John Peard

John "Bomber" Peard (born 15 January 1945) is an Australian former rugby league footballer and later coach. An Australian international and New South Wales representative Five-eighth, he played for the Eastern Suburbs, St George and Parramatta NSWRFL clubs in the 1960s and 1970s. Peard's nickname, 'Bomber', came from his revolutionary towering punt kick, popularly referred to as a bomb, which terrorised opposition players, especially the Fullbacks and Wingers they were aimed at. It has now became a common feature of the modern game.

Peard joined the Parramatta Eels in 1976 and was named 'player of the year' that season, helping the club to its first ever Grand Final appearance where they faced one of the power teams of the 1970s, Manly-Warringah. His "bomb" came into play early in the Grand Final as Manly winger Tom Mooney dropped a bomb over his tryline leading to a try by Eels winger Jim Porter. Unfortunately for Peard and the Eels, the clubs first premiership eluded them as Manly ran out 13-10 winners.

Parramatta made their second Grand Final in succession in 1977, this time facing Peard's former team St George. It was to be the first drawn Grand Final in premiership history with the scores locked at 9-9 at full time. The replay was a disaster for the Eels as the Dragons ran riot, winning 22-0.

By 1978, injuries had begun to take their toll and John Peard retired at the end of the 1979 season.

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