Jim Bennett was 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 1910s, 1920s and 1930s who played for the Australian national team. A Queensland state representative front-row forward, he played his entire career for clubs in Queensland, and was one of the state's early star players, making thirty-six appearances for the Maroons between 1921 and 1930.

Career

Bennett was still a junior when in 1916 from the

Brisbane Brothers The Past Brothers Rugby League Football Club, or Brisbane Brothers Rugby League Football Club nicknamed the Leprechauns, or more commonly known as Brothers, or as The Brethren, was a rugby league club based in the city of Brisbane, Australia, t ...

club he was selected to represent Brisbane against Maryborough. He spent the 1917 season with Wests Brisbane in the senior grade then headed north to Cairns for the 1918–1919 seasons. He returned to Wests in 1920 and helped the club go through that year's Brisbane Premiership as undefeated champions. In 1921 he made the first of his state representative appearances for Queensland. Over the next nine years he would make thirty-six state appearances against

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 ...

and New Zealand and including the 1925 Queensland tour of New Zealand. Alongside future Kangaroo captains Tom Gorman and

Herb Steinohrt Herbert Walt Steinohrt (21 October 1897 – 27 December 1985) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s and 1930s as a front row forward for the Australian national team. He played in 9 Tests between 1928 and 1932 ...

, Bennett was a member of the 1924-25 world class Toowoomba side that beat all-comers including Sydney premiers Souths, Brisbane, Ipswich and representative sides including

, Victoria, Great Britain and

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 ...

. He made his international representative debut 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 ...

in 1924 and played in all three Tests of that year's domestic Ashes series against

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

. He continued playing top-grade rugby league until 1933 and that year was still representing for Toowoomba in the Bulimba Cup.

References

Bibliography

* Whiticker, Alan & Hudson, Glen (2006) ''The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players'', Gavin Allen Publishing, Sydney * Pollard, Jack (ed) ''Gregory's Guide to Rugby League'' (1965), Grenville Publishing Sydney

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Jim 1898 births 1968 deaths Australian rugby league players Australia national rugby league team players Brisbane rugby league team players Queensland rugby league team players Past Brothers players Rugby league players from Toowoomba Wests Panthers players