The Ten-Seconds Flyer: Harold Horder
Written by Sean Fagan – RL1908.com For much of the 20th century, whenever talk invariably came around to the question of who was the most dazzling footballer of all time, Continue reading
RL1908 Rugby League History – Sean Fagan
Selected articles from RL1908.com archives (2001-2011)
Tracking Down The Zam-Buk
Written by Sean Fagan – RL1908.com Rugby league television commentator Ray Warren sometimes refers to the “zambuks” coming onto the field to treat an injured player. ‘Zambuk’ (or zam-buk) is Continue reading
Getting On The Bung
Written by Sean Fagan – RL1908.com You don’t have to go far to find someone that reckons Australia’s footballers are overpaid slackers. It’s a common enough cry; heard every time Continue reading
“Jumping Jacks” of Inter-State Footy
Written by Sean Fagan – RL1908.com They called them “Jumping Jacks” – footballers who switched allegiance between NSW and Queensland. In one winter they were wearing maroon, the next sky Continue reading
“They Had No Right”
Written by Sean Fagan – RL1908.com Len Smith was a powerful and hard running centre during and after the 2nd World War period. He was a significant part of Newtown’s Continue reading
‘Laddo’ & the Newcastle Revolt of 1917
Written by Sean Fagan – RL1908.com Serious and dramatic days in 1917, centred around the NSWRL’s suspension of a Newcastle footballer, resulted in the bulk of the Hunter region’s clubs Continue reading
1920s Inter-Varsity Rugby League
Written by Sean Fagan – RL1908.com During the 1920s rugby league usurped rugby union for prominence in Australia’s three eastern state universities – the University of Sydney, the University of Continue reading
Leave the Dead Where They Fall
Written by Sean Fagan – RL1908.com In the cavalcade of great grand finals to remember, the 1969 Balmain v Souths encounter invariably gets a mention. It’s the story of the Continue reading
Dick Dunn – The Interview
Written by Sean Fagan – RL1908.com Dick Dunn made his first grade debut for Eastern Suburbs as a 16 year old in 1937. He was the last survivor of perhaps Continue reading
Never Say Die – 1955 Rabbitohs
Written by Sean Fagan – RL1908.com “Never Say Die” was already a tag synonymous with South Sydney – but the 1955 Rabbitohs epitomised that sentiment more than any other Souths Continue reading
Not Going The Full 80
Written by Sean Fagan – RL1908.com Rugby league contests end after 80 minutes of play…most of the time… At the game’s elite level in Australia there are less than a Continue reading
Papa Bear Taunted Kangaroos
Written by Sean Fagan – RL1908.com Few men, if any, loom larger in the history of American football than George Halas. He founded and coached the Chicago Bears, and was Continue reading
The Game Must Go On
Written by Sean Fagan – RL1908.com Being a winter sport naturally means rugby league is impacted by the absence of players and officials due to influenza and other tribulations suffered Continue reading
This Ashes Is No Gentlemanly Game
Written by Sean Fagan – RL1908.com The centenary of rugby league games between Australia and England (aka Great Britain) came on December 12, 2008 – 100 years since the first Continue reading
Tommy Gorman’s Maroon Giants
Written by Sean Fagan – RL1908.com Let’s set the scene – it’s the start of the winter of 1922. NSW stands undisputed as the champions of inter-state football. Since 1908, Continue reading
Heroes of The Past
Written by Sean Fagan – RL1908.com We know they were great – their names and deeds have left an indelible imprint in the annals of the game. From Messenger “The Continue reading
Forget the War…It’s Grand Final Day
Written by Sean Fagan – RL1908.com The 1943 premiership decider provided drama even before the kick-off. Like most of the world’s major cities in September 1943, Sydney was a hive Continue reading
Day the Kangaroos Played 7s
Written by Sean Fagan – RL1908.com “The Australians may never play before such a big attendance as that which to-day crowded round the natural amphitheatre in the glorious Roundhay Park Continue reading
Crown of Supremacy
Written by Sean Fagan – RL1908.com The chase to be the club with the most premierships was a lively battle well into the 1980s. In the premiership’s first four or Continue reading
Be Expedient or Perish
Written by Sean Fagan – RL1908.com You would think that of all the football codes, the one that would put the interests of its professional players at the top of Continue reading
“This Was a Man’s Game”
Written by Sean Fagan – RL1908.com More than a few in the game see the inter-change as something that has robbed rugby league of one its strongest attributes – the Continue reading
Australeague – One Football Code for Australia
Written by Sean Fagan – RL1908.com It seemingly wasn’t a big enough laugh for the sporting gods to have “blessed” Australia with four rival football codes. No, while Australia’s divided Continue reading
AFL Fumbling Western Sydney’s ‘History’
Written by Sean Fagan – RL1908.com In an attempt to gain “cultural connection” for its GWS team, Australian rules has turned to the code’s historical ties to Sydney’s west. The Continue reading
A Monument to a Lack of Enterprise and Courage
Written by Sean Fagan – RL1908.com The reforms recently proposed for the 2013 season schedule have forsaken the code’s history and discarded the hard-won traditions that served it so well, Continue reading
Decoy Plays Risk Losing Audience
Written by Sean Fagan – RL1908.com The NRL’s new referees bosses Bill Harrigan and Staurt Raper have put forward their recipe of rule interpretations for 2011. “Harrigan’s Master-ref class cooks Continue reading
Touch Footy History
Written by Sean Fagan – RL1908.com Forms of “throw-about” park, street and backyard versions of rugby league have existed since the birth of the game. Informal no-tackle games were played Continue reading
