Gordon Lionel Clifford (1928–2008), also known by the

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

of "Punchy", 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 1950s. A

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

and national representative and prolific

goal A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ai ...

-kicker, he played his club football in Sydney mainly with Newtown, who have named him as one of their greatest ever players. A South Sydney junior player, Clifford started playing in the

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 the Newtown club in 1951. He played at fullback for Newtown in their loss to Souths in the

1954 NSWRFL season The 1954 NSWRFL season was the forty-seventh season of the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership competition, based in Sydney. Ten rugby league football teams from across the city competed for the J. J. Giltinan Shield during the se ...

's grand final, kicking six goals. In the grand final of the

1955 NSWRFL season The 1955 NSWRFL season was the 48th season of the New South Wales Rugby Football League. Ten teams from across Sydney competed for the NSWRFL Premiership J. J. Giltinan Shield during the season, which culminated in a replay of the previous year' ...

the same two sides again faced each other. Clifford missed a 79th minute field goal attempt and Souths were again victorious. In 1956 Clifford was first selected to represent Australia in the 2nd Test against

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 ...

, becoming Kangaroo No. 324. He was selected on the 1956–57

Kangaroo Tour Kangaroo Tour is the name given to Australian national rugby league team tours of Great Britain and France, tours to New Zealand and the one-off tour to Papua New Guinea (1991). The first Kangaroo Tour was in 1908. Traditionally, Kangaroo Tours to ...

and after the great

Clive Churchill Clive Bernard Churchill AM (21 January 1927 – 9 August 1985) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer and coach in the mid-20th century. An Australian international and New South Wales and Queensland interstate representative ...

was injured in the 1st Test, Clifford took over as Australia's fullback playing in four Test matches and ten tour games and topping the tour points-scoring tally list with 94 points (2 tries, 44 goals). He made his first state appearance for New South Wales in 1957 and the following year with Churchill in his career twilight, Clifford displaced "the Little Master" in the domestic three Test series against the visiting British tourists. These would be Clifford's last representative appearances. He joined

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 ...

for one season in 1960, and then retired from the sport.

References

Bibliography

* Whiticker, Alan & Hudson, Glen (2006) ''The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players'', Gavin Allen Publishing, Sydney * Andrews, Malcolm (2006) ''The ABC of Rugby League'' Austn Broadcasting Corpn, Sydney {{DEFAULTSORT:Clifford, Gordon 1928 births 2008 deaths Australian rugby league players Sportsmen from New South Wales Rugby league players from Sydney Newtown Jets players Australia national rugby league team players Sydney Roosters players Rugby league fullbacks New South Wales rugby league team players