Jack Lynch (1910–1966) 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 1930s in the

New South Wales Rugby Football League The New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was ...

competition. His club career was with

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 ...

and

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 ...

. Lynch attended

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 ...

Waverley College , motto_translation = Virtue alone ennobles , location = 131 Birrell Street , city = Waverley, New South Wales , country = Australia , coordinates = , type = Independent early learni ...

, before being graded by the

club. He made his First Grade debut for Eastern Suburbs in 1930, the same year as 1930s league star Dave Brown, who had also attended Waverley College.

Club career

In his debut match, the young winger, scored a

hat trick A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

of tries against Balmain. He was a member of the

side that was defeated by South Sydney in the 1931 premiership decider. In 1931, Lynch managed to top the competition in terms of both points and tries scored. Lynch joined the

club in 1933 where he played three seasons before returning to Eastern Suburbs in 1936. The Tricolours side that season was one of rugby league's greatest ever club sides, managing to finish the season undefeated. Lynch, playing in the centres to replace the injured

Jack Beaton John Beaton (2 January 1914 – 5 June 1996) was an Australian rugby league player, a national representative of the 1930s whose short but brilliant club career was played with Sydney's Eastern Suburbs club. He has been named amongst the n ...

, was one of Eastern Suburbs' try scorers in the premiership-deciding match against Balmain. In 1937, Lynch returned to

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 the ...

where he played his final season. During his career, Lynch played 88 first grade matches scoring a total of 416 points (40 tries and 148 goals). 59 of those matches were for Eastern Suburbs where he scored 28 tries and 142 goals, whilst during his time at St. George he scored 48 points (12 tries and 6 goals).

Administrative career

Following his retirement from the game as a player he became a graded

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...

, was a lower grade coach at the Eastern Suburbs club and served Club Secretary during the 1950s. In 1963 he was a manager for that year's

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 a deputy

vice-president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

of the New South Wales Rugby Football League. Jack Lynch died after a suffering a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

in 1966.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lynch, Jack Australian rugby league players Sydney Roosters players St. George Dragons players 1966 deaths 1910 births Australian rugby league administrators Rugby league players from Sydney Rugby league centres