Col Ratcliff is an Australian

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 who played in the 1950s. He played for Western Suburbs in the

New South Wales Rugby League The New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was ...

(NSWRL) competition.

Background

Ratcliff was born in Temora, New South Wales, Australia. Ratcliff played his junior rugby league for West Wyalong and played in the 1951 Group 9 grand final against Cootamundra which West Wyalong lost. It was around the same time that Ratcliff gained the attention of Western Suburbs who signed him after a successful trial.

Playing career

Ratcliff made his debut for Western Suburbs against

St George Saint George (Greek language, Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin language, Latin: Georgius, Arabic language, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christians, Christian who is venerated as a sa ...

in Round 1 1952 scoring a hat-trick in a 31-30 victory at

Kogarah Oval Jubilee Stadium, also known as Kogarah Oval or by its sponsored name Netstrata Jubilee Stadium, is a multipurpose stadium in Carlton, New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. The stadium is mainly used for rugby league and the A-League, and is one ...

. Western Suburbs would go on to win the minor premiership in 1952 and reach the grand final against South Sydney. The match was remembered due to its controversy with claims the referee George Bishop had put a big wager on Wests winning the game. Souths claimed that they were denied two fair tries and Wests had scored one try off a blatant knock on. Western Suburbs ran out winners in the grand final 22-10. This would prove to be the last premiership Western Suburbs would win as a stand alone entity before exiting the competition in 1999. Ratcliff recalled his memories of the game saying " Peter McLean our captain said behind the goals after Souths scored "if we don’t start to play fair dinkum we will lose this game". In 1953, Western Suburbs only managed 5 wins all year and finished last on the table claiming the wooden spoon. As of the 2019 season, Wests are the last team to have won a premiership and then finished last the following year. The only other team to have experience a similar fate were Canterbury-Bankstown in 1942 and 1943. Ratcliff played with Western Suburbs up until the end of the 1955 season where the club finished last again. Ratcliff then moved back to the country and captain-coached West Wyalong. Ratcliff also played for Griffith between 1957 and 1958.

Post playing

In 2010, Ratcliff was named in NSW Group 9's team of the century.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ratcliff, Col 1929 births Living people Western Suburbs Magpies players Australian rugby league players City New South Wales rugby league team players Country New South Wales rugby league team players Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Temora, New South Wales