Vote for the greatest Rabbitohs player of all time
WE launch our search for the greatest Rabbitohs player of all time. Here’s our longlist of 50 from which we want you to name your top ten. So what are you waiting for?
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WE’VE won the most premierships, had some of the greatest players and undoubtedly have the best fans. But who is our greatest ever player?
As we move to the business end of the 2018 season, we launch our search for the greatest ever Rabbitoh.
With the club dating back to 1908 where do you even start? Well, we’ve come up with a shortlist of 50.
To make the 50 a player must have played 50 first grade games for the club. Only their representative careers while playing for the Rabbitohs have been taken into account.
This is where you take over. We want you to take a look through the longlist and pick your top ten, with number one being your greatest ever Rabbitohs player.
We don’t want you to pick a team, so don’t worry about positions. Just pick the ten players you consider the greatest to have played in the cardinal and myrtle.
You can vote on our online form, by writing to us, Facebooking us or sending your ten by email. If you want to write, email or Facebook then remember to number your players from one to ten.
Reckon we’ve left a legend off our 50 longlist? Then let us know. This is all about celebrating our club’s fantastic history.
Voting will close on Sunday of the final weekend of the regular season, September 2. We will then reveal the 50 in order, as decided by you, in the run up to the start of the finals.
Thanks goes to Michael Curin and Brad Ryder without whom this would not have been possible. Their knowledge was invaluable and they wrote the biographies and provided many of the images for the 50. You can find Michael and Brad on Facebook by visiting:
HOW TO VOTE
Below are the statistics and biographies of the 50 on the longlist. Once you’ve had a look through the contenders enter your top in the form below. Rank them in order from one to ten and then click send.
THE 50 LONGLIST
ROY ASOTASI
Seasons Played at Souths: 2007-13 (133 games, 12 tries)
Rep honours while at Souths: New Zealand 2007-09 (8 Tests), Samoa 2013 (1 Test).
Auckland-born and raised prop who used his mobility and size to good effect to become one of the leading pop-forwards in the modern game.
He was surprisingly quick for a big man and with footwork to match.
He was a key signing for the Rabbitohs as part of their rebuilding programme in 2007 when he also won the honorary George Piggins Medal as the best and fairest player, as well as being named New Zealand’s rugby league player of the year.
He was inducted as a Life Member of the South Sydney Football Club in 2014.
ALF BLAIR
1917-27 and 1929-30 (186 games, 39 tries, 139 goals)
Rest of NSW 1917 (1 game), Metropolis 1920 (1 game), NSW Seconds 1922 (1 game), NSW 1919, 1924 & 1927 (11 games, 6 tries, 6 goals), Australia 1924 (1 Test).
A Souths junior, ‘Smacker’ Blair is rightly regarded as one of the greatest captains in Souths’ proud history.
The Rabbitohs reigned supreme in 1925-29, with Blair involved in each premiership success, except 1928, when he captain-coached Longreach.
A fine tactical five-eighth, he was the team’s chief playmaker and orchestrated the attack of the champion 1920s team which earned the title, “Pride of the League”.
His only Test appearance was in the 1st Test of the 1924 Ashes series and he would have been a certainty had a Kangaroo tour taken place in the middle of the 1920s, but unfortunately there were no tours between 1921-22 and 1929-30.
After his retirement as a player, he coached in the country and returned to Sydney in 1943 to coach Wests. The following year coached Souths, taking them to the semi-finals, but sadly died at the end of the year, aged only 48.
RAY BRANIGHAN
1967-71 (55 games, 26 tries, 31 goals)
City Firsts 1970-71 (2 games), NSW 1970-71 (3 games), Australia 1970-71 (5 Tests & World Cup games, 1 try).
An extremely versatile back, the Souths junior won two premiership titles while at Souths in 1970-71. After gaining a place in Australia’s victorious 1970 World Cup squad, he made his Test debut in the Kiwi’s upset win at Carlaw Park in 1971. He was inducted as a Life Member of the South Sydney Football Club in 1991. In 2004 he was named in South Sydney’s Dream Team as a Reserve.
SAM BURGESS
2010-14 and 2016-18 (156 games, 38 tries)
England 2010-13 and 2016-18 (16 Tests and World Cups, 3 tries
Former Bradford Bulls forward who was rated the best young forward to come out of England in the last 25 years, before being swayed by Russell Crowe to come and play for the Rabbitohs.
He quickly showed his dominance in the toughest competition in the world and along with his three brothers (and their mother Julie) became favourites with all rugby league fans and media here in Australia.
The four brothers equalled a 104-year-old Australian rugby league record when all four played in the same match in 2014.
Sam won the Clive Churchill Medal in the Rabbitohs 2014 Grand Final victory where he played almost the entire match with a broken cheekbone.
He also finished third in the Dally M points in the same year. In 2014 and 2016-17 he won the honorary George Piggins Medal as the Rabbitohs best and fairest player.
The fear and intimidation that Sam brings to opposition players as an enforcer in the modern game makes him one of the most passionate players in the NRL, and even with his odd suspension, he is still a player every club would love to have on their side.
ARTHUR BUTLER
1908-15 (102 games, 20 tries, 20 goals)
Metropolis 1911 & 1915 (3 games), City 1914 (1 game), NSW 1908-09 & 1911 (7 games, 2 tries), Kangaroos 1909-10 (6 games, 1 try, 9 goals), Australia 1908-09 (3 Tests, 21 tour games, 5 tries, 1 goal
Butler was born in Brisbane and when the family moved to Sydney he became a product of Alexandria Borough rugby union club with two other brothers, Harry and Tom (both also played for Souths). He won two premiership titles with Souths in 1908-09 and is one of three pioneers in our list of names.
