Max Gray was an Australian
Rugby League footballer who played in the 1930s and 1940s. He played for
Western Suburbs in the NSWRL competition.
Playing career
Gray made his first grade debut for Western Suburbs in Round 1 1934 against
Balmain at
Leichhardt Oval. In the same season, Western Suburbs went from wooden spooners in 1933 to winning the minor premiership and premiership in 1934.
The change in form was attributed to the fact that Western Suburbs lost players such as
Frank McMillan
Frank or Franks may refer to:
People
* Frank (given name)
* Frank (surname)
* Franks (surname)
* Franks, a medieval Germanic people
* Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang
Cur ...
and
Alan Ridley who were away on tour with the Australian team when the club finished last but returned for the start of the 1934 season.
Gray played in the 1934 grand final victory over
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 ...
at the
Sydney Sports Ground
The Sydney Sports Ground No. 1 was a Stadium and Dirt track racing venue in Sydney, New South Wales. The ground was located where the car park of the Sydney Football Stadium (SFS) currently sits. The ground had two main grandstands and was surro ...
. The final had been delayed for over a week due to heavy rain and Wests went into the match as underdogs with Easts boasting players such as future immortal
David Brown,
Viv Thicknesse,
Ray Stehr,
Andy Norval and
Cliff Pearce. As of the 2019 season, no other team since Western Suburbs has come from last place to winning the premiership the following year.
Gray was captain-coach of West Wyalong when they won the 1938
Group 9 premiership.
Gray returned to play with Western Suburbs for a season as captain-coach in 1940 before retiring.
[Alan Whiticker/Glen Hudson: The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players. (1995 edition) ]
References
Western Suburbs Magpies players
Australian rugby league players
Rugby league locks
Rugby league second-rows
Year of birth missing
Place of birth missing
Year of death missing
Place of death missing
Western Suburbs Magpies coaches
Australian rugby league coaches
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