Gary Stevens drives Billy Smith into the turf
Graeme Langlands had the sidestep; Ron Coote the cover defending tackle and Arthur Beetson the sublime off-load.
Gary Stevens had the devastating front-on, driving tackle. I’m not talking spear tackle – I’m talking a tackle that one minute saw a player confidently charging into the ruck, and then a split second later finishing up on the broad of his back.
Stevens was the defender I admired the most as a young footballer. He struck me as worker, a bloke who got there the hard way. He didn’t have great skills with the ball, but his defence caused fear.
I met him twice – once at News Ltd Surry Hills, when he was working on renovations to the building. The other time was at the Crown Plaza, Coogee when he was there with his former teammate and lifetime mate, Bob McCarthy. Gary was in the early stages of dementia then, but he was still good for a chat.
Maybe rugby league contributed to his state – actually it is more than likely the case – although: Bob McCarthy famously said he would visit mates in aged care facilities and as he passed down the corridors, to his left and right there were ‘old dears’ who didn’t know what day it was, and none of them played rugby league.
But Gary Stevens played in a particularly brutal era.
Playing for Australia against Great Britain at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 1974, Stevens was ironed out by a stiff arm from giant Welsh prop, Jim Mills. The moment of impact featured on the front page of Rugby League Week under the headline: ‘The Crack that was Heard All Over Sydney’. Stevens’ feet were taken from under him at the moment of impact.
Gary Stevens played 11 Tests, his debut coming against the Kiwis in Paris during the 1972 World Cup. He played against France in Toulouse in the same tournament, and then in the final against Great Britain in Lyon, a match which finished 10-10, with Britain awarded the trophy after extra time failed to break the deadlock. Britain has been undefeated in the lead-up games.
At the end of the 1973 Australian domestic season Stevens was chosen for the Kangaroo tour of Britain and France, playing in the Second and Third Test wins over GB, in Leeds and Warrington. Australia had lost the first Test at Wembley. Stevens also played in a Test win over France in Toulouse.
In 1974 he missed out on selection for the First Test against the touring British side in Brisbane, a match Australia won 12-6, He replaced Queenslander, Ray Higgs for the return clash in Sydney, a match the Poms won 16-11. This was the match in which he was knocked senseless by Mills, and it is one of the game’s great mysteries that referee, Keith Page didn’t dismiss the Widnes’ star. Stevens was in a daze for the rest of the game and his effectiveness substantially reduced.
There were a number of changes for the decider, also at the SCG, but Stevens held his place and was part of a memorable Ashes clinching 22-18 win.
In 1975 he played in World Series matches against the Kiwis (in Brisbane) and England, and Wales, both games at the SCG. He made himself unavailable for the second leg of the tournament in the northern hemisphere because he needed to consolidate his building business.
Stevens played seven times for New South Wales, and featured in South Sydney’s Grand Final wins in 1970 and ’71. He was the first grandson of a Kangaroo to also represent Australia in rugby league. His grandfather was Arthur Oxford, who played five Tests – three against the Kiwis in 1919 and two against England in 1924.
Gary Stevens was born in Broken Hill, but raised at Maroubra, where surfing was his first love. He was into weights well before it became the norm for rugby league players to pump iron.
“That’s why I could pick up bigger players and drop them on their heads,” Stevens told author, Alan Whiticker in the book ‘Glory Days’.
Stevens was being too modest. It was more about technique, because the a muscle bound oaf, not schooled in the art of tackling, would be bumped off, or beaten by much lighter opponents.
Gary Stevens was 81 at the time of his passing on January 29, 2025.
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