Described as a superb handler, a tactician and a grim tackler, he toured with the 1908-09 Kangaroos where he played in two Tests against Great Britain. Butler was inducted as a Life Member of the NSWRL in 1919.
BILLY CANN
1908-16 (74 games, 33 tries, 4 goals)
Metropolis 1912 (1 game), NSW 1908-13 (6 games, 8 tries, 9 goals), Kangaroos 1909-10, 1912 & 1917 (5 games), Australia 1908-12 (8 Tests & 16 tour games, 12 tries, 3 goals
Former RU three-quarter with Souths, Cann was a member of the rebel NSW side that played the NZ ‘All Golds’ in 1907.
He went on to become both an innovative player and long-serving administrator with Souths. A pioneer of lock forward play, whose creativity in ‘loose’ play shaped the role of the lock in the professional code and he combined brilliantly with his backline.
Winner of two premiership titles at Souths in 1909 & 1914, Cann is one of three pioneers among the 50. He was inducted as a Life Member of the NSWRL in 1914.
CLIVE CHURCHILL, AM
1947-58 (157 games, 13 tries, 75 goals, 2 field goals)
City Seconds 1948 (1 game), City Firsts 1948-55 (8 games, 2 tries, 3 goals, 1 field goal), NSW 1949-57 (37 games, 5 tries, 31 goals), Australia 1948-57 (34 Tests & 50 tour games, 4 tries, 41 goals).
‘The Little Master’ is considered by many judges to be the best player that has ever played the greatest game of all.
He revolutionised the role of fullback with his evasive running and flawless tackling. Churchill was honoured as a Member of the Order of Australia in 1985 “in recognition of his services to sport, particularly Rugby League Football and to the community.” In the same year he was selected as one of the initial four post-war “immortals” by the Rugby League Week.
A Clive Churchill Stand was made in SCG in 1986 to honour the great player.
This made him one of only six sportsmen and two rugby league players to have a stand at the SCG named after him. Since 1986, the Clive Churchill Medal has been awarded to the player judged as the best on the ground in the season’s Grand Final.
He has a plaque in the Walk of Honour at the SCG and his name was inducted in Australia Rugby League Hall of Fame in 2002. In 2004 he was named in South Sydney’s Dream Team as a fullback.
MICHAEL CLEARY, AO
1962-70 (139 games, 88 tries, 1 goal)
City Seconds 1962-63 and 1967 (3 games), Sydney 1963 (1 game), City Firsts 1964-65 and 1969 (3 games, 6 tries), NSW 1962-67 and 1969 (11 games, 13 tries), Australia 1962-69 (8 Tests and 19 tour games).
Dual code international who also represented Australia in the 1962 Commonwealth Games, winning bronze in the 100 yards final. Cleary is one of only four Australians who have represented their country at full international level in three different sports.
He played in five Grand Finals for Souths, winning three in 1967, 1968, and 1970. The losing two were in 1965 and 1969. Cleary was inducted as a Life Member of South Sydney in 1980, and NSWRL in 2008, and in 1992 he was also made an Officer of the Order of Australia for his services to sport and the community.
CRAIG COLEMAN
1980-92 (209 games, 25 tries, 8 goals)
Rep Honours while at Souths: City Firsts 1987 (1 game).
The cheeky Souths junior has played the second most grade games for Souths (only behind John Sutton), with 297 grade games in total.
Coleman was one of the most passionate players to ever pull on a Souths jersey, and he was a tyro behind the scrumbase, able to mobilise his forwards with sharp passing and providing great service to his outside backs. He was inducted as a Life Member of the club in 1995.
RON COOTE, AM
1963-71 (148 games, 48 tries)
Sydney Colts 1964 (1 game), City Firsts 1969-70 (2 games, 2 tries), NSW 1965-71 (8 games, 5 tries), Australia 1967-71 (17 Tests & World Cups and 13 tour games, 7 tries
A Souths junior, Coote’s tall, long-legged frame showcased his great running style complemented by devastating cover defence.
Although Coote’s early representative career was restricted because of Johnny Raper, he didn’t make his NSW debut until 1965, the year Souths also made the Grand Final.
Coote was known as the “prince of locks”, he was a key member of the champion Souths teams that won Grand Finals in 1967-68 and 1970-71.
He was inducted as a Life Member of the club in 1990, and the NSWRL in 2005, and in 2004 he was also named in South Sydney’s Dream Team, as a lock.
In 2000 he founded the Men of League foundation which supports former players and officials who have fallen on hard times.
LES COWIE, OAM
1946-58 (176 games, 66 tries)
City Seconds 1947-48 and 1952 (3 games), City 1948 and 1952 (2 games, 1 try), City Firsts 1949, 1951, 1954 and 1956 (4 games, 2 tries), NSW 1948-54 (14 games, 2 tries), Australia 1948-53 (6 Tests and 17 tour games, 10 tries).
Born in Rockhampton, where he also played his early football, ‘Chicka’ Cowie was a demon tackler and effective blind-side attacking player.
After serving in the Army during WWII where he represented the Services team he then joined Souths in 1946. He played in the 1950 final, 1951 Grand Final and consecutive victories over Newtown in 1954-55.
He was inducted as a Life Member of the club in 1961, and in 1994 he was honoured with the Medal of the Order of Australia. In 2004 he was named in South Sydney’s Dream Team as a reserve.
FRANK CURRAN
1931-37 (73 games, 16 tries, 1 goal)
City Firsts 1933-37 (7 games, 3 tries), NSW 1933-36 (14 games, 3 tries), Australia 1933-38 (10 Tests and 27 tour games, 5 tries)
Tough, competitive prop who came to the Rabbitohs from Armidale.
A regular member of the NSW Blues team, and a dual Kangaroo tourist in 1933-34 and 1937-38, he also toured New Zealand in 1935.
