Ronald William Saddler 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 11 ...

footballer who played in the 1960s and 1970s. A

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 Australian international representative three-quarter back, he played in Sydney's

NSWRFL 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 Sou ...

for the Eastern Suburbs club. Originally from

Euabalong Euabalong is a town in western New South Wales, Australia. The town is in the Cobar Shire local government area and on the Lachlan River, west of the state capital, Sydney, and 27 kilometres from Lake Cargelligo. At the 2016 census, Euabalong ...

, New South Wales, and of

Wiradjuri The Wiradjuri people (; ) are a group of Aboriginal Australian people from central New South Wales, united by common descent through kinship and shared traditions. They survived as skilled hunter-fisher-gatherers, in family groups or clans, a ...

descent, Ron first played rugby league for

Tweed Heads Tweed Heads is a town in New South Wales. It is located on the Tweed River in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia, in Tweed Shire, next to the border with Queensland and adjacent to its "twin town" of Coolangatta, which is a suburb of the ...

. Saddler also played for the Sydney club

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 ...

from 1963–64 and 1966–71. An Aboriginal , Saddler was selected for the 1967/68 Kangaroo Tour, playing in 12 matches, but no tests. Saddler has been allocated Eastern Suburbs player number 529. He was the first indigenous player to captain

, six years before Arthur Beetson. Ron Saddler's former

Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won fifteen Ne ...

teammate

Kevin Junee Kevin Junee is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played as a in the 1960s and 1970s. An Australian international and New South Wales interstate representative back, he played his club football in the New South Wales Rugby Fo ...

, another 1967–68 Kangaroo, said "Saddler got the nod as the Blues' captain in 1967 because he was respected by teammates and opponents alike". Upon his retirement from Sydney, he captain-coached Murwillumbah Brothers for a number of years in the 1970s. He resided in the Murwillumbah Area until his death in May 2016.David Middleton - League Historian. 'Forgotten Indigenous Star' 4/02/2013

References

Sources

* Whiticker, Alan & Hudson, Glen (2006) ''The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players'', Gavin Allen Publishing, Sydney 1942 births 2016 deaths Australia national rugby league team players Australian rugby league players City New South Wales rugby league team players Country New South Wales rugby league team players Indigenous Australian rugby league players New South Wales rugby league team captains New South Wales rugby league team players Sydney Roosters players Sydney Roosters captains Rugby articles needing expert attention Rugby league centres Rugby league players from New South Wales {{Australia-rugbyleague-bio-1940s-stub