Ken Kearney
Encyclopedia
Ken "Killer" Kearney was an Australian rugby football
er – a dual-code international player – and a rugby league
coach. He represented the Wallabies
in seven Tests
and the Kangaroos in thirty-one Test matches and World Cup games
. He captained Australia in nine rugby league Test matches
in 1956 and 1957. He was a hooker and captain-coach with the St. George Dragons
in the first half of their eleven year consecutive premiership winning run from 1956 to 1966. He is considered one of Australia's finest footballers of the 20th century.
. He joined Parramatta's 1st grade rugby union
side from school before serving in the Royal Australian Air Force
in World War II and represented Combined Services in rugby union. After discharge he resumed playing in Australia and debuted for the Wallabies against the All Blacks
playing two Tests in June 1947 then toured Europe with the 1947–48 Wallabies playing against each of the five European rugby union nations.
he returned to Australia in 1952 and joined St George. He played 156 games from 1952
to 1961, captained the club in five winning Grand Final
s (as captain-coach for the latter four) and coached them to further victory in 1961.
Kearney brought tactics and strategy from English rugby league and is often credited with masterminding the Dragons successful run. He was able to inspire loyalty in his players by leading from the front and to develop a level of fitness and ruthless, mistake free football. This discipline was the foundation for the famous straight line brick-wall defence that kept the St George team at the top through those years.
In 1956, the commencing year of the Dragons' record breaking run Norm Tipping had coached the team to an excellent season result of 15 wins, four losses and 1 draw but regardless would be ousted from the coaching job shortly after the grand final victory. He was the loser in a power struggle with Kearney, who led the side on-field and who that year had captained Australia to a three Test whitewash of New Zealand
, had captained New South Wales
to state victory over Queensland
, won the Sunday Telegraph
s Player of the Year award and ultimately captained the Saints to premiership victory. The St George committee chose to back Kearney's fine football brain and his advanced strategies on attack, defense and conditioning in choosing him as their captain-coach to go forward. In the process they laid the foundation for the club's eleven year premiership stranglehold.
At the end of his first club rugby league season back in Australia with St George, Kearney was selected for the 1952 Kangaroo tour
. Kearney played in the 3rd Test against Great Britain, all three tests against France and sixteen minor tour matches. Kearney's international rugby league debut in Bradford on 13 December 1952 saw him become Australia's 24th dual code rugby international, following Len Smith
and preceding Rex Mossop
.
He went on the 1953 tour of New Zealand
playing in all three Tests and the following year represented in the inaugural World Cup
in France.
Following his premiership success with St George as both captain and coach, Kearney was selected as captain-coach of Australia for the 1956 trans-Tasman series against New Zealand with Clive Churchill
unavailable due to injury. Australia won the series 3–0 to regain the trans-Tasman trophy that the Kiwis had held since 1935.
Kearney stayed on a captain-coach for the 1956 Kangaroo tour
in spite of the availability and tour selection of Churchill with whom he reportedly enjoyed an uneasy relationship. The touring side won all three Tests in France but lost against Great Britain 2–1. Kearney played in all Tests on tour. He played in an exceptionally talented Australian side who won the 1957 World Cup
under skipper Dick Poole
, playing out one of the matches with a broken jaw. and the 1958 domestic Ashes
series under captain Brian Davies before retiring from international football.
to the semi finals in 1962–1964. He coached Western Suburbs club in 1965 and was the foundation coach for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in their first three seasons from 1967.
where he died in his home of a heart attack
in 2006 aged 82.
In 2006 he was inducted into the Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame
. In February 2008, Kearney was named in the list of Australia's 100 Greatest Players (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the NRL
and ARL
to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia.
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
er – a dual-code international player – and a 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...
coach. He represented the Wallabies
Australia national rugby union team
The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...
in seven Tests
Test match (rugby union)
Test match in rugby union is a match recognised as being a full international match by at least one of the participating teams' governing bodies. It is an unofficial but widely used term in the sport....
and the Kangaroos in thirty-one Test matches and World Cup games
Rugby League World Cup
The Rugby League World Cup is an international rugby league competition contested by members of the Rugby League International Federation . It has been held nearly once every 4 years on average since its inaugural tournament in France in 1954...
