Brisbane Rugby League 1962 season
League Table
| Team | Played | Won | Lost | Drew | For | Against | +/- | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norths | 21 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 404 | 276 | 128 | 31 |
| Souths | 21 | 13 | 7 | 1 | 336 | 278 | 58 | 27 |
| Valleys | 21 | 11 | 10 | 0 | 293 | 279 | 14 | 22 |
| Easts | 21 | 11 | 10 | 0 | 325 | 352 | -27 | 22 |
| Redcliffe | 21 | 10 | 11 | 0 | 333 | 318 | 15 | 20 |
| Brothers | 21 | 8 | 13 | 0 | 319 | 374 | -55 | 16 |
| Wests | 21 | 8 | 13 | 0 | 337 | 395 | -58 | 16 |
| Wynnum-Manly | 21 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 250 | 325 | -75 | 14 |
Rounds
| Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round 7 | Round 8 | Round 9 | Round 10 | Round 11 | Round 12 |
| Round 13 | Round 14 | Round 15 | Round 16 | Round 17 | Round 18 |
| Round 19 | Round 20 | Round 21 |
Finals
| Stage | Date | Teams | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major Semi-Final | 1 September 1962 | Norths vs Souths | Details |
| Minor Semi-Final | 2 September 1962 | Valleys vs Easts | Details |
| Preliminary Final | 8 September 1962 | Valleys vs Souths | Details |
| Grand Final | 15 September 1962 | Norths vs Valleys | Details |
President’s Cup
| Stage | Date | Teams | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Final | 9 June 1962 | Norths vs Easts | Details |
Peter Scott Memorial Trophy
| Stage | Date | Teams | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| Final | 28 July 1962 | Souths vs Norths | Details |
Mud crabs, magpies and a monstrosity
For a long time, the BRL’s transient nature, while occasionally frustrating, was on the whole a positive for the league and the game in Queensland more broadly.
The BRL was an attractive destination for young players from the bush looking to make a name for themselves, and a useful stepping stone for experienced players looking to make some extra cash through a player-coach gig in the bush. But the poker machine revenue which swelled the coffers of clubs in Sydney from the 1950s changed this equation and led to increasing tension between clubs and the two state associations.
There was no such thing as free agency at this point and clubs possessed what was effectively a veto – they could refuse to release a player unless they received a transfer fee. In 1962, a ban on interstate transfers for senior (i.e. representative) players was mooted, though whether such a ban could be meaningfully enforced in a semi-professional sport whose two state associations were at loggerheads was doubtful. The QRL did block Mick Veivers’ move to Manly in 1964, before finally relenting and letting him leave in ’65.
Of course, all this squabbling and disputation rather overlooked what was best for the players, and it was ultimately the players and the courts who settled matters through Dennis Tutty’s landmark legal victory in 1971 (rugby league’s version of the ‘Bosman ruling’).
Even though tensions were high in the early 1960s, amicable settlements could still be had, and in 1962 the fledgling Redcliffe club and Sydney powerhouse St George demonstrated this in a delightfully unusual manner.
After the departure of state hooker Bob Gehrke following the 1961 season, Redcliffe were in need of a rake and approached Sydney premiers St George about their third-string hooker, Alf Vockler. Saints already had a quality rake in Peter Armstrong and had just signed test hooker Ian Walsh. Surely Vockler would be surplus to requirements.
Redcliffe were pleased to learn that St George were willing to part with Vockler, and delighted when they learned the transfer fee: two mud crabs! Redcliffe had a new hooker and the St George committee presumably had a nice dinner, though it’s not clear what Vockler thought of all this.
Regardless, he debuted for Redcliffe in a BRL season almost completely overshadowed by a monstrous representative season. The intercity Bulimba Cup started after just two rounds of the BRL season and continued sporadically almost all the way through.
State trials started within the opening month. Then there was the interstate series and the Ashes against Great Britain, before the latter stages of the Bulimba Cup. The Courier Mail sponsored a ‘state championship’ match between Brisbane and North Queensland in August and it was only really in the last fortnight when the attention of the press turned in earnest to the club scene.
Representative football was officially out of control, but the existence of the so-called state championship, along with warnings about the declining standard of Ipswich and Toowoomba relative to Brisbane were early signs of the eventual and merciful demise of the Bulimba Cup in the early 1970s.
On the much-neglected club scene, three-time premiers Norths were again a powerhouse and took out the minor premiership for the second season in a row. They were joined up the top end of the table by a resurgent Souths team which featured internationals Mick Veivers and Frank Drake, Brisbane prop Ben Wall, former Norths utility Pat Pyers and a young prop called Don Keith who even Norths coach Bob Bax was enamoured of.
When the Magpies staged a dramatic comeback to win the Peter Scott Memorial Trophy from Norths in late July, it appeared the all-conquering Devils had a genuine rival for the premiership.
It wasn’t to be. The gruelling schedule eventually took its toll, with Veivers, Drake and Wall all battling injuries on the run in and Souths bowing out of the finals after defeats to Norths and Valleys.
Valleys were therefore into yet another Grand Final but they were no match for Norths, going down 22-0 to a Devils team who captured a fourth-straight premiership and were now near the peak of their powers.
Norths had Fonda Metassa back from Sydney and saw young back-rower Alan McLean emerge alongside the excellent John Bates. Lloyd Weier was still a colossus. Metassa scored 30 tries for the year. Half Jim Hannam had matured into a supreme guiding hand. Bill Pearson had another injury interrupted season but again came good in the finals. Young centre Henry Hegarty was their player of the year.
Just like the monstrosity which was the representative season, there was seemingly no end to the Norths hegemony. But 1963 would see master recruiters Redcliffe do some more business and bring in some crack troops for a future assault on the citadel at Nundah, though it’s not clear if any mud crabs were involved in these transactions.
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