LES DAVIDSON
1984-90 (103 games, 5 tries)
Australian Presidents XIII 1985 (1 try), Country Origin 1987-88 and 1990 (3 games), NSW 1987-88 (5 games, 1 try), Australia 1986-87 (4 Tests, 14 tour games).
‘Bundy’ Davidson was born in Bourke, but raised in Dubbo, where he also played his early football.
When he came to Souths in 1984 he soon gained a reputation as an old fashioned fiery forward, who was also a fine ball distributor and able to intimidate his opponents.
His mentality was simple and inspired by former Souths coach, Ron Willey, who told him: “The more blokes you get stretchered off, the better chance we have of winning.” Davidson was inducted as a Life Member in 2007.
JIM DAVIS
1908-15 & 1918-19 (67 games, 12 tries, 19 goals)
Metropolis 1909 (1 game, 1 try, 1 goal), NSW 1908-12 (8 games, 5 goals), Kangaroos 1909-10 (4 games, 1 try), Australia 1908-09 (3 Tests and 6 tour games, 1 try, 1 goal)
Former Souths rugby union junior, ‘Barra’ Davis is one of three pioneers in the 50. The tough forward played in two Tests against New Zealand in 1908.
The citizens of Waterloo gave their local hero a gold medal to commemorate his selection on the pioneer Kangaroo tour of Great Britain in 1908-09. Davis played in only six minor games on that tour but returned to the Australian team against the Kiwis in 1909.
DENIS DONOGHUE
1947-57 (166 games, 29 tries, 4 goals)
City Firsts 1951 (1 game), Sydney 1951 (1 game), NSW 1950-54 (7 games, 1 try), Australia 1951 (2 Tests)
One of the toughest and most brutal players to ever play, Donoghue was also one of the best front rowers in the code.
The Souths junior was a rock-solid defender and strong runner of the ball, his specialty was scrummaging. He is regarded as one of Australia’s greatest ever scrummagers, and he was also peerless as an enforcer. He was inducted as a Life Member in 1961.
TERRY FAHEY
1976-80 (87 games, 47 tries, 29 goals)
City Firsts 1976 & 1978 (2 games, 4 tries), Sydney 1976 (5 tour games, 2 tries), City Seconds 1977 and 1979 (2 games, 1 try), NSW 1976-80 (8 games, 4 tries), Australia 1975, 1977-79 (5 Tests and World Cups, 3 tries).
Fahey was a Wellington rugby union and league junior and a protégé of former South Sydney coach Johnny King.
He won selection for Combined Country, NSW and then Australia. With many clubs vying for his signature, it was touch and go whether Souths would get him but the prospect of King also joining Souths as a coach swung the deal. Under King, ‘the Redfern Express’ was a Test class winger. He could also play competently in the centres.
MARIO FENECH
1981-90 (181 games, 18 tries, 1 field goal)
Australian Presidents XIII 1985 and 1988 (2 games), City Origin 1989 (2 games), NSW 1989 (2 games)
Fenech was born in Malta and came to Australia when he was 10 months old. Before he became known as ‘The Falcon’ or ‘Muzza’, Mario Fenech’s nickname was ‘Test Match’ – a name given to him by his teammates who became accustomed to the Souths junior competing in all aspects of his game as though he was playing in an international Test.
Fenech was one of the most whole-hearted players to play club football for any club, and many people still wonder how the durable hooker/forward never gained a Test jersey.
He came close though in 1989, when a broken hand cost him a place on the Australian tour of NZ. He was inducted as a Life Member in 2009.
HARRY FINCH
1926-30 and 1933-34 (68 games, 39 tries, 3 goals)
Metropolis 1927 (1 game), City Firsts 1929 (1 game), NSW 1926-29 (9 games, 1 try), Australia 1929-30 (10 tour games, 16 tries, 18 goals)
Outstanding winger who partnered the great Benny Wearing in the late-1920s, winning three premiership titles with the Rabbitohs in 1926-28. Finch was absent for the 1929 final owing to being on tour with the Australian Kangaroos on their tour of Great Britain, where he only played in 10 tour games, scoring 84 points.
BOB GRANT
1966-75 (134 games, 20 tries, 4 field goals)
City Seconds 1970 (1 game, 1 try), City Firsts 1971 (1 game, 1 try), NSW 1971 (1 game, 1 try), Australia 1970-72 (2 Tests)
Former Balmain junior played halfback in four straight Grand Finals with the Rabbitohs 1968-71, winning all but the infamous 1969 upset to Balmain.
‘Evil’ Grant was among a galaxy of great players at Souths and his role was often underrated. His sporadic Test career started with selection in the third Test against Great Britain in 1970. He toured New Zealand the following year and was also named Rugby League Week’s Player of the Year. Grant was inducted as a Life Member in 1993, and in 2004, he was named in South Sydney’s Dream Team as a halfback.
JOHNNY GRAVES
1947-52 (77 games, 79 tries, 158 goals)
City Seconds 1948 & 1950 (2 games, 2 tries, 5 goals), City Firsts 1950 (1 game, 2 tries, 1 goal), NSW 1942-52 (10 games, 13 tries, 20 goals), Australia 1948-51 (8 Tests and 17 tour games, 17 tries, 30 goals)
Maitland winger who was best known for his amazing turn of speed and his ability to kick infield when necessary. ‘Whacka’ Graves’ flashy play was supplemented by ‘ball and all’ defence and his famous crouching punt goal kicking style.
When he came to Souths in 1947 he was selected to represent his state after playing in only four games for his club.
Graves toured with the 1948-49 Kangaroo side and top scored with 16 tries and 35 goals for a total of 118 points.
In the 1950 Grand Final against Western Suburbs he scored two tries, and in the 1951 Grand Final against Manly he scored a record four tries.
HOWARD HALLETT
1909-24 (158 games, 21 tries, 29 goals)
Metropolis 1910, 1912 & 1914 (3 games, 1 field goal), NSW 1909-14 (17 games, 4 tries, 2 goals), Kangaroos 1917 (1 game), Australia 1911-14 (6 Tests & 26 tour games, 13 tries, 1 goal)
Hallett was born in Melbourne and his family moved to Sydney when he was six years old. He starred as an Australian Rules player with Easts and switched codes to join Souths in 1908.
Hallett possessed wonderful kicking and handling skills, was able to catch the ball from a high kick on his fingertips while running at full speed, and was far superior to any of his contemporary fullbacks in initiating passing movements.
He was the first local man to master the art of kicking the ball into touch on the bounce, and in his golden period his tackling was deadly.
Hallett’s teammates were so assured of his ability to stop opponents in the last line of defence that he was bestowed the nickname of ‘’The Rock of Gibraltar’’. His Test career was curtailed by the advent of World War I, but he continued to serve the Rabbitohs with distinction, being part of three premiership-winning sides in 1909, 1914 and 1918, before his retirement in 1924. Hallet was awarded a ‘silver belt’ trophy in 1914 for being Australia’s best all-round player, and in 1921 he was inducted as a Life Member of the NSWRL, and in 1961 of South Sydney.
ERNIE HAMMERTON, OAM
1947-58 (157 games, 10 tries, 5 goals)
City Firsts 1951 (1 game), City 1952 (1 game), NSW 1951, 1953 & 1956 (6 games), Australia 1951-57 (1 Test & 11 tour games).
The Souths junior played in seven consecutive premiership deciders 1949-55, winning all but 1952.
After making his debut for NSW in 1951, Hammerton made his only Test appearance against France in Brisbane. He played the early part of 1953 at Boorowa, before moving back to Souths and helped them win another premiership. In 1956 he forced his way back into the NSW side and toured with the Kangaroos.
He was inducted as a Life Member of Souths in 1962 and the NSWRL in 1986. He was awarded the OAM in 1990, for his services to rugby league and the community.
GREG HAWICK
1950-56 (81 games, 19 tries, 59 goals)
City Firsts 1955 (1 game, 2 tries, 5 goals), NSW 1953 (2 games, 1 goal), Australia 1952-54 (4 Tests & 2 World Cups & 14 tour games, 9 tries)
Hawick was promoted to Souths’ first grade team at 17 after playing only one game in reserve grade. He started his career at lock, and later played at half-back, five eighth and centre with Souths, NSW and Australia.
After playing in the club’s 1950 Grand Final win, he missed out on a second premiership when he broke his jaw in the 1951 semi-final against St. George. Hawick’s utility value earned him a place on the 1952-53 Kangaroo tour, where he made his Test debut against Great Britain as a five-eighth in the First Test. He also toured New Zealand with the Australian team the following year.
In 1954 he played in Souths’ Grand Final win over Newtown as well as in the inaugural World Cup competition in France. He was inducted as a Life Member of Souths in 1990, and in 2004 he was named in South Sydney’s Dream Team, as a reserve.
HAROLD HORDER
1912-19 and 1924 (104 games, 102 tries, 77 goals)
Metropolis 1913-15 (4 games, 8 tries, 11 goals), NSW 1915-19 & 1924 (16 games, 22 tries, 7 goals), Australia 1914-19 & 1924 (10 Tests, 10 tries, 8 goals)
Souths junior who was the game’s original ‘Wonder Winger’, and probably the greatest attacking winger the code has ever seen.
On his first grade debut in 1912 he scored a sensational length-of-the-field try.
The newspapers responded accordingly by reporting the meteoric rise of this finely-tuned, well-balanced athlete, and describing him as even more orthodox than Dally Messenger and resembling his dodging and swerving runs.
Horder contributed heavily to Souths in winning two premierships in 1914 and 1918. He was the first Rabbitoh player to score a record five tries in one match – a feat he achieved twice in 1917.
In two games against Queensland in 1915, Horder scored a combined total of 60 points, which remains a record for an interstate series. He was inducted as a Life Member of the NSWRL in 1931. In 2004 he was named in South Sydney’s Dream Team as a winger.
GREG INGLIS
2011-18 (139 games, 68 tries, 1 field goal)
Indigenous All Stars 2012-13 & 2015-16 (4 games, 2 tries), Queensland 1911-18 (19 games, 8 tries), Australia (23 Tests & World Cups, 16 tries)
Bowraville junior who is undoubtedly Souths’ greatest ever signing in the club’s 110 year history. This was highlighted when Souths’ CEO at the time, Shane Richardson, was quoted saying: “We’ve just won our 21st premiership,” when Inglis signed with the Rabbitohs. He is the Rabbitohs current club captain, an indigenous leader within the game and the community and one of the genuine superstars of the modern game.
Inglis scored the final try with his trademark goanna crawl in Souths’ 2014 Grand Final win over Canterbury, which broke the Rabbitohs 43-year premiership drought. In 2013 and 2015 he won the honorary George Piggins Medal as the Rabbitohs best and fairest player. In 2018, he became the first Souths player to captain an Origin side when he captained Queensland in the first two games.
ERIC LEWIS
1927-29 & 1932-37 (81 games, 23 tries, 1 goal)
City Firsts 1933-37 (7 games, 1 try), NSW 1935-37 (6 games, 1 try), Australia 1935-38 (9 Tests & 18 tour games, 3 tries)
The talented forward first played for NSW in 1935 and represented Australia in two Tests on the tour of New Zealand. A 1937-38 Kangaroo, Lewis played in seven Tests on tour, two against NZ, three against England and two on the ground-breaking tour of France.
In Papua New Guinea during World War II, Lewis spotted Jack Rayner playing inter-regiment rugby league on a muddy field at Port Moresby and invited him to trial with South Sydney when he got home.
