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John O'Neill Tribute(links to www.centenaryofrugbyleague.com.au)

5/08/2006
The Sea Eagles greatest ever team was announced this evening at a gala function at the Manly Leagues Club. The black tie event was attended by over 400 people including Sea Eagles greats from the past and present. The greatest ever Manly side was selected by an astute panel of judges and announced to enormous applause by the Sea Eagles greatest son Ken Arthurson.

South Sydney Dream Team has been Announced

By Jeremy Monahan

The South Sydney Rabbitohs has announced the greatest Club side in Rugby League history, the South Sydney Dream Team, at a gala dinner at the Westin Hotel in Sydney on July 29, 2004.

17 players were selected in position as well as a coach to represent the South Sydney Football Club from 1908 through to 2004.

The South Sydney Dream Team is:

Fullback – Clive Churchill (164 games for Souths between 1947-58, 27 games for NSW, 34 Tests for Australia).

Winger – Harold Horder (86 games for Souths between 1912-19 & 1924, 9 games for NSW, 13 Tests for Australia).

Centre – Herb Gilbert (23 games for Souths between 1911-12 & 1915, 3 games for NSW, 7 Tests for Australia).

Centre – Paul Sait (163 games for Souths between 1968-78, 5 games for NSW, 7 Tests for Australia).

Winger – Ian Moir (118 games for Souths between 1952-58, 10 games for NSW, 8 Tests for Australia).

Five-eighth – Jim Lisle (102 games for Souths between 1962-68, 8 games for NSW, 6 Tests for Australia).

Halfback – Bob Grant (136 games for Souths between 1966-75, 2 games for NSW, 1 Test for Australia).

Lock – Ron Coote (151 games for Souths between 1964-71, 13 games for NSW, 13 Tests for Australia).

Second Row – Bob McCarthy (217 games for Souths between 1963-75 & 1978, 10 games for NSW, 10 Tests for Australia).

Second Row – George Treweek (120 games for Souths between 1926-34, 7 games for NSW, 18 Tests for Australia).

Prop – John O’Neill (150 games for Souths between 1965-71 & 1975-76, 5 games for NSW, 2 Tests for Australia).

Hooker – Elwyn Walters (129 games for Souths between 1967-73, 11 games for NSW, 12 Tests for Australia).

Prop – John Sattler © (197 games for Souths between 1963-72, 4 games for NSW, 3 games for Queensland, 4 Tests for Australia).

Reserve – Greg Hawick (84 games for Souths between 1950-56, 8 games for NSW, 6 Tests for Australia).

Reserve – Ray Branighan (52 games for Souths between 1968-71, 5 games for NSW, 8 Tests for Australia).

Reserve – Ian Roberts (65 games for Souths between 1986-89, 11 games for NSW, 13 Tests for Australia).

Reserve – Les Cowie (178 games for Souths between 1947-57, 10 games for NSW, 6 Tests for Australia).

Coach – Jack Rayner (Played 196 games for Souths between 1946-57, 11 games for NSW, 5 Tests for Australia. Coached Souths to five premierships in 1950, 1951, 1953, 1954, 1955).

This team of absolute champion players spanning the history of the code of Rugby League in Australia have collectively played 2135 First Grade games for the South Sydney Club, 158 games for NSW, 3 games for Queensland and 158 Tests for Australia.

The players have been immortalised in a fabulous painting featuring the South Sydney Dream Team having just won a premiership played at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Living members of the team as well as representatives of those who have passed on were presented with a South Sydney Dream Team print which features the Dream Team painting, as well as a South Sydney Dream Team commemorative jersey with their named on the back.

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As a dedicated Widnes fan, I would like to direct you to page 132 of Artie Beetson’s autobiography, “Big Artie,” when he recalls watching the touring Australian side face Widens at Naughton Park.

“Nothing was easy on that tour. The club games against teams such as Featherstone, Castleford, St Helens and Widnes were only a peg or two down on the Tests in intensity.

I remember sitting in the stand at Widnes and watching a big lanky bloke named Bob Blackwood crash John O’Neill out of the tour in the blink of an eye.

