Bob Banks (born 1930) is an Australian former
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
footballer, a
Queensland state and
national representative five-eighth, who made fourteen Test and nineteen other tour match appearances for the Australian national team between 1953 and 1962. He represented his adopted state of Queensland on twenty-six occasions during his career.
Early life
Banks was born in
Tumut, New South Wales but in his childhood, he had relocated to the
Newcastle area, from where his family originated, attending Hamilton Primary and Central High School, Newcastle where he represented in rugby league. He began his senior league career in the
Newcastle competition before moving to
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
in 1950 where he played with the
Eastern Suburbs Eastern Suburbs may refer to:
Places
*Eastern Suburbs (Mumbai), India
*Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Australia
**Eastern Suburbs railway line, Sydney, Australia
Sports clubs
;Association football
*Eastern Suburbs AFC, Auckland, New Zealand
* Eastern ...
club.
Playing career
After his first top-grade season with Eastern Suburbs in 1950, Banks moved to
Charters Towers in Queensland. While there he was selected to represent for Northern Queensland against
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, the first touring French Test side to visit Australia. In 1952 he made his state representative debut for
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
, establishing a place in the team until 1962.
Banks was selected for the national
Australian team in 1953, touring
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
before playing in the 1954
Ashes
Ashes may refer to:
*Ash, the solid remnants of fires.
Media and entertainment Art
* ''Ashes'' (Munch), an 1894 painting by Edvard Munch
Film
* ''The Ashes'' (film), a 1965 Polish film by director Andrzej Wajda
* ''Ashes'' (1922 film), a ...
series. Banks took part in three Ashes series - 1954, 1956–1957 and 1962 - and he also participated in the inaugural World Cup competition in 1954.
In 1959, Banks played in the Queensland victory over New South Wales that attracted 35,261 spectators, smashing Brisbane's previous record for an interstate match of 22,817.
Banks captained Queensland for two years, 1959 and 1960. In 1953 he captain-coached Northern Queensland, winning the state competition. He retired in 1963.
The Gregory's reference published contemporaneously to his career, reports that he was not a speedy player, but a great field general, ball distributor and grand defender. Whilst equally at home at five-eighth or centre his teammates preferred him to occupy the pivot spot to benefit from his on-field organisational skills.
On 24 October 2000, Banks was awarded the
Australian Sports Medal for his rugby league achievements.
In 2008,
rugby league in Australia's centenary year, Banks was named at five-eighth in the Toowoomba and South West Team of the Century.
References
*
*
External links
Bobby Banks at unofficial Foley Shield website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Banks, Bobby
1930 births
Living people
Australian rugby league players
Central Charlestown Butcher Boys players
Sydney Roosters players
Australia national rugby league team players
Queensland rugby league team players
Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal
Waratah Mayfield Cheetahs players
Rugby league five-eighths
Rugby league centres
Date of birth missing (living people)
Rugby league players from New South Wales