Barry Reilly
Encyclopedia
Barry ‘Bunny’ Reilly is an Australia
n former rugby league
footballer of the 1960s and 70s. He played in the NSWRFL Premiership for the Eastern Suburbs Roosters
from 1966-71 and 1973-79, and the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in 1972.
Reilly was also known as 'The Axe’ because of his defensive technique, which it was said allowed him to chop down opposition attackers like an axe. Reilly was a member of the Eastern Suburbs premiership-winning sides in 1974 and 1975. During the 1976 NSWRFL season, Reilly played as a prop forward for Eastern Suburbs in their unofficial 1976 World Club Challenge
match against British champions St Helens RFC
in Sydney. Also a backrower
, Reilly played almost 200 matches for the Roosters and was named as a bench
player in that club's ’Team Of The Century’.
During the 1990 season, Reilly helped out the club as a caretaker coach.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n former rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
footballer of the 1960s and 70s. He played in the NSWRFL Premiership for the Eastern Suburbs Roosters
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League...
from 1966-71 and 1973-79, and the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in 1972.
Reilly was also known as 'The Axe’ because of his defensive technique, which it was said allowed him to chop down opposition attackers like an axe. Reilly was a member of the Eastern Suburbs premiership-winning sides in 1974 and 1975. During the 1976 NSWRFL season, Reilly played as a prop forward for Eastern Suburbs in their unofficial 1976 World Club Challenge
1976 World Club Challenge
The inaugural World Club Challenge was actually an unofficial trial of the concept, with 1975 NSWRFL season premiers, Eastern Suburbs playing against 1975–76 Northern Rugby Football League season Challenge Cup winners St. Helens...
match against British champions St Helens RFC
St Helens RFC
St Helens Rugby League Football Club are a professional rugby league club from St Helens, Merseyside, North West England who play in the Super League. Nicknamed Saints, they were a founder member of the Northern Rugby Football Union. They have been league champions on 12 occasions and runners up...
in Sydney. Also a backrower
Rugby league positions
A rugby league football team consists of thirteen players on the field, with four substitutes on the bench. Players are divided into two general categories: "forwards" and "backs"....
, Reilly played almost 200 matches for the Roosters and was named as a bench
Rugby league positions
A rugby league football team consists of thirteen players on the field, with four substitutes on the bench. Players are divided into two general categories: "forwards" and "backs"....
player in that club's ’Team Of The Century’.
During the 1990 season, Reilly helped out the club as a caretaker coach.