Lurch came in hard over the top of Blackwood in a tackle, and Blackwood came up quickly from the ground to play the ball.

Lurch marked him in the play the ball and my eyes stayed focussed on the pair, so I saw what happened as clear as day.

Blackwood pulled Lurch towards him and hit him with the best head-butt you’ve ever seen.

Lurch knew straight away he was gone, his cheekbone fractured.”

Artie’s book is full of such memories.

You could almost reprint it on your site word for word.

Regards.
Colin Pheysey
Widnes Vikings

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Players name for story: Dennis Hartley and John O'Neill

I always remember a story from John o'Neill about Dennis in the infamous 1970 World Cup final. They had belted the proverbial out of each other all game - no holds barred.

About 10 minutes before the end he felt Dennis tug his jersey in a scrum and say "Hey John want to swap jumpers at the end of the game?".

Dennis was one of the poms I loved to hate but I found a lot to respect in that story.

Obviously a strong exponent of what happened on the field stayed on the field.

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"That was typical of Lurch he's justabout maimed two blokes but couldn't undrstand what all the fuss was about. he was a genuine hardman who dished out plenty on the field but never complained when it was handed back to him. it was a different era of the game and he played of keeps - Bob McCarthy on John O'Neill

courtesy of Tony Adams great book The Hitmen - A tribute to League's tough guys.

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"if Norm Provan had connected with that stiff arm he threw at you your head would of been over the goalposts."

Veteren Souths Hooker Freddie Anderson, to Lurch after Lurch's debut game against St George in 1965

courtesy of Tony Adams great book The Hitmen - A tribute to League's tough guys.

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"We were given sandwiches to eat, while the (Souths Sydney) officials were all wining and dining themselves. We copped it sweet (1970) but the same thing happened the following year (Souths won the 1971 GF). By this stage I had had it. I blew my top and I belted a couple of the old officials right there in the club. Next thing I was on the open market."

courtesy of Tony Adams great book The Hitmen - A tribute to League's tough guys.

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courtesy of Tony Adams great book The Hitmen - A tribute to League's tough guys.

"I remember when they picked the Australian Team that year. (1970) We were back at Souths Leagues Club after winning the Grand Final. I was that keen to go I was scared to cross the street in case something happened - that's how much it meant to me"

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courtesy of Tony Adams great book The Hitmen - A tribute to League's tough guys.

O'Neill was one of Australia's form players throughout the tournament and loomed as a key man in the final. But after being cautioned four times in the lead-up game against England a fortnight earlier, O'Neill was under strict instructions from coach Harry Bath to keep his hands down in the decider. The Englishmen bashed and butted him, stomped and sledged him, but O'Neill never lost his cool and was a hero in Australia's 12 - 7 Win.

"We were lucky to beat the Poms in the final, though," He (O'Neill) says. "They had a top side and if we played them 10 times, they'd probably win eight, but this was our day. We decided the best way to win was to get stuck into them early and, while I was very careful what I did, it worked. Our aggressive play put them off their game. There was plenty of spite right until the end when Eric Simms was punched in the face by one of their players when he tried to shake hands. They had a tough side and fought fire with fire.

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courtesy of Tony Adams great book The Hitmen - A tribute to League's tough guys.

"The '73 Grand Final against Cronulla was boots and all. Of all the grand finals I played in, that's the one people always ask me about. It's the game they all remember. And it's not because of the quality of the football; it wasn't a great game as such. They remember it because it was such a rugged affair.



"At one stage their little halfback Tommy Bishop, who was a cheeky bludger, kicked me in the shins. I started chasing him but he ran and hid behind big Cliff Watson. I nearly caught up with him a few times, but he was too slippery. Games like that were hard, but they were great to play in. You knew what was required in those days - you had to get over your opposite front rower. And while it was tough, not too many players got badly hurt. The hard stuff was all part of the game and you accepted it."

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courtesy of Tony Adams great book The Hitmen - A tribute to League's tough guys.

O'Neill has no hesitation in rating John Sattler as the toughest player he encountered.

"I played with and against him and there was no harder man," he explains, "He was great to play with because you always knew he'd be there when you needed him. But playing against him wasn't much fun - he seemed to enjoy giving a mate a good whack on the jaw.

