Joe Jorgenson
Encyclopedia
Cecil Keith "Joe" Jorgenson (1921–1993) was an Australian rugby league
footballer. He was a three-quarter for the Australian national team. He played in three Tests in 1946, two as captain.
, he started playing rugby league after he left school at 16. In 1939 he played with the Port Kembla club
in the Wollongong competition. He missed the 1940 season through illness but returned in 1941 in which he year he debuted in country and New South Wales
representative sides.
In 1944 he joined the Balmain Tigers
in Sydney and scored over 100 points assisting the side to a premiership win. They were runners up to Easts
in 1945 and triumphant again in 1946 with Jorgenson scoring two tries in the premiership decider against St George.
In 1947 after having played the regular season in the country as captain coach of Junee, Jorgenson returned to Balmain lower grades for the finals and in the Grand Final against Canterbury
made his sole first grade appearance for the year. After the regular kicker Pat Devery
missed three attempts, Jorgenson took over and scored all of the team's points in the 13-9 victory comeback after trailing 0-9. Victorious he was chaired from the field by his team-mates.
Jorgenson in all had a nine year career with Balmain playing 98 games and scoring 734 points.
He had enormous success with this new method and some statistics include:
sides and captained New South Wales in the fixtures of 1946 against Queensland
and against the visiting British Lions
.
Jorgenson was then selected for and made captain of the Australian Test side of 1946 for the first post-World War II Ashes
series. He was captain for the 1st and 3rd tests of the series with Ron Bailey
skipper in the 2nd. The selectors felt that the captaincy pressure affected Jorgenson's kicking style, a possibility supported by the fact that he landed only one goal in the first Test from six attempts.
He did not represent at state or national level again.
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. He was a three-quarter for the Australian national team. He played in three Tests in 1946, two as captain.
Club career
Born in Berry, New South WalesBerry, New South Wales
Berry is a small Australian town in the Shoalhaven region of the NSW South Coast in the state of New South Wales, located south of the state capital, Sydney. The indigenous people of the area were the Wodi Wodi people. In the 1810s, George William Evans, Government Surveyor, reported on the Berry...
, he started playing rugby league after he left school at 16. In 1939 he played with the Port Kembla club
Port Kembla Blacks
The Port Kembla Blacks are a Rugby League team that compete in the Illawarra Rugby League competition.-History:...
in the Wollongong competition. He missed the 1940 season through illness but returned in 1941 in which he year he debuted in country and New South Wales
New South Wales Rugby League team
The New South Wales rugby league team has represented the Australian state of New South Wales in rugby league football since the sport's beginnings there in 1907. Administered by the New South Wales Rugby League, the team competes in the annual State of Origin series against arch-rivals, the...
representative sides.
In 1944 he joined the Balmain Tigers
Balmain Tigers
The Balmain Tigers are a rugby league football club based in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Balmain. They were a founding member of the New South Wales Rugby League and one of the most successful in the history of the premiership, with eleven titles...
in Sydney and scored over 100 points assisting the side to a premiership win. They were runners up to Easts
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...
in 1945 and triumphant again in 1946 with Jorgenson scoring two tries in the premiership decider against St George.
In 1947 after having played the regular season in the country as captain coach of Junee, Jorgenson returned to Balmain lower grades for the finals and in the Grand Final against Canterbury
Canterbury Bulldogs
The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, as well as New South Wales Rugby League junior competitions...
made his sole first grade appearance for the year. After the regular kicker Pat Devery
Pat Devery
Pat Devery is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach of the 1940s and 50s. An Australian international representative half, he played in Australia for the Balmain club, winning the 1944, '46 and '47 grand finals with them...
missed three attempts, Jorgenson took over and scored all of the team's points in the 13-9 victory comeback after trailing 0-9. Victorious he was chaired from the field by his team-mates.
Jorgenson in all had a nine year career with Balmain playing 98 games and scoring 734 points.
Goal kicking pioneer
At the time goalkickers tended to stand the ball up in a divot in the ground made with the player's boot heel. Whilst some kickers experimented with laying the ball down, Jorgenson introduced the idea of laying the ball on a mound of dirt and kicking toe first with a straight follow through.He had enormous success with this new method and some statistics include:
- 25 goals in the four NSW v Queensland interstate games of 1945-46
- 8 goals from 9 attempts in the muddy interstate game at the Sydney Cricket GroundSydney Cricket GroundThe 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...
May 1945.
Representative career
In 1945 and 46 he was a regular in state representativeNew South Wales Rugby League team
The New South Wales rugby league team has represented the Australian state of New South Wales in rugby league football since the sport's beginnings there in 1907. Administered by the New South Wales Rugby League, the team competes in the annual State of Origin series against arch-rivals, the...
sides and captained New South Wales in the fixtures of 1946 against Queensland
Queensland rugby league team
The Queensland rugby league team have represented the Australian state of Queensland in rugby league football since the sport's beginnings there in 1908...
and against the visiting British Lions
British and Irish Lions
The British and Irish Lions is a rugby union team made up of players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales...
.
Jorgenson was then selected for and made captain of the Australian Test side of 1946 for the first post-World War II Ashes
Rugby League Ashes
The Ashes is the name given to the trophy awarded to the winner of a best-of-three series of rugby league football test series between Great Britain and Australia...
series. He was captain for the 1st and 3rd tests of the series with Ron Bailey
Ron Bailey
Ron Bailey was an Australian rugby league footballer of the 1930s and 40s. He was a New South Wales Country, New South Wales, and Australian representative whose club career was played with Waratah Mayfield, Newtown Bluebags, Huddersfield, and Canterbury-Bankstown in Sydney...
skipper in the 2nd. The selectors felt that the captaincy pressure affected Jorgenson's kicking style, a possibility supported by the fact that he landed only one goal in the first Test from six attempts.
He did not represent at state or national level again.
Sources & Footnotes
- Whiticker, Alan (2004) Captaining the Kangaroos, New Holland, Sydney