Redcap's BRL

The 1965 season is now live on Redcap’s BRL. A season summary and details of every match is available from the 1965 season page.

Norths began the 1965 season with a couple of narrow defeats – to Brothers in round one and then Valleys in round two – but before anybody got ideas about them fading away after premiership number six, the Devils reeled off six straight wins, including victory in the President’s Cup Final, and conceded a measly three tries across those six games.

The usual suspects were all playing well. Elwyn Walters had become the best hooker in the league. Fonda Metassa was scoring bags of tries. Jim Hannam was in career-best form. Then, they faded away.

Attacking back-rower John Bates started to struggle with injury. There was no Ian Massie due to injuries sustained in a car crash, and very little from Alan McLean. The big but mobile forward pack which had complemented the backline so well was suddenly just a big forward pack, with four or five veteran props lumbering around the park most of the time.

The Norths premiership streak wasn’t over until it was actually over with their defeat to Brothers in the Minor Semi-Final. But defeats to a poor Easts team and then a mediocre Wynnum-Manly around the turn of the financial year were warning signs. When Arthur Beetson and Redcliffe ran over them at Lang Park in round 18, Norths were spiritually done.

With Norths fading, Valleys became premiership favourites through a strong run of form in the second round of fixtures, culminating in victory over Brothers in the Scott Trophy Final in late July, though as was by now tradition they did lose to lowly Easts in round 12.

Norm Pope was officially retired (though he hadn’t actually played his last BRL game). Former Wynnum fullback Jim Paskins replaced him, proved an effective custodian and finished the league’s leading point-scorer. The Novocastrian connection of Ross Threlfo and Max White were excellent. Winger Robin Gilbank was back after a year away and notched 20 tries.

The knock on Valleys was a sometimes toothless attack. They failed to score a single try for three games between rounds 10 and 12, and that inability to get across the stripe would cost them later in the season.

For all his good qualities, Paskins was not the running threat Pope had once been. Paskins and Gilbank between them scored 72% of Valleys’ total points, indicating a lack of attacking and point-scoring options beyond them. For context, Fonda Metassa, who led the league with 21 tries, and Jim Hannam, Norths’ primary goal-kicker, scored 45% of the Devils’ total points.

While Valleys were the most consistent team and won the minor premiership, by the time the finals rolled around they were not clear favourites. Norths were still lurking and couldn’t be counted out. But it was Redcliffe who suddenly looked most likely.

To say they timed their run well is obvious, and also true. But it was more than that – the Redcliffe team evolved over the course of the season. They were the third men in, and the best.

The core was prop-captain-coach Henry Holloway, veteran five-eighth John Treeby, brilliant winger Kevin Yow Yeh, immovable lock Colin Weier who’d been there since day dot in 1960, and hooker Bob Lawson who’d outlasted a series of rakes, including state representative Bob Gehrke and mud crab man Alf Vockler, to finally win the number 12 jersey.

Gradually, a premiership team formed around them. Immortal-to-be Arthur Beetson evolved from a centre to a back-rower and even filled-in at prop when Holloway was out with a broken cheek bone. Back-rower George Gledhill had been around for a while at Redcliffe and Souths without ever quite convincing, before seizing his chance after a recall in round 12.

Former Valleys lower-grader Des Parkes served as a utility and then unexpectedly took the halfback job from incumbent Tom Connolly. Stuart Northey nailed down the centre and goal-kicking jobs. Teenager Rohan Gaylard took over from David Knight at fullback, but in a cruel twist missed the Grand Final after dislocating a shoulder in the Preliminary Final. Winger Jim Houghton re-emerged in place of Keith Welsh.

Despite losing the Major Semi-Final to Valleys, Redcliffe won their way through and everything came together on the big day. The Courier Mail remarked that “it was a surprisingly easy victory for Redcliffe”. Bob Bax called it a “one-act affair”.

Not for the first time, Valleys’ attack was toothless and failed to register a try. Lawson won the scrums in the first half. Beetson was “tremendously hard to bring down”. Parkes created openings. Weier tackled everything that moved. Holloway conducted the orchestra.

It wasn’t quite a rags to riches story. Even the nascent Redcliffe club had some money behind it, at least by the standards of mid-1960s semi-professional rugby league in Brisbane. They were competitive almost immediately and quickly became regarded as a so-called ‘glamour club’. While the area has never been my cup of tea, plenty of folk consider it a desirable place to live.

But for all that, there was a decline after ’65, not helped by the departure of Beetson to Balmain, and the Dolphins (as they would come to be known) became nearly men, never quite managing to time their run again in the top-tier BRL.

More complete BRL seasons are coming soon on Redcap’s BRL.