Billy Noke
Encyclopedia
Billy Noke is an Australia
n former professional rugby league
player for the St George Dragons, Brisbane Broncos
, South Sydney Rabbitohs
and Western Suburbs Magpies
. He played primarily in the back row.
Presidents Cup team in 1981. He was then graded by St George in 1982 as an import (there was a local junior/import rule at the time with each club being limited to a number of imported players) Noke, took a risk doing this as one more year in the local junior's competition would have given him local junior status. He would then not have been included in the limited number of imported players a club could have at the time, he really had to back his ability to do this with many other imported forwards at the club experienced NSW & Australian representatives. A talented ball-player with a good kicking game, Noke played in the Dragons' 1985 grand final loss to Canterbury. In the same season, he won the Dally M second rower of the year, but his career did not take off as expected when he went to the Broncos upon their inception into the NSWRL premiership. His return to Sydney, with seasons at Souths and Wests was similarly unsuccessful.
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 professional 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...
player for the St George Dragons, Brisbane Broncos
Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the city of Brisbane, the capital of the state of Queensland. Founded in 1988, the Broncos play in Australasia's elite competition, the National Rugby League premiership. They have won six premierships and two...
, 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...
and Western Suburbs Magpies
Western Suburbs Magpies
The Western Suburbs Magpies are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly referred to, were one of the nine foundation clubs of the first New South Wales Rugby League competition in Australia...
. He played primarily in the back row.
Career
He starred in the unbeaten Australian Schoolboy Tour of England in 1979 before being a member of the premiership winning St GeorgeSt. George Dragons
The St George Dragons was an Australian Rugby league football club in St George, Sydney, New South Wales that played in Australia's top-level Rugby league competition from New South Wales Rugby Football League in 1921 until 1998; in 1999 they formed a joint venture with the Illawarra Steelers,...
Presidents Cup team in 1981. He was then graded by St George in 1982 as an import (there was a local junior/import rule at the time with each club being limited to a number of imported players) Noke, took a risk doing this as one more year in the local junior's competition would have given him local junior status. He would then not have been included in the limited number of imported players a club could have at the time, he really had to back his ability to do this with many other imported forwards at the club experienced NSW & Australian representatives. A talented ball-player with a good kicking game, Noke played in the Dragons' 1985 grand final loss to Canterbury. In the same season, he won the Dally M second rower of the year, but his career did not take off as expected when he went to the Broncos upon their inception into the NSWRL premiership. His return to Sydney, with seasons at Souths and Wests was similarly unsuccessful.