He talked the young player into trialling with Souths after his demobilisation and Rayner went on to captain and coach Souths, becoming an important figure in the club’s history.
JIM LISLE
1962-69 (100 games, 7 tries)
City Firsts 1964-65 (2 games), NSW 1962-65 (10 games, 1 try), Australia 1962-65 (6 Tests & 10 tour games, 2 tries)
Former Wallaby who had a meteoric rise to the Australian Test team after turning professional with Souths in 1962.
After just one appearance in the professional code in 1961 he was selected for NSW. Three weeks later with still only one club appearance under his belt Lisle made his international debut against the visiting Great Britain.
This stands as the fastest rise to international representative status in Australian rugby league history. He was inducted as a Life Member of Souths in 1992, and in 2004 he was named in South Sydney’s Dream Team, as a five-eighth.
ISSAC LUKE
2007-15 (189 games, 36 tries, 134 goals)
New Zealand (41 Tests & World Cups, 5 tries, 19 goals)
The talented Hawera junior rake who turned out to be one of the finds of the 2007 NRL season when he took out the John Sattler Rookie of the Year award and earned a spot as a shadow player in the Kiwi side for the end of season Test against the Kangaroos.
He is lightning quick out of dummy half and fights well above his weight in defence. In 2009 he was named in the Taranaki rugby league Team of the Century, as a halfback.
In 2010 he won the honorary George Piggins Medal for being the Rabbitohs best and fairest player. Luke missed out on playing in the Rabbitohs 2014 Grand Final victory owing to a suspension.
BOB McCARTHY, MBE
1963-75 & 1978 (211 games, 100 tries, 1 field goal)
City Seconds 1968 (1 game, 1 try), City Firsts 1969-73 & 1975 (6 games, 4 tries), NSW 1969-73 (13 games, 7 tries), Australia 1969-74 (15 Tests & World Cups, 6 tour games, 7 tries, 1 field goal)
The athletically built forward came through Souths’ junior ranks in the early 1960s and with the advent of limited tackle football in 1967 McCarthy revolutionise the role of the second row forward.
He was the most exciting ball-running forward of the new era of limited tackles. He scored over 100 tries in his first grade career (the second forward to do so after the great Frank Burge).
Captain John Sattler rated him the greatest blind side forward in the world. However, the national selectors were slow to recognise his talent and it was not until 1969 that McCarthy’s rep career got under way.
He was a vital cog in the champion Souths teams that won premierships in 1967-68 & 1970-71 (he was coming back from injury in 1968 and had to be content with a reserve grade premiership).
He was inducted as a Life Member of Souths in 1972, and the NSWRL in 2004, and was also awarded an MBE in 1977. He was also by South Sydney in their Dream Team in 2004, as a second rower.
NATHAN MERRITT
2002-03 & 2006-14 (218 games, 146 tries, 34 goals, 1 field goal)
Prime Minister’s XIII 2006 & 2011 (2 games, 2 tries), Indigenous All Stars 2010-12 (3 games, 3 tries), City Origin 2011 & 2013 (2 games), NSW 2013 (1 game)
Souths junior who was a prolific tryscorer and in 2013 became only the ninth player in history to score 150 tries.
In 2006 he became the first leading tryscorer in the premiership (with 22 tries) to play for a club that finished last on the ladder.
He was also top tryscorer in the premiership in 2006 and 2013. Merritt equalled the Rabbitohs club record of 5 tries in one match against Parramatta in 2011, and in the same season he also won the honorary George Piggins Medal.
He finished his career as the highest South Sydney try-scorer with 146 tries and the second most games played for the grand old club with 218 games (behind John Sutton). He was inducted as a Life Member in 2015.
IAN MOIR
1952-58 (110 games, 105 tries)
City Seconds 1952 (1 game, 4 tries), City 1952 (1 game), City Firsts 1953, 1956-57 & 1959 (4 games, 7 tries), NSW 1952-59 (10 games, 10 tries), Australia 1954-59 (20 Tests & World Cups, 15 tour games, 26 tries)
Wollongong junior who was a dazzling speedster and prodigious tryscorer, rated the fastest man in rugby league during the 1950s.
He joined Souths in 1952 and played his first match for NSW but was unavailable because of injury when the Kangaroos left for England at the end of the season.
In 1953 he was the season’s leading try scorer with 20 and, in a devastating display of pace and power, scored three tries in the 1953 final win over St. George.
Moir broke into Australia’s World Cup squad in 1954 and finally made his Test debut against NZ in 1956 before touring with the 1956-57 Kangaroos.
He equalled the Rabbitohs club record of scoring 5 tries in one match against Parramatta in Round 7, 1957. In 2004 he was named in South Sydney’s Dream Team, as a winger.
ALF O’CONNOR
1921-29 (84 games, 19 tries)
Metropolis 1922 (1 game, 1 try), Metropolis Seconds 1923 (2 games), City Seconds 1929 (1 game, 1 try), Combined City 1929 (1 game), NSW Seconds 1922 (1 game), NSW 1922-29 (13 games, 4 tries), Australia 1924 (3 Tests)
Tall second-row forward who won three premiership titles with the Rabbitohs in 1925-26 and 1929 (where he partnered his younger brother, Frank O’Connor in the Grand Final and who is also listed). ‘Itchy’ O’Connor represented NSW on the 1922 tour of New Zealand before playing in all three Tests against Great Britain two years later. He was inducted as a Life Member in 1963.
FRANK O’CONNOR
1927-37 (79 games, 14 tries)
Metropolis 1930 (1 game), City Seconds 1930 (1 game, 1 try), City Firsts 1931 & 1933-34 (3 games, 1 try), NSW 1930-34 (13 games, 1 try), Australia 1932-34 (4 Tests, 14 tour games, 7 tries)
Souths junior who had distinctive looks with his shock of wild, curly hair.
