Western
Suburbs Rugby League Football Club
Club
History
Marian,
the pride of the country
THE
Marian team which won the Mirani
Rugby League premiership
in the 1956
season was one of
the strongest
teams to
have played
in a country competition
in the Mackay
district.
Led
by Tom Doyle an Ipswich
Bulimba Cup representative
Marian were
undefeated during the
season, winning most of their matches by
big margins and they also
supplied the bulk of players
in the Mirani team
which won the North
Queensland B Grade
championship.
The
North Queensland
Rugby League insisted
on the strict observance
of district boundaries in 1956 and the
result was that Marian,
Sarina and Finch Hatton, clubs which
considered themselves strong
enough to play in the Mackay competition
were forced to play in the Mirani League.
It
also meant that several players
who could
have gained
places with
Mackay
clubs were also kept
out of the Mackay competition. The
Mackay Rugby League
and the town clubs were not too pleased
with the North Queensland
edict.
There
were only four teams
playing in the Mackay
competition, Magpies, Carltons, Bucas
and Southern Suburbs
while Marian,
Finch
Hatton, Sarina, Calen
and Eton made up the
Mirani league.
The
North Queensland
League changed its
mind for the
next season son
and Marian, Finch Hatton
and
Sarina played in Mackay to boost competition
the Mackay premiership to a
seven team competition. It made 1957 a boom season
for Mackay with many
of the Mirani League
players succeeding in Mackay and winning
places
in the
Mackay
Foley Shield side.
Unfortunately
the North Queensland change
of mind also brought
about the end of the
Mirani Rugby
League.
Tom
Doyle was the ideal
leader for Marian. He was captain of a strong
forward pack which
could win plenty of
the ball and his hard
straight running and constructive attack set
up chances for a pacy
set of backs. Doyle
reaped a rich harvest
of tries for himself
during the season. He
was a great positional
player and was always
on the spot for a pass
should the opposition
cover defense have managed
to corner any of
his flying backs Ike Sturgeon,
Roy Webster, Gordon Francis, Doug Heidke
or Sid Hansen.
He was
hard man to stop
once he had sighted the
try line
and whenever
he saw a gap he
sliced through it in a flash.
He had a real
day out in
an Ambulance Shield game against Calen scoring 4
tries in the Marian 44 to nil win. The other
try scorers for
Marian were Reg Cappello
2, Gordon
Francis,
Doug Heidke, Bill Stevens and Ike Sturgeon.
Bill
Dempsey a forward
who could kick a ball a prodigious distances
kicked seven goals
from 10 attempts. Doyle
scored two
tries
when Marian beat Eton
by 39 to nil.
Mick
Shew, still one of the most ardent supporters
of rugby league in
North Queensland scored
two tries as well and
the other try scorers
were D Hansen, Sid Hansen, John Petersen,
Doug Heidke and Gordon
Francis. Heidke
had the goal
kicking job for this game
and he landed six from
eight tries.
Although
Marian often
won by wide margins,
their opponents generally
played with enough
spirit to keep the
games entertaining and
generally it was the superior Marian finishing
polish which enabled
them to turn attacking
movements into points.
Marian met some very
rugged opposition in
a game against Finch Hatton.
They
won by 18 to 10 but
had to work hard to hold
Finch Hatton down to
two tries. Ike Sturgeon scored two
smart tries for Marian,
the ever present Doyle
was in the right spot
to score another and
Bill Stevens, then a strapping young forward
also crossed for a try,
Charlie Crawford an excellent all round fullback
kicked three excellent
goals. Sullivan
and Head scored
the tries for Finch
Hatton and Barry Sands,
a big strong front row
forward kicked two goals.
In
the next season, Sands
was a great player for Finch Hatton in the
Mackay competition and he became a very
popular footballer with the
Mackay crowds who admired
him for his courage and
his crashing
runs through the
rucks and
his accurate
long range line kicks.
There
were a few well known names in the opposition
ranks when Marian
defeated Sarina by
47 to eight. The
Sarina points came
from tries by Wally
Keating and Fred Lowth
and a goal kicked by
Noel Whitehead. Fred
Lowth was a tireless halfback for Sarina
when they
joined the
Mackay
competition
and Noel
Whitehead who was
a top
class athlete also
shone
on the wing in the Mackay
competition. The all
round strength
of Marian was revealed
in all its
awesome
power in that
game. Reg
Cappello, a speedy and quick thinking footballer who
was at home in any backline position scored three
tries and Charlie Crawford, chiming cleverly into
the backline from full back scored two.
It was a great day for Crawford who kicked
seven goals for a total of 20 points for the match.
Frank Paul, a lock forward in the classic
mould, also scored two tries for Marian.
He was always where the ball was and was the
man on the spot whenever a crucial tackle was to be
made. Gordon
Francis the bustling hard running winger scored a
try and the other three tries were scored by three
of the very mobile forward pack, Stevens, Trieve and
Mick Penklis.
Sarina
had the heart breaking task of facing up to Marian
in the Ambulance Shield final and although they
tried bravely they trudged off at full time with
Marian victors by 34 to five, Doyle and Paul scored
two tries each and M Brand, Francis Dempsey and
Sturgeon one each. Crawford was in good goal kicking
touch again with five goal from seven shots.
There
were eight Marian representatives in the Mirani team
which defeated Richmond by 37 to six in the North
Queensland B Grade final for the Noel Ford Cup. They
were Crawford, Roy Webster, Doyle, Sturgeon, Paddy
Wesche, Shew, Dempsey and Paul. It was acknowledged
that the Mirani display was one of the most
brilliant ever seen in a B Grade final. Richmond had
no counter for their classy attack. Paddy Wesche a
lively and dashing halfback was the man who sparked
the Mirani attacking raids and Doyle, Sturgeon and
Webster then ran riot through the floundering
Richmond defence.
Marian
players were prominent in the Mirani team which was
beaten by Mackay by 15 to nine a few weeks before
the North Queensland finals. The Mirani side was
described as the best Mirani League team seen in
Mackay and Mackay was lucky to finish in front. Tom
Doyle scored a try for Mirani And Dempsey kicked
three goals.
Source:
http://www.weststigersmackay.com.au/index.asp?pmiid=408,
downloaded 7 February 2010.
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