Bulldogs players’ faces to grace rail underpass at Belmore

SIX Bulldogs legends, Terry Lamb, Steve Mortimer, Hazem El Masri, Dr George Peponis, Josh Reynolds and Andrew Ryan, will be immortalised in a graffiti mural in the heart of Belmore.

Graffiti artist Tom McDonald aka 'Dcipher'. Picture: Tim Clapin

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SIX Bulldogs legends will be immortalised in a graffiti mural in the heart of Belmore.

As selected by the public in an online poll, the faces of Terry Lamb, Steve Mortimer, Hazem El Masri, Dr George Peponis, Josh Reynolds and Andrew Ryan will appear on the rail underpass outside Belmore Sports Ground.

A joint initiative by the Bulldogs club, Canterbury-Bankstown Council and the NSW Department of Justice, the mural will be painted by graffiti artist Dcipher as well as 17 local youths.

The mural will also feature a safety message, to be decided.

Terry Lamb played 262 games for the Bulldogs and also represented NSW and Australia. He was a Dally M winner for Western Suburbs.

Dr George Peponis was a Bulldogs and Australian captain and was in the inaugural Bulldogs Hall of Fame in 2015. He is also the football club chairman.

Dcipher, who is also the director of Marrickville Youth Resource Centre, said graffiti was an often misunderstood art form and getting youth involved with a positive graffiti project would help reverse its negative connotations.

“The main objective is to brighten that specific area up, make it more welcoming and of course give a nod to the club’s players,” he said.

Steve Mortimer played 272 games for the Bulldogs and 9 each for Australia and NSW.

Dcipher also runs the Writer’s Bench program in Marrickville where youth who have an interest in graffiti come together to share ideas.

“It’s great to have kids involved because it gives them some ownership of the work,” he said.

“It also gives kids who have an interest in graffiti to be able to do it in a safe and legal manner.”

Hazem El Masri played 317 for the Bulldogs and for Australia and NSW.

Josh Reynolds has played 125 games for the Bulldogs and represented NSW.

He thanked all involved with the project for making it happen.

“It’s great that the council has such a proactive approach with things like this,” Dcipher said.

“I’m really excited for the kids to get involved and for everyone to see what it looks like when it’s finished.”

Painting of the mural will begin with a graffiti masterclass by Dcipher on Saturday. It will take a number of weeks to complete.

Andrew Ryan played 291 games for the Bulldogs and Parramatta. He also represented Australia and NSW in Origin 11 times each.