Jack Cosgrove "Bluey" Watkins (1893-1974) 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.

Career

He played , with seven test matches for his country, including the

1921–22 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain The 1921–22 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain was the third ever Kangaroo tour. Again an Australasian side rather than an Australian team alone (although the 28-man squad featured only one New Zealander) travelled to Great Britain to contest the ...

. He is listed on the ''Australian Players Register'' as Kangaroo No. 92. Watkins played for just one club in the

New South Wales Rugby Football League 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 ...

throughout his career which spanned 14 years, interrupted by the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He played in over 100 matches for the

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 ...

side between 1913 and 1926, winning Premierships with that club in 1913 and 1923. Watkins also won City Cups with the Easts club in 1914, 1915 and 1916. After enlisting in the

, Watkins was chosen to play a series of matches for Australian Imperial Forces (AIF) against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Bluey Watkins died on 13 July 1974, age 82.Sydney Morning Herald - Death Notice- 15/07/1974

Sources

* Heads, Ian and Middleton, David (2008) ''A Centenary of Rugby League'', MacMillan Sydney

References

1893 births 1974 deaths Australasia rugby league team players New South Wales rugby league team players Australia national rugby league team players Australian military personnel of World War I Australian rugby league players Rugby league locks Sydney Roosters players Sydney Roosters captains Rugby articles needing expert attention {{Australia-rugbyleague-bio-1890s-stub