Ken Kearney
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Kenneth Howard 'Killer' Kearney (3 May 1924 - August 18, 2006) was an Australian rugby league and rugby union player - a dual international. He represented the Wallabies in 7 Tests and the Kangaroos in 31 Tests and World Cup games. He captained Australia in 9 Rugby League Test matches in 1956 and 1957. He was a hooker and Captain-Coach with the St. George Dragons during their 11 year consecutive premiership winning run from 1956 to 1966.
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[edit] Rugby union career
Kearney was born in Penrith, New South Wales. He joined Parramatta's 1st grade rugby union side from school before serving in the Royal Australian Air Force in WWII. After discharge he resumed Rugby Union and debuted for the Wallabies against the All Blacks playing two Tests in June 1947 then toured Europe in 1947-1948 playing against each of the five European rugby nations.
[edit] Rugby league career
After a season with the Leeds Rugby League Club he returned to Australia in 1952 and joined St George. He played 156 games from 1952 to 1961, captained the club in six winning Grand Finals and was captain-coach for the latter five.
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.
His international rugby league debut in the 3rd Test against Great Britain in Bradford on 13 December 1952 saw Kearney become Australia's 24th dual code rugby international, following Len Smith and preceeding Rex Mossop.
[edit] Subsequent career
After retiring as a player Kearney coached the Parramatta Eels to the semi finals in 1962-1964 and was the foundation coach for the Cronulla Sharks in their first three seasons from 1967. He was a Freemason and worked in insurance sales in Sydney for 25 years. He retired to the Gold Coast where he died of a heart attack aged 82.
[edit] Rugby league matches played
| Team | Matches | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Leeds, UK | 95 | 1948 - 1951 |
| St. George Dragons | 156 | 1952 - 1961 |
| New South Wales | 33 | 1952 - 1958 |
| Australia (Tests & World Cup) | 31 | 1952 - 1958 |
[edit] Sources
- Whiticker, Alan (2004) Captaining the Kangaroos, New Holland, Sydney
- Writer, Larry (1995) Never Before, Never Again, Pan MacMillan, Sydney
