Johnny Greaves (born 8 May 1943) is an Australian former 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 1960s and 1970s. He played for

St. George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

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 ...

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 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 ...

Playing career

Greaves' junior club was Renown United. Starting with the

St George Dragons The St. George Dragons is an Australian rugby league football club from St George District in Sydney, New South Wales that played in the top level New South Wales competition and Australian Rugby League competitions from the 1921 until th ...

where he had been a local junior Greaves, like Brian James battled for recognition in the star-studded Dragons line-up who boasted a choice of centres with

Reg Gasnier Reginald William "Reg" Gasnier (12 May 1939 – 11 May 2014) was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach. He played for the St. George Dragons from 1959 to 1967 and represented Australian national rugby league team, Australia in a then ...

, Billy Smith and Johnny Riley in their squad. Nonetheless Greaves managed 23 first grade appearances in his two years at senior level with the club. He shifted to Canterbury where he became a first-grade regular and from where he was chosen in 1966 for

and later that year to represent

in the two Tests of the 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 was a member of the Canterbury side which knocked St George out of the 1967 final thereby ending the Dragons' record breaking run but a week later suffered the ignominy as the man left to chase down

Bob McCarthy Bob McCarthy MBE (born 5 August 1946) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and coach. He played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, New South Wales and for the Australian national side. He lat ...

in the 1967 Grand Final after Greaves was waiting on a pass from his hooker Col Brown which McCarthy intercepted and changed the course of the game and decided the premiership. He selected on the 1967

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 ...

where he played in four Tests against Great Britain and France and in ten minor matches. He was a member of Australia's victorious 1968

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

squad. He is listed on the ''Australian Players Register'' as Kangaroo No. 406.ARL Annual Report 2005, page 54 Greaves captained Canterbury in 1970 and after leaving the club made his final representative appearance in 1973 from CRL Group 6 clu
Campbelltown City Kangaroos RLFC
when he turned out for Country Firsts. Greaves finished his career as captain- coach of the

Campbelltown City Kangaroos Campbelltown City Kangaroos Rugby League Football Club is an Australian semi-professional rugby league football club based in Campbelltown, New South Wales. The club was formed in 1908, after a breakaway from the local Rugby Union club, 'The Walla ...

, leading them to the 1973, 1974 & 1975 CRL Group 6 1st Grade titles.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greaves, Johnny 1943 births Australian rugby league coaches Australian rugby league players St. George Dragons players New South Wales rugby league team players City New South Wales rugby league team players Country New South Wales rugby league team players Australia national rugby league team players Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs players Living people Rugby league centres