. He captained Australia in nine rugby league Test matches
Test match (rugby league)
A Test match in rugby league football is a representative match between teams representing members of the Rugby League International Federation.The definition of a Test match differs from that of an international match...
in 1956 and 1957. He was a hooker and captain-coach with the St. George Dragons
St. 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,...
in the first half of their eleven year consecutive premiership winning run from 1956 to 1966. He is considered one of Australia's finest footballers of the 20th century.
Rugby union
Kearney was born in Penrith, New South WalesPenrith, New South Wales
Penrith is a suburb in western Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Penrith is located west of the Sydney central business district and is the administrative centre for the local government area of the City of Penrith...
. He joined Parramatta's 1st grade rugby union
Parramatta Two Blues
Parramatta Two Blues Rugby are a rugby union club based in the second CBD of Sydney, Parramatta.-History:The club was originally formed in 1879 as Cumberland but changed their name to Parramatta when the District competition was implemented in 1900....
side from school before serving in the Royal Australian Air Force
Royal Australian Air Force
The Royal Australian Air Force is the air force branch of the Australian Defence Force. The RAAF was formed in March 1921. It continues the traditions of the Australian Flying Corps , which was formed on 22 October 1912. The RAAF has taken part in many of the 20th century's major conflicts...
in World War II and represented Combined Services in rugby union. After discharge he resumed playing in Australia and debuted for the Wallabies against the All Blacks
All Blacks
The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....
playing two Tests in June 1947 then toured Europe with the 1947–48 Wallabies playing against each of the five European rugby union nations.
Club career
Kearney returned to England at the end of the Wallabies tour and switched to the professional code. After three seasons with the Leeds RLFCLeeds Rhinos
Leeds Rhinos is an English professional rugby league football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The club won the 2011 Super League and became the most successful club in the Super League era, beating St Helens 32-16 on 8th October 2011. Formed in 1890, Leeds competes in Europe's Super League...
he returned to Australia in 1952 and joined St George. He played 156 games from 1952
New South Wales Rugby Football League season 1952
1952's New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the forty-fifth season of the rugby league competition based in Sydney. Ten teams from across Sydney contested for the J. J...
to 1961, captained the club in five winning Grand Final
Grand Final
Grand Final is a predominantly Australian sport term used to describe a match that decides a league champion.It originated in Victoria and South Australia and has become specifically significant Australian culture...
s (as captain-coach for the latter four) and coached them to further victory in 1961.
Kearney brought tactics and strategy from English rugby league and is often credited with masterminding the Dragons successful run. He was able to inspire loyalty in his players by leading from the front and to develop a level of fitness and ruthless, mistake free football. This discipline was the foundation for the famous straight line brick-wall defence that kept the St George team at the top through those years.
In 1956, the commencing year of the Dragons' record breaking run Norm Tipping had coached the team to an excellent season result of 15 wins, four losses and 1 draw but regardless would be ousted from the coaching job shortly after the grand final victory. He was the loser in a power struggle with Kearney, who led the side on-field and who that year had captained Australia to a three Test whitewash of New Zealand
New Zealand national rugby league team
The New Zealand national rugby league team has represented New Zealand in rugby league football since intercontinental competition began for the sport in 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of that name...
, had captained 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...
to state victory over 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...
, won the Sunday Telegraph
Sunday Telegraph
The Sunday Telegraph is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961. It is the sister paper of The Daily Telegraph, but is run separately with a different editorial staff, although there is some cross-usage of stories...
s Player of the Year award and ultimately captained the Saints to premiership victory. The St George committee chose to back Kearney's fine football brain and his advanced strategies on attack, defense and conditioning in choosing him as their captain-coach to go forward. In the process they laid the foundation for the club's eleven year premiership stranglehold.
