George Hunter (rugby league)

George Hunter (1928–2009) was an Australian rugby league player of the 1940 and 1950s who also coached the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles first grade team. Hunter played in two New South Wales Rugby League first grade Grand finals as well as coaching Manly-Warringah to a Grand final in 1968.

Club career

George Hunter began his rugby league career playing as a junior player with the Abermain Reds Rugby League club. In 1945, he began his senior career with the Kurri Kurri Bulldogs. He then joined Manly in 1949.

George Hunter's played 8 seasons with Manly between 1949 and 1958, and captained the club on numerous occasions during this period. His career took him to two grand finals with Manly-Warringah in 1951 and 1957, although he missed the 1959 grand final due to injury. In 1959, he announced his retirement due to injuries suffered that year, but in 1960, North Sydney enticed him out of retirement for one last season.^{[1] [2]}

Representative career

Hunter represented NSW Country v City in 1948. He represented for New South Wales v Queensland in 1954 scoring a try in their 18-13 victory. Hunter also played in a Possibles v Probables Kangaroo Tour selection game.

Coaching career

Hunter was captain-coach of Warialda Premiership winning team in 1950, and of Jindabyne in 1953.

After retiring from playing, he went on to coach Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles third-grade team from 1965 to 1967 and then their first-grade team in 1968 and 1969, including their appearance in the 1968 Grand Final loss to South Sydney. His coaching statistics in those two years at Manly show an impressive 31 wins from 48 games.^[3]

Published sources

• Smith, Robert. The Sea Eagle has Landed
• Whiticker, Alan and Hudson, Glen. The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players
• Apter, Jeff The Coaches : The Men Who Changed Rugby League (2014), The Five Mile Press Scoresby, Victoria

Footnotes