Ron Bailey (1914–1989) was an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

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 A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played in the 1930s, and 1940s. He was a New South Wales Country,

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

representative whose club career was played with Waratah Mayfield, Newtown,

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 o ...

in Sydney and overseas with

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

. He captained his country in one Test in 1946 and was the first

player to do so.

Club career

Bailey was graded with the Waratah Mayfield club at age 18. After that, he went on to represent the

Country New South Wales rugby league team The Country New South Wales rugby league team is a representative rugby league football team. Between 1987 and 2017 there were two tiers: the Origin team that consisted of professional players who originated from clubs of the Country Rugby Leagu ...

in 1935-36. In 1936 he came to the attention of Sydney talent scouts when he represented for

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

against a touring English side, downing the visitors 21-6. Bailey came to Sydney for Newtown in 1937 and playing at alongside

Frank Hyde Frank Hyde MBE OAM (7 February 1916 – 24 September 2007) was an Australian rugby league footballer, coach and radio caller. A New South Wales representative three-quarter, Hyde played his club football in Sydney for NSWRFL Premiership clubs ...

helped Newtown to win the City Cup that year. He accepted an offer to join

in England in 1937 and played two seasons there as a . Bailey returned to Australia at the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and after another season at Waratah Mayfield joined

as captain-coach in 1941 back as a . Canterbury won a premiership under Bailey in 1942 when they won the grand final, 11-9.

Representative career

After the war Bailey made his state and national representative debuts. He played five games for New South Wales against Queensland, and visiting English sides. He played two games for Australia against Great Britain in 1946, the second of those as captain. With no international fixtures scheduled in 1947 Bailey had played his last Test in 1946. He played out the 1947-48 seasons as captain-coach with West Maitland before his retirement.

References

Sources

* Whiticker, Alan (2004) ''Captaining the Kangaroos'', New Holland, Sydney

External links

Bulldogs profile

No More Bloody Bundles For Britain
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Ron 1914 births 1989 deaths Australia national rugby league team captains Australia national rugby league team players Australian rugby league players Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs coaches Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs players Huddersfield Giants players Newcastle rugby league team players Newtown Jets players Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Newcastle, New South Wales Waratah Mayfield Cheetahs players