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Post by Electric Eel on May 30, 2020 16:15:04 GMT 10
 John Kolc Born - 1950 Parramatta 1972 - 1981 Games - 112 Wikipedia |
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Post by Electric Eel on May 30, 2020 16:15:31 GMT 10
Pint-sized Parramatta junior (at 5'5" or 1.6m, one of the smallest halfbacks in the game) played in the club's first grand final against Manly in 1976. Kolc gained selection in Australia's World Series team the following year. 1977 also saw another grand final appearance as well as the historic replay against St George but his battle with Graeme Murray - and the emergence of Peter Sterling, restricted his first grade career.
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Post by Electric Eel on May 30, 2020 16:15:54 GMT 10
Legend
Q
&A
John Kolc
John Kolc
Little Johnny talks big games, broken noses and that brilliant try in his only Test
Your surname is unusual - what is its origin?
I believe we are the only Kolcs in Australia. It is a Polish name. My mum was born in Poland and in World War II, she was wandering the streets looking for food. The Germans took her and threw her into a Nazi concentration camp. She was one of the few who survived that horror and it was there she met my dad. They were offered several countries after the war and decided on Australia. Dad wanted me to play soccer but my mates talked me into league. Every league player was named Smith or Jones back in the 60s, so I did raise a few eyebrows.
You are the smallest player to ever represent Australia...how often did people tell you that you were too tiny to make it?
All the time as a kid. They said, 'Just be happy playing park football', then, 'Just be happy playing lower grades', then, 'Just be happy playing first grade'. Being told I would never make it just made me more determined to get there. It made me try harder.
Tell us about your early football career...
I am a Parra junior and got graded from Hills District in 1971. The next year I made my first grade debut and scored a try against Balmain. It was a tough era and cheap shots were pretty common. But I had some hard men in the Parramatta pack and they would watch my back.
You played in the Eels' first grand final teams...
We got there for the first time in 1976 and it was fantastic. The whole city got behind us. Sadly we met a red-hot Manly team. Bob Fulton scored a try - I was going to tackle him but he ran the blindside past the referee, using him as a shepherd. He was very crafty (laughs). Next year we met St George and it was the first ever drawn grand final. We all stood around at full-time...no one, not even the referee, knew what we were supposed to do.
So you did it all again a week later...
Yes, and it's well-known that Saints, and particularly 'Rocket' (Rod Reddy) pushed the boundaries. He belted our blokes, knowing no-one would ever get sent off in a grand final. It was blue murder and he attacked poor Ray Price time and time again. They bashed us and beat us 22-0. It was frustrating.
Legend has it your coach Terry Fearnley told you to turn the other cheek?
Playing good football got us to the grand final and Terry thought it would win it for us. He wanted us to just stick to the game plan and it sounded good in theory. But in retrospect, maybe we would have done better standing up to them and fighting back. We wanted revenge but didn't take it and lost the game to boot - it was a very empty feeling.
It was certainly a big year for you - you also played your sole match for Australia in '77...
Yes, that was the pinnacle. It seemed an impossible dream, particularly, with all the detractors, saying I would never amount to anything all my career. I was at work at the (Parramatta) Leagues Club when I got the phone call and I will never forget it...it was the reward for all the hard work.
I was a kid on the SCG hill that day and you dived over for a try that won the World Series right in front of me. What are your memories of it?
People still remind me of it now, so many years later. We were playing Great Britain and it was a very tight game. One of our guys made a break and got tackled near the sideline. The whole field was open and I went to dummy half. Everyone expected me to spread the ball but I could see the marker was a little lazy. I gambled. I dummied left and darted right down the sideline with only inches to spare and then dived over in the corner. I think I gave you a wave (laughs).
Did you go out and celebrate after the match?
We had a few beers in the SCG sheds but there was no official function and I always thought that was a bit of an anti-climax after winning the World Series. I just had dinner with my family. Next day I played for Parra against the Bulldogs. Play had stopped, I was just running back onside when Bob McCarthy flung his elbow out and broke my nose. I never even saw it coming. The nose was bent out of shape and at half-time the doc said he would have to straighten it after the game.