He partnered his older brother, Alf O’Connor in the winning 1929 Grand Final team, and then played in two more winning Grand Finals, 1931-32. ‘Cussy’ O’Connor made his international debut in the Second Test against Great Britain in Brisbane in 1932. He also toured with the 1933-34 Kangaroos.
JOHN O’NEILL
1965-71 & 1975-76 (150 games, 8 tries)
City Firsts 1970-71 (2 games, 1 try), City Seconds 1969 (1 game), NSW 1967-71 (6 games), Australia 1970-71 (3 Tests & 6 tour games)
Tough prop who was born in Griffith but raised in the northern NSW town of Gunnedah. He represented Northern Division in 1964 against the touring French team, as well as Country Seconds in the same year before coming to Sydney to play with the Rabbitohs.
His aggressive style of play, charging runs and overall toughness earned him the nickname of ‘Lurch’ (from The Addams Family).
O’Neill won four Grand Finals while at Souths, where he formed a great partnership with John Sattler to become the leading enforcers in their era. He was inducted as a Life Member in 1984. Sadly, he lost his toughest personal contest – his battle against cancer – in August 1999. In 2004 he was named in South Sydney’s Dream Team as a prop.
ARTHUR OXFORD
1915-21 (85 games, 18 tries, 119 goals)
Rest of NSW 1917 (1 game, 1 try, 4 goals), Rest of First Grade 1917 (1 game, 2 goals), Metropolis 1920 (1 game, 1 try, 2 goals), NSW 1919 (6 games, 14 goals), NSW Seconds 1921 (1 game, 3 goals), Australia 1919 (3 Tests, 6 goals)
Souths junior who won one premiership title with Souths in 1918. ‘Oxo’ kicked a then record of 23 successive goals in club matches with Souths in 1920.
Oxford represented NSW in 1919 before touring New Zealand with the Australian team. Father of Arthur Oxford (who played with Easts in 1930s), cousin of referee Aub Oxford, and grandfather of Gary and Wayne Stevens (both played for Souths), and great-grandfather of Wayne Stevens (played lower grades for Souths). He was inducted as a Life Member of the NSWRL in 1946.
GEORGE PIGGINS, AM
1967-78 (120 games, 6 tries)
City Seconds 1974-75 (2 games), The Rest 1974 (1 game), NSW 1974 & 1976 (3 games), Australia 1975 (3 World Cup games, 1 tour game).
Tough South Sydney junior rake who was forced to play second fiddle to Elwyn Walters at Souths early in his career, even though the controversy always raged as to who was the better hooker.
Piggins was called up into Souths’ Grand Final team to replace Walters in 1971 and produced a blinder - turning defence into attack with his raking back of the ball in the rucks and stealing yard after yard with his determined runs.
While Souths lost a galaxy of stars to other clubs throughout the 1970s Piggins always remained loyal and proved to be a tenacious opponent.
His try against Wests in a club match in 1975 was characteristic of the courage with which he played.
Piggins beat man after man with a determined, bullocking run and crashed over beside the posts. Rex Mossop noted later that it was the best individual try he had ever seen scored.
Piggins represented NSW in 1974 but received his highest honour with selection for Australia in a World Series match against New Zealand the following year.
In 2002, he was awarded the Centenary Medal for services to the sport of rugby league, and further honoured as a Member of the Order of Australia. Since 2003, the George Piggins Medal has been named in his honour and awarded by the South Sydney club to their best and fairest player of the season.
He was inducted as a Life Member of the NSWRL in 2008.
DENIS PITTARD
1968-73 (121 games, 56 tries)
City Firsts 1969 & 1972 (2 games, 1 try), City Seconds 1970 (1 game), NSW 1969-72 (5 games, 4 tries), Australia 1969-70 (5 Tests & World Cup games, 4 tour games, 1 try)
Pittard was born in Victoria and his family moved to Sydney when his father started work at Prince of Wales Hospital in the 1950s.
During his six seasons at Redfern the talented five-eighth won three premiership titles in 1968 and 1970-71.
He was also the first player to win two Rothmans Medals in 1969 and 1971. He played for NSW in 1969 and toured New Zealand with the Australian side that year, and in 1970 he was selected in the World Cup squad.
BERNIE PURCELL
1949-52 & 1954-60 (173 games, 36 tries, 509 goals)
City Seconds 1949-50 & 1952 (3 games, 1 goal), City 1952 (1 game, 1 try, 1 goal), City Firsts 1956 (1 game), Sydney 1951 (1 game), NSW 1951 & 1956 (4 games, 1 try, 3 goals), Australia 1950 & 1956-57 (1 Test, 7 tour games, 12 goals)
Souths junior who was also an ice-cool goal-kicking forward. Purcell played in the Rabbitohs 1950-51 and 1954-55 premiership deciders as well as losses in 1949 and 1952 (but he missed out on Souths’ success in 1953 when he was captain-coach of Cootamundra).
In the 1955 Grand Final, it was Purcell’s calm conversion of a late try that gave the Rabbitohs a 12-11 win over Newtown.
The vigorous forward was called into the Australian team in the Third Test against Britain in 1950 (his only Test appearance). This was the famous 5-2 victory that gave Australia the Ashes for the first time in 30 years.
Purcell played for NSW in 1951 and 1956 but had to wait until the 1956-57 Kangaroo Tour to represent Australia again (7 matches, no Tests).
Upon his retirement he became the first forward in the game to top 1,000 career points. He was inducted as a Life Member in 1961.
JACK RAYNER
1946-57 (194 games, 58 tries, 9 goals)
City Seconds 1946 (1 game), City Firsts 1947-51 & 1954 (6 games, 5 tries), NSW 1947-54 (16 games, 4 tries), Australia 1948-49 (5 Tests, 21 tour games, 5 tries, 1 goal)
Rayner was born in a small northern NSW town of Coraki and he enlisted in the Army in May 1941.
