FOUR of rugby league’s greats will be attending the Harden Hawks 40th anniversary on Saturday, July 19.
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Those four are: Balmain winger Larry Corowa, former St George player and chief executive of the Australian Rugby League, Geoff Carr; St George back Ricky Walford, and former Cronulla player and Dally Player M Player of the Year Gavin Miller.
Larry Corowa established his name when he scored five tries against the visiting Great Britain side in 1997 when playing for the Queanbeyan Kangaroos.
The following year, when aged 19, he signed with Balmain and scored 24 tries in the season. In September 1978 he confirmed that he was the fastest man in the game when he defeated Stawell Gift winner Steve Proudlock in a 100m challenge race at Wentworth Park. He played in two Tests in 1979 and was awarded the MBE in 1980 for services to the game.
According to the Ruby League Project website a burst appendix in 1981, coupled with further injury problems and the game’s growing emphasis on defence, resulted in the decline of his representative career and he returned home to Tweed Heads at the end of 1984.
His career looked to have finished when he led South Tweed to an upset win in the Group 18 competition in 1987 but four years later, while working with Wally Lewis at the Gold Coast, he made a comeback to first grade after an absence of seven years.
Ricky Walford, from Walgett, was a Australian Schoolboy representative in 1981, and played with Easts and Norths.
In 1992 he overcame a poor defensive game in the semi-final to be one of St George’s best players in the win over Illawarra in the final.
Walford was a try-scorer in the club’s 28-8 grand final loss to Brisbane and following St George’s 14-6 defeat by the Broncos in 1993, he went on to top 100 tries and 200 first grade games before his retirement in 1996.
Geoff Carr, from Grafton, started with St George as an 18-year-old in 1970. The website says that following his retirement as a player, he became Chief Executive of St George in 1990 and was co-manager of the victorious NSW State of Origin sides in 1993-94.
He was one of the ARL’s staunchest supporters during the code’s split with Super League in the early part of 1995 and left St George to work with the ARL soon after. In 2000, he was appointed Chief Executive of the ARL and General Manager of the NSWRL in 2003.
Gavin Miller, from Goulburn, a centre, started his career with Wests in 1977 and moved to Easts in 1978 and then went to play in England. In 1985-1986 he was named Player of the Year in the English Club Championship. Returning to Sydney to resume his career with the Sharks, he helped the club to the minor premiership in 1988.
He was named ‘Dally M’ Player of the Year in consecutive years (1988-89) as well as Second Rower of the Year (1988-89) and Players’ Player (1988). Miller’s good form continued at club level but his representative career faltered when, as captain of NSW, the Blues were whitewashed 3-nil in 1989.
The website says that on a personal level, the year was a success; he was a joint winner of the Rothmans Medal (with Mark Sargent) and ‘Dally M’ Player of the Year (as well as winning several other major awards), but he was continually overlooked for Test duty.
Miller retired at the end of 1992 season, relegated to reserve grade but with his old skills still sparking, and took on a captain-coach position at Goulburn.
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The dinner is being held at the Harden Country Club and it will also mark the 20th anniversary of the Under 18s Weissel Cup premiership. The cost of the dinner is $60 a head. For tickets contact Jodie Pollard on 0448 132 232.