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Post by Electric Eel on May 29, 2020 21:19:22 GMT 10
 Dick Thornett Birth name Richard Norman Thornett Date of birth 23 September 1940 Place of birth Sydney, New South Wales Date of death 12 October 2011 (aged 71) Place of death Sydney, New South Wales Parramatta 1963 - 1971 Games - 160 Wikipedia |
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Post by Electric Eel on May 29, 2020 21:19:45 GMT 10
ABC News
Sporting great Dick Thornett dies
October 12, 2011 22:00:08
Dick Thornett, part of a select breed of sportsmen to have represented Australia in three sports, died on Wednesday morning aged 71.
The youngest of three brothers in one of Australia's greatest sporting families, Thornett was labelled a "truly inspirational sporting star" by Australian Rugby League chief executive Geoff Carr.
He was one of only five Australians to have represented their country in three sports - having been in the water polo team at the 1960 Rome Olympics before turning his hand to rugby union beside brother John.
After a short yet very successful career in the 15-man game, Dick made the switch to rugby league in 1963, where he joined other brother Ken at Parramatta.
Thornett played for the Eels until the early 1970s and represented New South Wales on 13 occasions while playing in 11 Tests for Australia.
Carr paid tribute to Thornett and his great influence on the game.
"Dick was a masterful sportsman and this was clearly evident in his ability to adapt and excel at any sport that he chose to embrace," Carr said.
"From a sporting family unlike any other, Dick was lucky enough to have played with both of his brothers at the elite level in two different sports and this is something that he was very proud of."
His death comes just a week before he and his brothers were due to be honoured at a tribute dinner at the SCG.
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Post by Electric Eel on May 29, 2020 21:20:06 GMT 10
Richard Norman "Dick" Thornett (23 September 1940 – 12 October 2011) was one of five Australians to have represented their country in three sports. He was an Olympic water polo player before becoming a rugby league and rugby union player—a dual code international representative.
Thornett also represented Australia at Water polo at age 20 in the 1960 Rome Olympics giving him the truly rare sporting distinction of being a triple international (see also Michael Cleary).
A Randwick DRUFC forward, in his two senior seasons in rugby union in 1961 and 1962 Thornett made eleven national representative Tests appearances for the Wallabies. On the Wallabies 1961 tour of South Africa Thornett was in the squad with his brother John Thornett and they played Test matches together. Dick left the amateur code after two years to join his brother Ken Thornett at the Parramatta Eels.
Thornett was a front trower, and joined his brother Ken at the Parramatta Eels in 1963. He played there until 1971, making 168 appearances for the club. He was a master ball player informing the style-changing ball skills that Arthur Beetson would bring to forward play shortly after Thornett. In a club game against Canterbury in 1968 Thornett matched the then standing club record of four tries in a match.
In 1969 he appeared as a guest player for Auckland in a match against the New Zealand Kiwis to mark the New Zealand Rugby League's diamond jubilee.
He made national representative appearances for the Kangaroos in Tests against South Africa in 1963, on the 1963-64 Kangaroo tour and in three matches of the 1968 World Cup.
His international rugby league debut in the 1st Test against South Africa in Brisbane on 20 July 1963 saw Thornett become Australia's 28th dual code rugby international, following Michael Cleary and preceding Jim Lisle. Ken Thornett also appeared in that Test match, making the brothers the first to play together in an Australian test side since Bill and Viv Farnsworth in 1912.
Thornett's final two club seasons at Parramatta were affected by a bout of hepatitis and he saw out the final year of his career with a season at Easts.
While playing football, Thornett also served in the New South Wales Police Force and in 2008, rugby league's centennial year in Australia, he was named as a reserve in a NSW Police team of the century.
Thornett was born into a family of legendary footballing brothers. John Thornett was a Wallaby captain who played 37 Rugby Union Tests for Australia over a distinguished 13 year career from 1955. Ken Thornett was the leading Australian rugby league fullback in the early sixties. Ken earned 12 Test caps for Australia and played alongside Dick at Parramatta over a 136 game club career.
John and Dick Thornett both played together in Wallabies sides in 1961-62; Dick and Ken Thornett played together in three test matches on the 1963-64 Kangaroo Tour.
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Post by Electric Eel on May 29, 2020 21:20:24 GMT 10
Ken and Dick Thornett were part of one of Australia's most extraordinary sporting families. Ken, affectionally known as 'The Mayor' and Dick, 'Moby Dick', thrilled Parramatta Rugby League crowds in a way few others could during the 1960s.
The Thornett family is unique in the history of football codes. Oldest brother John captained Australia in Rugby Union, Ken played Rugby League for his country and Dick, the youngest, was a dual international and also represented Australia in water polo.
Ken drew crowds to Cumberland like a magnet from the first time he set foot on the oval. Second-rower Dick, though perhaps not quite possessing Ken's charisma, was just as devasting on his day and possessed skills few others had.
Both were products of Randwick Rugby Union. Ken played for NSW in the Union ranks but took off for Britain in 1959 to try his hand as a woolclasser. He moved to Leeds and was soon lured by the cheque books of the famous Leeds Rugby League club, who coincidentally wore blue and gold. Ken thrilled English crowds and it is said that bookmakers used to lay odds, not on the result of the game, but on whether Thornett would drop a ball. Legend has it that they never once paid out.
While on holiday in Sydney in 1962, Ken Thornett was approached by both Parramatta and South Sydney. He was prepared to play in Sydney until his return to Leeds for the third year of his contract. Parramatta won the race for his signature and he had such a devastating effect on the side that they raced into the semi finals for the first time, winning six and drawing one of the seven matches in which he played.
On his return from Leeds in 1963, Thornett agreed to a three year contract with the Eels. With him came a bonus, 21 year old brother Dick, who toured with the Rugby Union Wallabies in 1962. He was the centre of intense bidding from a number of clubs, but the chance to play with his brother won out. And so began a golden era for the Eels.
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Post by Electric Eel on May 29, 2020 21:20:59 GMT 10
 The Thornett's - 1963 Kangaroo Tour |
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