While serving in New Guinea he was co-opted to play in several inter-regiment rugby league matches - and on a muddy field at Port Moresby was spotted by former Souths player in Eric Lewis.
Lewis invited him to trial with South Sydney when he got home. In 1946, Rayner turned up at Redfern as a 25-year-old to keep his word and play with a South Sydney team that had won just one game the previous year.
He broke his ankle early in that first season, restricting his appearances while Souths endured their only winless season in the club’s history.
But in 1947 he was fit and captained them to nine wins, setting Souths on the road to one of the greatest eras in the club’s history. His six years as captain-coach included five premierships.
Rayner was renowned for his sportsmanship and for his dignified manner. He has been long regarded as one of the game’s most respected elder statesman and throughout his life was the embodiment of the Australian tough but fair attitude.
Clive Churchill said of Jack Rayner in the book True Blue: “He was a brilliant tactician. I never saw a better forward in cover defence on the blind side than Rayner.” Rayner was inducted as a Life Member of the South Sydney Football Club in 1968.
EDDIE ROOT
1923-29 & 1931-33 (112 games, 38 tries, 1 goal)
Metropolis 1923 & 1926-27 (3 games, 5 tries, 1 goal), City Firsts 1928-29 & 1932 (3 games, 2 tries), NSW 1927-29 & 1932 (15 games, 2 tries), Australia 1929 (0 Tests, 15 tour games, 3 tries)
Eddie Root played soccer in his youth and enlisted to fight in the Great War aged just 16 years of age (his enlistment form showed his age as 18½ years old).
After his war service, he lived with his father at Erskineville and started to play rugby league for the first time, making his debut with Erskineville Kia-Ora’s who won the Newtown B Grade premiership and later with Mascot.
Root won seven premiership titles with the Rabbitohs, in 1925-29 and 1931-32. He made his representative debut for NSW in 1927 and was regularly selected for the Blues over the next six seasons.
He was selected to go on the 1929–30 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain, playing in 15 tour matches but no Tests. On his return with the Kangaroos, he was forced to play with Newtown in 1930 because the NSWRL changed the club boundaries while he was away. Root then changed his address to continue his great association with the Rabbitohs.
PAUL SAIT
1967-79 (165 games, 30 tries)
Rep Honours while at Souths: City Seconds 1970 (1 game), Sydney Colts 1970 (1 game), City Firsts 1971-72 & 1975 (3 games), NSW 1969, 1971 & 1974 (5 games, 2 tries), Australia 1970-73 & 1975 (16 Tests & World Cups, 9 tour games, 4 tries).
Souths junior who first played in the centres and later moved into the forwards.
A valuable utility player, he won two premiership titles at the Rabbitohs in 1970-71, and came on as a replacement for Bob Honan at half-time in the losing 1969 Grand Final side.
Sait first gained selection in Australia’s World Cup side in 1970 and then became the mainstay of all representative sides until the 1975 World Championship Series. He was inducted as a Life Member of the South Sydney Football Club in 1991, and in 2004 he was named in South Sydney’s Dream Team as a Centre.
JOHN SATTLER
1963-72 (195 games, 12 tries)
City Firsts 1969 (1 game), City Seconds 1970 & 1972 (2 games) NSW 1969 (4 games), Australia 1967-71 (4 Tests, 11 tour games, 1 try
Tough prop and Kurri Kurri junior who captained the Rabbitohs to four Grand Final victories between 1967 and 1971.
He was also a member of the 1967-68 Kangaroo Tour of Great Britain and France and led Australia in three of his four Test appearances. ‘Satts’ famously played 77 minutes of the 1970 Grand Final after breaking his jaw in three places when Manly’s John Bucknall king hit him with a right hook.
Sattler was inducted as a Life Member of the South Sydney in 1972. In 2004 he was named in South Sydney’s Dream Team as a Prop.
ERIC SIMMS
1965-75 (206 games, 23 tries, 803 goals, 86 field goals)
City Seconds 1968 (1 game, 3 goals), City Firsts 1969 (1 game, 4 goals, 1 field goal), NSW 1968 (1 game, 6 goals, 1 field goal), The Rest 1974 (1 game), Australia 1968 & 1970 (8 World Cup games, 3 tour games, 2 tries, 47 goals, 5 field goals)
Simms was born in Newcastle and he moved to La Perouse at a young age, where he played his junior football.
The greatest point-scorer in the history of Souths, the superlative goal kicker set many records during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
His field goal ability indirectly resulted in its reduction to one point in 1971. In 1969, he kicked 19 field goals compared with one - in the Grand Final, in 1971.
Simms provided another piece of rugby league history when his field goal against St. George in the 1971 Grand Final resulted in a 1-0 half-time score. He was the season’s leading point scorer from 1967 to 1970, breaking Dave Brown’s long-standing points total with 265pts (1t, 112g, 19fg) in 1969.
He played in five consecutive Grand Finals for the Rabbitohs 1967-71, winning all but the big upset by Balmain in 1969. He was inducted as a Life Member in 1974.
GARY STEVENS
1965-76 (162 games, 11 tries)
Sydney Colts 1970 (1 game), City Firsts 1972 & 1974-75 (3 games, 1 try), NSW 1972 & 1974-75 (6 games), NSW Colts 1972 (1 game), Australia 1972-75 (5 Tests, 15 tour games, 2 tries)
Hard-as-nails Souths junior, who made his first grade debut as a 21-year-old in 1965, but did not establish a regular first grade position until some five years later and did not make his international debut until he was almost 29 years old.
