Dave Parkinson (1923-1978) was an Australian professional

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 1940s and 1950s. An Australian international and New South Wales interstate representative , he played club football in the

Newcastle Rugby League The Newcastle Rugby League is a local rugby league football competition in Newcastle, Australia. It is one of the oldest rugby league competitions in Australia, founded in 1910. A Newcastle representative team was also assembled from players in ...

for Cessnock, in Sydney's

NSWRFL Premiership The New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the first rugby league football club competition established in Australia and contributor to today's National Rugby League. Run by the New South Wales Rugby League (initially named the New Sout ...

for Balmain, and also in country

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_ ...

and

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

during his career. Parkinson played four seasons in Newcastle for the Cessnock club before moving to Sydney. Signing with the Balmain club, the

1944 NSWRFL season The 1944 NSWRFL season was the thirty-seventh season of the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership, Sydney’s top-level rugby league competition, and Australia’s first. Eight teams from across the city contested the premiership durin ...

was his first and at the end of it he played in the Premiership Final against Newtown which the Tigers won 12-8. Balmain again reached the final in the

1945 NSWRFL season The 1945 NSWRFL season was the thirty-eighth New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership season, Sydney’s top-level rugby league club competition, and Australia’s first. Eight teams from across the city contested during the season which ...

, which was a 22-18 loss against

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 ...

. The following season Parkinson was selected to play representative football for

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 ...

against South Coast and then during the

1946 Great Britain Lions tour The 1946 Great Britain Lions tour was a tour by the Great Britain national rugby league team of Australia and New Zealand which took place between April and August 1946. The tour involved a schedule of 27 games: 20 in Australia including a three- ...

was a surprise selection for

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, becoming Kangaroo no. 229 when he was chosen to play at fullback in all three tests against the touring Great Britain team. He made several try-saving tackles, which earned him praise as the Kangaroos held Great Britain to an 8-all draw in the first test. Parkinson retained his place for the second test which the British won 14-5. Again playing at fullback in the third test, after only 7 minutes Parkinson was tackled heavily and suffered a broken bone in his ankle. However he continued playing and Australia were further depleted when

Arthur Clues Arthur Clues (2 May 1924 – 3 October 1998) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s. An Australian international and New South Wales interstate representative second-row forward, he played his c ...

was sent off for punching and the Kangaroos lost 20-7. Due to his injury Parkinson missed Balmain's victory over St George in the 1946 premiership decider. The following season he played in

for Babinda as again Balmain won the premiership. Parkinson returned for the

1948 NSWRFL season The 1948 NSWRFL season was the forty-first New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership season, Sydney’s top-level rugby league football competition, and Australia’s first. The teams remained unchanged from the previous season, with ten ...

and once again Balmain reached the premiership decider but lost 8-5 to Western Suburbs. Parkinson played at

Parkes Parkes may refer to: * Sir Henry Parkes (1815–1896), Australian politician, one of the earliest and most prominent advocates for Australian federation Named for Henry Parkes * Parkes, New South Wales, a regional town * Parkes Observatory, a radi ...

in 1949, then rejoined Cessnock in 1950. He played at fullback and kicked goals in each of Cessnock's

grand finals wins of 1950, 1954 and 1955. Duribg the 1954 Great Britain Lions tour he captained

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

in 11-10 and 28-22 wins against Great Britain. Parkinson also enjoyed

premierships with his club, Cessnock in 1954 and 1955.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parkinson, Dave 1923 births 1978 deaths Australia national rugby league team players Australian rugby league players Balmain Tigers players Cessnock Goannas players City New South Wales rugby league team players Date of birth missing Date of death missing New South Wales rugby league team players Newcastle rugby league team players Rugby league fullbacks