Coach, Duncan Thompson with Queensland players (from left), Bernie Drew, Cyril Connell, Gary Parcell, Don Furner and Bobby Banks (kneeling).
Queensland pushed hard for Toowoomba’s Duncan Thompson to coach Australia against the touring Great Britain side, but ultimately New South Wales got their way, with Vic Hey getting the job.
The Courier-Mail’s Jack Reardon wrote that there was no doubt in his mind that Thompson was the man, with his achievements for Toowoomba and Queensland speaking for themselves.
“I hope for Australia’s sake that Thompson gets the job,” Wrote Reardon. “We have the players with the physical ability. They need someone with a tactical brain to weld them into a unit. Thompson has that sort of brain.”
Never mind, Jack. You tried.
Ipswich club, Booval Swifts wielded the cheque book, signing international forwards, Brian Davies and Alan Hornery. Booval later would produce Test playing brothers, Steve, Kevin and Kerrod Walters.
Brisbane representative forward, Jack Veivers required surgery for a serious eye injury he suffered in a Bulimba Cup match against Toowoomba at Toowoomba.
A butcher from Beaudesert, Veivers faced a lengthy period away from work, but the BRL Insurance scheme allowed for Ten pounds a week for a year.
With floodlit matches proving popular it was decided to paint four inch wide white bands around the footballs. QRL secretary, Ron McAuliffe said he got the idea from Vince Jones, an American Rhodes Scholar studying at Cambridge University.
Another idea from America – numbers on the front and back of jerseys – was taken up by the Toowoomba representative side.
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