Francis Anthony Sponberg (18 May 1913 − 17 June 2000) was a 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 for Western Suburbs,

Canterbury-Bankstown Canterbury-Bankstown is a customary region of Sydney, Australia, in the south-western suburbs. The area is located around the Bankstown railway line, to the west of the St George region and to the south of the Inner West region. The suburbs o ...

and for the

New South Wales Rugby League team The New South Wales rugby league team has represented the Australian state of New South Wales in rugby league football since the sport's beginnings there in 1907. Also known as the Blues due to their sky blue jerseys, the team competes in the ann ...

. He is the younger brother of Bill Sponberg - who also played for Canterbury.

Club career

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descent, Sponberg had a very successful club career, ultimately winning three grand finals with two different clubs. A Canterbury junior, Sponberg made his debut for Western Suburbs in Round 6 of the 1932 season. He played for Wests for three seasons between 1932 and 1934. Sponberg played in the final against South Sydney after a semi-final win against Balmain. However, as minor premiers, Souths were allowed right of challenge, and so a rematch of the grand final was played a week later. Western Suburbs lost the grand final 12-19 and Souths took their 11th title. He scored his debut try in round 11 of the 1932 season in a win against

Sydney University The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's six ...

. Sponberg played lock in the 1934 Grand Final, with his team defeating

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15-12. He joined the newly admitted

club for their debut season in 1935. He played a total of 8 seasons with Canterbury between 1935 and 1944, including the 1938 Grand Final and the 1942 Grand Final. He spent the 1940 season as captain-coach of Wollongong, before returning to Canterbury in 1941. In round 4 of 1941, Sponberg scored two tries against South Sydney. In Canterbury's season rematch with Souths, Sponberg also scored two tries to help his team win 16-13. In 1944, Sponberg played his final career game in round 8 against Newtown. He scored a try in that game.

Representative career

Sponberg represented

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on 7 occasions between 1933 and 1935. He scored a try in New South Wales' 24-0 Game 1 win against Queensland in the 1933 Interstate series. He missed 1936 selection due to broken ribs. Sponberg also represented New South Wales City, making 4 appearances with thffe representative team. In his debut with the team, he scored 2 tries against New South Wales Country, with his team winning 47-6. Sponberg died at his home on the Central Coast of

following a short illness on 17 June 2000, aged 87.

Accolades

During 1936, Sponberg was quoted in the press as "the next best lock to

Wally Prigg Wally Prigg (1908–1980) was an Australian rugby league footballer. He was a for the Australian national rugby league team. He played nineteen Tests for the Kangaroos between 1929–38, seven as captain and was the first Australian player to ...

in Australia." In 1985, Sponberg was selected in the Bulldog's 'Greatest Team Ever'. In 2004, Sponberg was named in the Canterbury 70th year Berries to Bulldogs ''Team Of Champions'' as lock forward. In 2007, he was inducted into the Bulldogs Ring of Champions (Hall of Fame).http://www.bulldogs.com.au/Frank Sponberg

References

1913 births 2000 deaths Australian rugby league players Australian people of Swedish descent Western Suburbs Magpies players Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs players Rugby league players from Sydney Rugby league locks Rugby league second-rows {{Australia-rugbyleague-bio-1910s-stub