Ron Roberts (rugby league)
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Ronald Arthur Roberts | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia | 11 November 1927|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 11 June 2003 Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia | (aged 75)|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Wing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Ron Roberts (1927–2003) was an Australian rugby league footballer. He was a state and national representative, who is known for scoring a try in 1950 which won Australia an Ashes series. His club career was with the St. George Dragons and he was a member of their 1949 premiership-winning side.
Playing career
Roberts joined St. George in 1949 and played three seasons with the club as a winger. That first year he scored two tries in the Dragons'
Roberts was competition's leading try scorer in 1949 and 1950.[2] In his three seasons with the Dragons, he scored 51 tries in 51 first grade games.[3]
Defining moment
For the first two Tests of the 1950 domestic
The victory gave Australia the Ashes for the first time since 1920 and as a result the memorable impact of that moment dwarfed Roberts' short but classy career. In a 1980s poll by Rugby League Week that try was rated the greatest single moment in the code's Australian history.[5][6]
Contract dispute and departure from NSWRFL
During the 1951/1952 off-season, Roberts changed his address so that under the NSWRFL's strict residential laws of the time, he became required to play for
References
- ^ ARL Annual Report 2005, page 53
- ^ "St George Dragons: Ron Roberts".
- ISBN 1875169571)
- ^ The Sun (Sydney) Sunday 23 July 1950. "English Fullback Out of Position When Only Try Was Scored" https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/229621617?searchTerm=doug%20mcritchie&searchLimits=l-state=New+South+Wales%7C%7C%7Cl-decade=195%7C%7C%7Cl-year=1950%7C%7C%7Cl-month=7
- ^ rugby leagueproject.org
- ^ "Crowd joins on-field melee; Mad Dogs bags four". National Rugby League. 21 July 2021.
- ^ 'Test Star Seeks Guarantee'; The Sun, 11 March 1952, p. 26
- ^ 'Rugby League Clubs Prepare – Roberts Demands Contrast To Play'; The Sun-Herald, 9 March 1952, p. 6
- Sunday Mail; 16 March 1952, p. 15
- ^ Christensen, E.E.; 'League Scheme To Make Bridging Legal'; The Sun, 17 March 1952, p. 19
- ^ 'Ron Roberts to Lead Group 6 Team'; South Coast Times, 22 April 1954, p. 40
- Whiticker, Alan & Hudson, Glen (2006) The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players, Gavin Allen Publishing, Sydney
- Andrews, Malcolm (2006) The ABC of Rugby League Austn Broadcasting Corpn, Sydney