Wally Messenger
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Walter Messenger | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | 9 July 1891 Woollahra, New South Wales, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 1 January 1961 Clareville, New South Wales, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Wing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [1] |
Walter Messenger (9 July 1891 – 1 January 1961) was the youngest son of Charles A. Messenger and Annie (née Atkinson). He was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1910s and into the 1920s. He was a state and national representative winger whose club career was played with Eastern Suburbs in the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership.[2]
The younger brother of league great Dally Messenger, Wally Messenger won premierships with Easts in NSWRFL season 1912 and NSWRFL season 1913, playing with his brother as captain.[3]
He made two Test appearances for Australia's National Rugby League team, The Kangaroos in the 1914 domestic Ashes series, kicking three goals on debut and scoring a try in the deciding test of the series. He represented for New South Wales in one match against Queensland also in 1914.[4]
For the 1915 season, he was the NSW Rugby Football League's top point-scorer. Wally Messenger is listed on the Australian Players Register as Kangaroo No.93.[5]
Early life
Wally Messenger, the youngest of the eight children of Charles Amos Messenger, was part of an "era of sporting achievement" of the Double Bay Public School. Both Wally and his older brother Dally (by seven years) were coached by an enthusiastic and dedicated teacher John Moclair, encouraged by principal Henry Giles Shaw (1891-1896). For many years they ensured that the Rugby team was undefeated in inter-schools competitions at Junior level. They quite often defeated teams from the Senior Schools competition as well, including a victory over the Fort Street High School, winners of the senior competition.[6][7]
The Relationship between the brothers: Wally and Dally
In the course of history Wally Messenger's achievements have been somewhat eclipsed by the fame of his older brother Dally. Yet at the time of Wally's rugby league career Dally supported and lauded Wally's sporting development in every way he could.[2]: 57
Dally encouraged his seven years younger brother Wally, when he played Australian rules football at the Double Bay School, and in a local Australian rules competition in 1906, when Wally was sixteen. The Arrow described Wally "as nimble and as clever as footballers are made".[2]: 57
Wally then switched to Rugby League. On 18 May 1912 Wally entered first grade in an Eastern Suburbs match against South Sydney. The brothers played thereafter together at top level. Dally, normally the team's goal kicker, often shared the kicks with Wally.[2]: 301
"He is not as unorthodox as his brother," said The Referee, "but he has the power to field and kick the ball with infinitely greater skill than the average player". The Referee described Wally as having "infinitely greater skill than the average player. He is a strongly built tricky young man, and is very dangerous."[2]: 301 as quoted
Wally played two tests for Australia in 1914. Tragically, World War I (1914-1918) intervened and put a stop to his very promising football future. Dally is quoted as saying: "... given my opportunities, Wally would have been a world beater."[2]: 301
The Rorke’s Drift Rugby League Test Match of 1914
Wally Messenger was prominent in perhaps the most legendary game of Rugby League ever chronicled. It was described as Rorke's Drift, an analogy to an outnumbered embattled group of British soldiers in Southern Africa who won a victory over a much larger and formidable army of Zulu warriors (1879).
It was the third Test Match of Australia versus Great Britain, played in Sydney on the 4 July 1914. Great Britain, playing three men short owing to a string of injuries, nevertheless, by heroic and fiercely resolute play, won the Test, 14 points to 6. On the Australian side Wally Messenger scored one of their two tries.[8]
References
- ^ Yesterday's Hero
- ^ a b c d e f Fagan, Sean; Messenger III, Dally (2007). The Master : the life and times of Dally Messenger, Australia's first sporting superstar. Sydney, N.S.W.: Hachette Australia. p. 150. ISBN 9780733622007.
- ^ "Player Profile – Wally Messenger". yesterdayshero.com.au. SmartPack International. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
- ^ "sportsmem.com.au". 1914 Australian RL Jersey Maroon & Blue Hoops. Michael Fahey – Sports Memorabilia Australia. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
- ^ ARL Annual Report 2005, page 52
- ^ "Herbert Henry (Dally) Messenger". Woollahra Municipal Council. Woollahra Municipal Council-local history. Retrieved 30 August 2020.
- ^ Messenger III, Dally (1982). The master : the story of H.H. 'Dally' Messenger and the beginning of Australian rugby league. London: Angus & Robertson. p. 13. ISBN 0207147310.
- ^ Gate, Robert, Rugby League, An Illustrated History, George Weidenfeld and Nicolson Ltd, London SW4, 1989 pp. 48–49 ISBN 0 213 16970 3
- v
- t
- e
- 1908 Horrie Miller
- 1909 Arthur Conlin
- 1910 Dally Messenger
- 1911 Dally Messenger
- 1912 Dally Messenger
- 1913 Harold Horder
- 1914 Harold Horder
- 1915 Wally Messenger
- 1916 Charles Fraser
- 1917 Charles Fraser
- 1918 Harold Horder
- 1919 A McPherson
- 1920 Frank Burge
- 1921 Rex Norman
- 1922 Harold Horder
- 1923 Arthur Oxford
- 1924 Jack Courtney
- 1925 Benny Wearing
- 1926 Jack Courtney
- 1927 Alf Blair
- 1928 Benny Wearing
- 1929 Jim Craig
- 1930 Jim Craig
- 1931 Jack Lynch
- 1932 Les Mead
- 1933 Syd Christensen
- 1934 Dave Brown
- 1935 Dave Brown
- 1936 Syd Christensen
- 1937 Jack Beaton
- 1938 Tom Kirk
- 1939 Neville Smith
- 1940 Tom Kirk
- 1941 Neville Smith
- 1942 Ray Lindwall
- 1943 Tom Kirk
- 1944 Tom Kirk
- 1945 Dick Dunn
- 1946 Tom Kirk
- 1947 Pat Devery
- 1948 Jack Lindwall
- 1949 Bill Keato
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- 1951 Ron Rowles
- 1953 Ron Rowles
- 1954 Ron Rowles
- 1955 Doug Fleming
- 1956 Doug Fleming
- 1957 Darcy Russell
- 1958 Harry Bath
- 1959 Darcy Russell
- 1960 Brian Graham
- 1961 Bob Landers
- 1962 Don Parish
- 1963 Fred Griffiths
- 1964 Fred Griffiths
- 1965 Fred Griffiths
- 1966 Bob Lanigan
- 1967 Eric Simms
- 1968 Eric Simms
- 1969 Eric Simms
- 1970 Eric Simms
- 1971 Graeme Langlands
- 1972 Allan McKean
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- 1974 Graham Eadie
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- 1977 Michael Cronin
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- 1980 Steve Gearin
- 1981 Steve Rogers
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- 1983 Michael Eden
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- 1986 Terry Lamb
- 1987 Ross Conlon
- 1988 Gary Belcher
- 1989 Andy Currier & Ricky Walford
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- 1991 Daryl Halligan
- 1992 Daryl Halligan
- 1993 Daryl Halligan
- 1994 Daryl Halligan
- 1995 Matthew Ridge
- 1996 Jason Taylor
- 1997 Jason Taylor (ARL) Ryan Girdler (SL)
- 1998 Ivan Cleary
- 1999 Matt Geyer
- 2000 Joel Caine
- 2001 Andrew Johns & Ben Walker
- 2002 Hazem El Masri
- 2003 Hazem El Masri
- 2004 Hazem El Masri
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- 2019 Latrell Mitchell
- 2020 Adam Reynolds
- 2021 Reuben Garrick
- 2022 Valentine Holmes