What happened next?
Our forwards saw it and got square with Macca. They hammered him. But he was a tough man and stood up to the punishment. In the second half, he smashed me again right on the nose...and pushed it back into shape. I showed the doc and he said, ' No need to fix it now...it's all good again'.
Who was your toughest opponent?
Definitely Tommy Raudonikis. He loved to belt me but you had to show no fear and no pain. One day we were playing an Amco Cup midweek game that had been postponed because of rain. There was no crowd and no-one was trying too hard. Tommy got the ball early and I thought, 'Stuff you, this time I will smash you before you get me'. I hit him with my best punch and then kneed him and he just looked at me and growled, 'What are you doing that shit for...this is just a muck-around game'. He was a funny guy and we would always have a drink after the match-there were no hard feelings.
After playing, you went into coaching...
I have two sons and a daughter and coached my boys Nathan and Luke at Kellyville and also coached Parra in the lower grades. At Kellyville I had three hookers-Denis Moran and Ben Galea, who both went on to play first grade, and Nathan. I had to cut one and I cut Nathan. It was very awkward and he didn't speak to me for three months. But we are fine now and for my 50th birthday, my kids presented me with my Test jumper in a nice frame, so I guess he forgave me!
Rugby League Week
By Tony Adams
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Post by Electric Eel on May 30, 2020 16:16:22 GMT 10
John Joseph Kolc (born 7 September 1950) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 1970s and 1980s. An Australian international representative halfback, he played in Sydney’s NSWRFL premiership for the Parramatta club. Kolc was one of the smallest international rugby league players: only late 1920s St. George hooker “Snowy” Justice is believed to have played for Australia at a lighter weight, although 1950s backs Darcy Henry and Johnny Hunt are believed to have been similarly small.
Playing career
A Parramatta junior from Hills District, Kolc was graded with Parramatta for the 1971 season and made his first-grade debut the following season. He showed great promise with his sharp dashes around the rucks and superb low tackling: early in 1973 Kolc was already widely viewed as a future representative player; however, a broken ankle ligament (which were to affect Kolc’s career and reduce his speed off the mark) and competition with former State halfback Terry Reynolds meant Kolc missed the second half of 1973 and was in and out of first grade throughout 1974 and 1975.
At the end of this 1975 season, Kolc played in Parramatta’s first-ever reserve grade premiership team – scoring a try in the Grand Final win over Cronulla – and with Reynolds retiring Kolc was chosen over Johnny Wilson as the regular first-grade halfback for the 1976 season. The season saw Kolc play for Parramatta in the club’s maiden first-grade grand final, which was lost to Manly-Warringah.
With the Eels dominating the NSWRFL during the first half of 1977, Kolc gained selection for the Australian national team in the 1977 Rugby League World Cup Final, his sole international game, becoming Kangaroo No. 502. He scored the match-winning try in the one-point win over Great Britain at the Sydney Cricket Ground. After this, Kolc missed a number of games due to the return of his old ankle ligament problems, but he came back – though lacking his old sharp pace – to play at halfback in the drawn grand final and replay against St. George.
1978, however, saw Graham Murray take over from Kolc as the Eels’ regular first-grade halfback, and the former international only regained his first-grade berth – as a five-eighth – when John Peard was injured late in July. With the emergence of future champion Peter Sterling and pivot Mick Pattison, it was clear by 1979 that Kolc’s days in first grade were numbered, although he did manage to participate in a second reserve grade premiership at the end of 1979. Kolc made occasional first-grade appearances during the 1980 and 1981 seasons. A lowlight of this period was when Kolc was sent off in his 100th game for a high tackle on South Sydney fullback John Sellar. Kolc suffered a four-match ban but when new video evidence was surprised the suspension was overturned – an exceptional rarity in the history of rugby league in Australia.
Wikipedia
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1981 1982 1983 1986 