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courtesy of Tony Adams great book The Hitmen - A tribute to League's tough guys.

O'Neill on Kevin Ryan, St George and Canterbury Bankstown hardman..

"Ryan was up there with the best of them. he wasn't a dirty player but a real granite like defender. And if things got hot, he could mix it with anyone."

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courtesy of Tony Adams great book The Hitmen - A tribute to League's tough guys.

"I got marched a few too many times: sometimes I deserved it, sometimes I didn't. Those two six-week stints really hurt though. That was as long as anyone ever got suspended in those days; it would be the equivalent of a six-month sentence now. The first time, I was sent off against St George for kneeing their second-rower Barry Beath, and then in my first game back against Parramatta, I was hoisted again on a similar charge. But I should never have been sent off that day. (See Bob McCarthy's version of events below - entry No 13.)

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courtesy of Tony Adams great book The Hitmen - A tribute to League's tough guys.

Long-time team mate of John O'Neill, Bob McCarthy has vivid memories of O'Neill's suspensions which made headlines back in 1971.

"Whenever I think of Lurch, it's the first thing that comes to mind," McCarthy says. "Against St George, he kneed Beath in the face and was sent straight off. I can see Bath lying there, unconscious on the ground, the blood dropping down from his forehead and forming little pools in his closed eyes. He was really gone; they had to cart him off.

"Then against Parramatta, he flattened Bob O'Reilly the same way and couldn't believe it when the ref Keith Holman, sent him off again.

"You're kidding, big Lurch protested.

"Just look at what you've done to O'Reilly, said Holman in reply, pointing to the prone figure of the giant Parramatta forward.

Lurch just shook his head as he walked off, screaming "Whats the game coming to?"

"That was typical of Lurch; he's just about maimed two blokes but couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. He was a genuine hard man who dished out plenty on the field but never complained when it was handed back to him. It was a different era in the game and he played for keeps.

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courtesy of Tony Adams great book The Hitmen - A tribute to League's tough guys.

"We used to have a lot of fun on and off the field. Once we went up to New Guinea for our end of season trip and wanted to make some money for our drinking fund. So in a match against the locals, we rigged the first try scorers. We passed the word to let one of their blokes score but Gary Stevens had cauliflower ears and didn't hear the message. We all let this bloke past us before Gary hammered him with a beauty. But he finally got the message and the next time the Papuan got the ball, he ran 70 metres to score. There were Souths Players missing tackles left, right and centre, and this guy thought he was another Reg Gasnier.

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courtesy of Tony Adams great book The Hitmen - A tribute to League's tough guys.

"Touring with the "Roos was great, even though they put us in low-class hotels back then. One section of the pub we stayed in we called 'Surrey Hills'; you wouldn't go there after dark. Tim Pickup, Terry Randall, Tom Raudonikas and (journalist) Bill Mordey hung out there, and one night they had a water fight. Someone ended up bringing in a fire hose and the whole floor collapsed. The management nearly went crazy.

Bob McCarthy went up the fire escape one day just for a laugh and it disintergrated under his weight. he was lucky he didn't kill himself.

They were great days, but they went to bloody quick.

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John O'Neill was recalled to the Australian Test team to try and tame big Jim Mills in the Sydney Test of 1973? O'Neill let loose in the first scrum and hit Mills so hard he was a passenger for the rest of the match.

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The story that Steve refers to at Redfern Oval, and the stoush continued on in the tunnel, I believe it happened because when John Sattler got sent off, he knew he would be suspended and therefore would miss out on having played the most amount of games for Souths at the time.

He waited for the other guy and continued on in the tunnel until officials broke it up.

Also during the 1970 grandfinal where he had his jaw broken, McCarthy had a go at him about missing a tackle. Lurch O'Neill intervened and told McCarthy that Bucknell had broken Satts' jaw. On realising the enormity of Satts' injury, McCarthy lined up Bucknell and hit him with biggest full blooded front on tackle you have ever witnessed. In slow motion it looks awsome. Macca later said 'I hit him front on, picked him, drove him backwards and dropped all of my 15 1/2 stone on top of him.

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