Benny Wearing
Encyclopedia
Benny Wearing was an Australian rugby league
footballer of the 1920s and 30s. An Australian international and New South Wales representative three-quarter, he played his club football in the NSWRFL Premiership for the South Sydney Rabbitohs
.
eclipsed it in the late 1950s.
He scored 836 points for the Rabbitohs (144 tries and 202 goals) which stood as the club record for several decades. Today that achievement remains in 3rd place on the club's all-time point scoring list behind Bernie Purcell
and ahead of Johnny Graves.
His 144 career tries for the Rabbitohs stills stands as the club record.
For the seasons 1925
and 1928
he was the NSW Rugby League's top point scorer and in three consecutive seasons from 1926
to 1928
he was the League's top try scorer, a feat only ever achieved by two other players - Gordon Wright
in the 1920s and Nathan Blacklock
1999 to 2001.
.
In spite of that contribution and good club form in 1929 he was overlooked by selectors for the 1929-1930 Kangaroo Squad.
and ARL
to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia.
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 1920s and 30s. An Australian international and New South Wales representative three-quarter, he played his club football in the NSWRFL Premiership for the South Sydney Rabbitohs
South Sydney Rabbitohs
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in Redfern, a suburb of South-central Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League premiership and are one of nine existing teams from the state capital...
.
Club records
He was a prodigious try-scoring Wing three-quarter and scored all of Souths' 12 points in their grand final lossin 1923. He played a major part in South Sydney's seven premiership victories between 1925 and 1932. He played 173 first grade games for Souths between 1921 and 1933 which stood as the club record till Jack RaynerJack Rayner
Jack Rayner was an Australian state and national representative rugby league player and NSWRFL coach. His club playing career was with the South Sydney Rabbitohs from 1946 to 1957 and he also represented New South Wales on eleven occasions and played in five Test matches for the Australian...
eclipsed it in the late 1950s.
He scored 836 points for the Rabbitohs (144 tries and 202 goals) which stood as the club record for several decades. Today that achievement remains in 3rd place on the club's all-time point scoring list behind Bernie Purcell
Bernie Purcell
Bernie Purcell was an Australian rugby league premiership winning footballer and coach. He was a goal-kicking second-row forward of the 1950s for the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Australian national representative and New South Wales state sides....
and ahead of Johnny Graves.
His 144 career tries for the Rabbitohs stills stands as the club record.
For the seasons 1925
New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1925
The 1925 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the eighteenth season of Sydney's top-level rugby league football club competition, Australia's first...
and 1928
New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1928
The 1928 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the twenty-first season of Sydney's top-level rugby league football club competition, Australia's first...
he was the NSW Rugby League's top point scorer and in three consecutive seasons from 1926
New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1926
The 1926 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the nineteenth season of Sydney's top-level rugby league football club competition, Australia's first...
to 1928
New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1928
The 1928 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the twenty-first season of Sydney's top-level rugby league football club competition, Australia's first...
he was the League's top try scorer, a feat only ever achieved by two other players - Gordon Wright
Gordon Wright (rugby league)
Gordon Wright was an Australian rugby league footballer of the early 20th century. He played in the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership for the Eastern Suburbs club....
in the 1920s and Nathan Blacklock
Nathan Blacklock
Nathan Blacklock is an Australian former rugby league and rugby union player who primarily played as a winger.-Playing career:...
1999 to 2001.
Representative career
He debuted for Australia in the 3rd dead rubber Test of 1928 against the touring British Lions side. He scored two tries and kicked three goals to help Australia to a 21 to 14 victory at the Sydney Cricket GroundSydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
.
In spite of that contribution and good club form in 1929 he was overlooked by selectors for the 1929-1930 Kangaroo Squad.
Accolades
In February 2008, Wearing was named in the list of Australia's 100 Greatest Players (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the NRLNational Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
and ARL
Australian Rugby League
The Australian Rugby League is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in Australia. It is made up of state bodies, including the New South Wales Rugby League and the Queensland Rugby League...
to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia.