersey with black bands and red numbers . Every player grew up admiring players before them . To reach the pinnacle of Rugby League success at Tamworth High School meant you were the best of the best .Those not involved find it hard to understand to this day but those who were still hold fond memories of the glory days.

Sadly , several past players and officials are no longer with us and a major reason why it was decided to put together this Facebook site as a conduit for information and start an annual reunion or casual get together . For the past five years or so now this event has happened prior to Christmas , usually in November so watch out for the dates each year.

We will fondly remember those who are no longer with us-

Players/Coaches/Managers Supporters / Parents / Assistants

Don Doak Ginty Pearson (Long Term Supporter)
Robert White Bob Jiear (Time Keeper)
Ian Barbato Bill Russell Snr ( Long Term supporter)
John Ross Mr & Mrs McClelland
Anthony Roach Zina Ross
Robert Lonsdale Les Hinkelbein
Guy Kinchella Kevin & Kath Thornton
Don Dennis
Barry McGregor
Dennis Condon
Trevor Rowlands
Geoff (Jesse) Owen




Plus many others that played,coached or managed in the earlier years.

No doubt there may even be a repeat of the School War Cry

High kick a high,high kicker high
High kicker a bigger jigga, high kicker high
Ho ho ho ha ha ha Tamworth High ...yah!

Boomelacka,boomelacka
Bow wow wow
Choomelacka,choomelacka
Chow,chow,chow
Boomdidah,boomdidiah

Tamworth High .........Yah!!!!!!!!!!

For the record Bob Belford , is the only former student who has played in THS teams which

1) won 3 State Championships in a row (63, 64, 65) and

2) won 2 University Shields in a row (64 and 65) and

3) captained NSW open weights vs Queensland in 1965

A summary of the formative years until now as taken from the school Koalas is as follows -

1922 -25 Early years of building teams and in those days the first X111 played in the third grade competition which up until the University Shield commenced in 1922 , was the competition to win.Games were hard fought between Tamworth High , North Tamworth and Armidale High School. They were building years trying to get a big enough , fast enough team to compete but difficult as players gained experience then left but notwithstanding this were the team was a major force in this competition.

1926 -29 The first Uni Shield success occurred in 1926 which began their first run of successes from 1926 to 1929 , then again in 1931. Tamworth High School’s prowess as a schoolboy rugby league heavy weight was now well known.

1930 - 59 During this period Tamworth recorded wins in 1931 and 1957. In the meantime , the other dominant school emerged with Newcastle (winning 1939 /43 then Gosford recording good wins from 1949 to 1952 . However Tamworth won again in 1957.

1960 - 69 The sixties were dominated by Tamworth winning in 1961/64/65/68 & 69 again pushing their claim as the most dominant NSW Public Schools open weight team.

1970 - 1979 The seventies began well with Tamworth making the final but narrowly going down to Yanco at Redfern Oval 13-8. However they triumphed again in 1971 in addition to winning the State Carnival. The team acquitted itself well again in 1972 making the final but narrowly beaten by Yanco again 13-8 at a packed Graham Park Gosford ground. Had video replays been around it would have been a different story as a try under the posts was disallowed. The next win came in 1975 and Tamworth’s last Uni Shield success was in 1978. Sadly , Tamworth High Schools dominance as a rugby league powerhouse came to an end despite efforts to resurrect it throughout the eighties and nineties by a dedicated few.

No other team since has been able to replicate Tamworth or Newcastle’s dominance in the Uni Shield . Westfield Sports High won six Shields but the competition was then split putting Sports High Schools in their own competition. Little wonder why the Tamworth High School rugby league scene in their dominant years was so well supported. Credit must also go to the total dedication and commitment to the various coaches over the years who like the players , set standards for their successors to carry on the culture and dedication to the ultimate goal of Uni Shield success.

Ode to Tamworth High School First X111

When it came to schoolboy rugby league the holy grail was the University Shield ,

Established in the early 1920’s many great players and teams would grace the field.

As was the case in the ARL (now NRL) two teams would dominate over the years.

South Sydney and St George recorded the most premierships in the ARL and so it was

in the University Shield with Newcastle Boys High recording fifteen and Tamworth

High fourteen wins resulting in considerable elation and tears.

What was it that captured fans fascination bringing thousands to the games ,

The game was played fairly with tough defence and free flowing attack from end to end

and of course there were the prominent names.

Tries could be scored from anywhere on the field but you had to be able to attack and defend.

The odd final ended in a draw with both teams refusing to bend.

Sometimes the backs were as big or bigger than the forwards and some forwards as fast as the backs,

Many players were able to capably play up to three positions leaving their opponents in their tracks.

So why was it that two teams could have such a stranglehold on this elite competition,

In Tamworth High School’s case they made the Uni Shield their number one mission.

From the time rugby league players entered first year in High School their goal was clear,

They wanted to play in the sky blue with black bands jersey with skill and without fear.

Many players from the various schools came together in High School to combine as one,

Initially they progressed through the weight teams to begin their run.

Six sevens , seven sevens , eight sevens , nine sevens , ten sevens then the open weight team ,

For some it came earlier as they fulfilled their dream.

The history of wins beginning in the twenties meant that every player who pulled on that famous jumper had a responsibility to protect the record of this great school,

The coaches job was to implement the fitness , skills and culture and would not tolerate any fool.

The training was hard but it needed to be to achieve Uni Shield success,

Discipline was paramount which together with training explains the THS prowess.

Nothing worth winning was ever meant to be easy,

Uni Shield dominance was not for the faint hearted or queasy.

Players ability to fill in more than one position was practised at length,

When injuries occurred the well oiled team did not change which was their strength.

Many teams from bigger schools and cities came to Tamworth with huge reputations,

They did not count on facing such determination and went home defeated to face repudiation.

Opposing teams had great players in many positions and dared to dream.

However Tamworth High School always worked on having the best team.

No one player was above the rest,

To be a team player was considered the ultimate test.

Their were two grounds all players aspired to play on during their career,

Locally it was Scully Park with it’s lush surface and the SCG which when full you could hardly hear.

The UNI Shield was held in such high regard by Tamworth High School that no player could play in any other competition or trial for State selection,

Nothing could get in the way of UNI Shield success and derail the team’s direction.

As it was with players successive coaches were under pressure to succeed to maintain the dominance,

Some were blessed with huge talent while others had to work harder to maintain the prominence.

The culture off the field was as important as on the field,

Dress standard was paramount whether before or during the game and on this the school would not yield.

To be sent off for deliberate foul play would mean your season was at an end,

As was the case with uniform on this subject the School would not bend.

Failure to train for no reason would mean you did not play,

For every player there was someone else who could fill in the same way.

Late nights and alcohol before games was strictly not tolerated,

A rule for some that they complied with but hated.

You see without sacrifice, discipline and hard work nothing can be achieved,

This not only applies to sport but life in general so do not be deceived.

Little wonder that many of the THS First X111 players achieved great success,

While many others not so motivated ended up in a mess.

Sadly , the last UNI Shield success for Tamworth High school occurred in 1978,

If it could be reignited it would not be too late.

Rightly or wrongly however it was considered rugby league’s dominance at the school had to end,

It has gone on so long now it will be difficult to mend.

For the many players , coaches , officials and fans however who enjoyed the success,

They have lifetime memories and friends of a game that was simply the best.

Written By - Richie Thornton - Dec 2018