He created history by becoming the first grandson of a Test player to represent his country in rugby league. His grandfather, Arthur Oxford, played for Souths 1915-21 and Easts 1922-29, and he represented Australia in five Test matches. Stevens was inducted as a Life Member in 1987.
JOHN SUTTON
2004-18 (301 games, 58 tries, 7 goals, 1 field goal)
Prime Minister’s XIII 2005 (1 game), City Origin 2008-09 (2 games, 1 try)
Souths junior who is also one of the Rabbitohs’ favourite sons and most capped player in the clubs history.
He started his career in the backs and has evolved into a quality ball playing back-rower. In 2009, 2012-13 he won the honourary George Piggins Medal. After a heartbreaking 10-year wait he became an Origin player in 2013 for only two minutes, when the NSWRL wrongly tweeted that Sutton was chosen over Canterbury’s Josh Reynolds.
He also came close to representing NSW in 2009 as one of the halves, but injured his knuckle while playing for City Origin.
But, undoubtedly his greatest honour came in 2014 when he captained the Rabbitohs in their Grand Final win over Canterbury.
GEORGE TREWEEK
1925-34 (119 games, 39 tries)
Metropolis 1927 & 1930 (2 games), City Firsts 1928-33 (6 games, 1 try), NSW 1927-31 & 1933 (22 games, 12 tries), Kangaroos 1930 (1 game, 1 try), Australia 1928-30 (7 Tests, 18 tour games, 6 tries)
They called Treweek ‘Arms and Legs’ because of his wild and ungainly running style, but it was those same limbs that wrought havoc on the football fields of Australia and Great Britain in the 1920s and 1930s.
He stood 188cm, making him the tallest player of his era and his ability to split the defence made him one of the game’s greatest second-rowers.
Treweek came to Souths from Grahamstown near Tumut, after playing in a trial against a visiting Mascot team. Treweek played first grade for Souths during the club’s premiership years in 1926-29 and 1931-32. He represented NSW in 1927 before making his Test debut against Great Britain in 1928.
A Kangaroo tourist in 1929-30, he captained Souths in the 1930s and his reputation as an attacking player are legendary.
He continued playing for NSW until 1933, but declined to tour with the Kangaroos that year due to business commitments (after buying a butcher shop in Mascot). He was inducted as a Life Member in 1987, and in 2004 he was named in South Sydney’s Dream Team, as a second rower.
ELWYN WALTERS
1966-73 (128 games, 17 tries)
City Firsts 1969-70 & 1972-73 (4 games, 1 try), NSW 1969-70 & 1972-73 (10 games, 2 tries), Australia 1969-70 & 1972-73 (19 Tests & World Cup games, 19 tour games, 4 tries)
Walters played his junior football with the Tweed Heads Seagulls before being snapped up by Brisbane Norths for the 1964-65 seasons.
In his seven seasons with the Rabbitohs, the tenacious hooker won three premiership titles in 1967-68 and 1970. He toured with the Kangaroos to Great Britain in 1967-68 and 1973, toured to New Zealand in 1969, and was also in two World Cup teams in 1970 and 1972.
In 2004, he was inducted as a Life Member as well as being named in South Sydney’s Dream Team, as a hooker.
BENNY WEARING
1920-33 (172 games, 144 tries, 202 goals)
Metropolis 1927 (1 game, 2 tries), City Firsts 1928 & 1930 (2 games, 2 tries, 7 goals), City Seconds 1929 (1 game, 1 try, 2 goals), Combined City 1929 (1 game, 1 try, 2 goals), NSW 1923-28 (22 games, 10 tries, 13 goals), NSW Seconds 1922 (1 game, 1 try), Australia 1928 (1 Test).
Souths junior who was a champion winger and a great goal-kicker.
He won seven premiership titles with the Rabbitohs in 1925-29 and 1931-32. It was in his first season with Souths when he developed the overhead kick and follow-on that was to leave many great players flat-footed.
He also spent a lot of time practicing long distance kicking and in the 1922 season Wearing was appointed South’s long-distance kicker while Alfie Blair, the captain, kicked the shorter ones.
He represented NSW 22 times but was sadly often overlooked for Test duties (playing in only 1 Test match). Wearing retired in 1933 with a then club record of 144 tries to his credit – which was only just recently beaten by Nathan Merritt. Wearing was inducted as a Life Member in 1961.
JACK WHY
1925-34 (80 games, 32 tries)
Metropolis 1930 (1 game), City Seconds 1930 (1 game), City Firsts 1933 (1 game), NSW 1930-33 (8 games, 1 try), Australia 1933 (2 Tests, 15 tour games, 8 tries).
Wellington (NSW) junior who was a versatile player for the Rabbitohs in the days when they preferred to play a five pack (only 5 forwards used with an extra back).
Why won two premiership titles with Souths in 1931-32. He represented NSW in consecutive years in 1930-33 before touring with the 1933-34 Kangaroos on their tour of Great Britain, where he played in two Test matches.
On his return he did not play much more grade football, then went to live in Melbourne where he died at a comparatively early age in 1944 following a horse riding accident.
PERCY WILLIAMS
1931-35 and 1937-38 (80 games, 19 tries, 190 goals)
City Seconds 1932 (1 game, 2 goals), Metropolis 1932 (1 game, 1 goal), City 1932 (1 game, 3 goals), City Firsts 1933-34 & 1937-38 (4 games, 1 try, 16 goals), NSW 1932, 1934 & 1937 (11 games, 1 try, 11 goals), Australia 1937-38 (4 Tests, 14 tour games, 2 tries, 21 goals)
Souths junior and a talented halfback who won two premiership titles with the Rabbitohs in 1931-32.
He represented NSW several times and toured with the Australian team to New Zealand in 1937 and the 1937-38 Kangaroos on their tour of Great Britain.
He was inducted as a Life Member in 1990.