Representative career
Kangaroo Tour
Kangaroo Tour is the name given to Australian national rugby league team tours of Great Britain and France. The first Kangaroo Tour was in 1908. Traditionally, Kangaroo Tours took place every four years and involved a three-Test Ashes series against Great Britain and a number of tour matches...
. Kearney played in the 3rd Test against Great Britain, all three tests against France and sixteen minor tour matches. Kearney's international rugby league debut in Bradford on 13 December 1952 saw him become Australia's 24th dual code rugby international, following Len Smith
Len Smith
Len Smith was an Australian representative rugby union and rugby league footballer of the 1930s and 40s. He captained the Kangaroos in two Tests 1948 and was controversially omitted from the 1948-49 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain....
and preceding Rex Mossop
Rex Mossop
Rex Peers Mossop was an Australian rugby league and rugby union footballer—a dual-code international, and an Australian television personality from 1964 until 1991.-Rugby union career:...
.
He went on the 1953 tour of New Zealand
New Zealand national rugby league team
The New Zealand national rugby league team has represented New Zealand in rugby league football since intercontinental competition began for the sport in 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of that name...
playing in all three Tests and the following year represented in the inaugural World Cup
Rugby League World Cup
The Rugby League World Cup is an international rugby league competition contested by members of the Rugby League International Federation . It has been held nearly once every 4 years on average since its inaugural tournament in France in 1954...
in France.
Following his premiership success with St George as both captain and coach, Kearney was selected as captain-coach of Australia for the 1956 trans-Tasman series against New Zealand with Clive Churchill
Clive Churchill
Clive Bernard Churchill AM was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach of the mid-20th century. An Australian international and New South Wales and Queensland interstate representative fullback, he played the majority of his club football with and later coached the South Sydney Rabbitohs...
unavailable due to injury. Australia won the series 3–0 to regain the trans-Tasman trophy that the Kiwis had held since 1935.
Kearney stayed on a captain-coach for the 1956 Kangaroo tour
Kangaroo Tour
Kangaroo Tour is the name given to Australian national rugby league team tours of Great Britain and France. The first Kangaroo Tour was in 1908. Traditionally, Kangaroo Tours took place every four years and involved a three-Test Ashes series against Great Britain and a number of tour matches...
in spite of the availability and tour selection of Churchill with whom he reportedly enjoyed an uneasy relationship. The touring side won all three Tests in France but lost against Great Britain 2–1. Kearney played in all Tests on tour. He played in an exceptionally talented Australian side who won the 1957 World Cup
1957 Rugby League World Cup
The second Rugby League World Cup was held in Australia in 1957. As before a group stage was held first, with matches being held at locations in Sydney and Brisbane....
under skipper Dick Poole
Dick Poole
Herbert Richard Poole is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He was a centre for the Australian national team...
, playing out one of the matches with a broken jaw. and the 1958 domestic 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 under captain Brian Davies before retiring from international football.
Coaching
After retiring as a player Kearney stayed on with St George as coach. He then coached the Parramatta EelsParramatta Eels
The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, with their First Grade side playing their first season in the New South Wales Rugby Football League...
to the semi finals in 1962–1964. He coached Western Suburbs club in 1965 and was the foundation coach for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in their first three seasons from 1967.
Accolades and life-post football
He was a Freemason and worked in insurance sales in Sydney for 25 years. He retired to the Gold CoastGold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...
where he died in his home of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
in 2006 aged 82.
In 2006 he was inducted into the Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame
Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame
The Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame honors players who have shown exceptional skill at rugby league, all-time great coaches and referees, and other major contributors to the game who are Australian...
. In February 2008, Kearney was named in the list of Australia's 100 Greatest Players (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the NRL
National 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.
Sources
- Whiticker, Alan (2004) Captaining the Kangaroos, New Holland, Sydney
- Writer, Larry (1995) Never Before, Never Again, Pan MacMillan, Sydney