Denis Flannery (1928 – 2012), also known by the

nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

of "Flag Pole", was an Australian

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s. An Australian international and Queensland interstate representative winger, he played his club football in the

Ipswich Rugby League The Ipswich Rugby League is a rugby league football competition based in Ipswich, Queensland. It is under the administration of the Queensland Rugby League through the South East Queensland Division, which also administers the Brisbane and Gol ...

for the Brothers club. He has been recognised as one of Queensland's greatest ever players

Biography

Flannery was born on 2 April 1928. He attended

St. Joseph's Nudgee College St Joseph's Nudgee College (commonly referred to as Nudgee College or simply Nudgee) is an independent Catholic primary and secondary day and boarding school for boys, located in Boondall, a northern suburb of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Th ...

and became a schoolboy sprint champion.

Playing career

Flannery started playing football in the

for the Brothers club. Although prone to injury, he made his debut for

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

in 1948 and won his first Australian cap in the second

Ashes Ashes may refer to: * Ash, the solid remnants of fires. Media and entertainment Art * ''Ashes'' (Munch), an 1894 painting by Edvard Munch Film * ''The Ashes'' (film), a 1965 Polish film by director Andrzej Wajda * ''Ashes'' (1922 film), ...

Test of 1950, when Australia beat

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

15–3 at the

Brisbane Cricket Ground The Brisbane Cricket Ground, commonly known as the Gabba, is a major sports stadium in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, Australia. The nickname Gabba derives from the suburb of Woolloongabba, in which it is located. Over the years, the Ga ...

. He is listed on the ''Australian Players Register'' as Kangaroo No. 279. Flannery also played Test football in 1951 and 1952. During the

1951 French rugby league tour of Australia and New Zealand The 1951 French rugby league tour of Australia and New Zealand was the first ever tour of Australasia by any French sports team in history. Puig Aubert captained the France national rugby league team who played 28 matches in total in both Austra ...

, Flannery played in Australia's victory in the second Test. On the 1952-53 Kangaroo tour, he scored 23 tries in 14 games, including

hat-tricks A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

against

Featherstone Rovers Featherstone Rovers are a professional rugby league club in Featherstone, West Yorkshire, England. The club play home games at Post Office Road and currently compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. Featherstone ...

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

and

Hull Kingston Rovers Hull Kingston Rovers (often abbreviated to Hull KR) are a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England. The club play home games at Craven Park, Hull, Craven Park and compete in Super League, the top tier of B ...

. In 1954

rugby football Rugby football is the collective name for the team sports of rugby union or rugby league. Rugby football started at Rugby School in Rugby, Warwickshire, England, where the rules were first codified in 1845. Forms of football in which the ball ...

's first

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

tournament was to be played in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. While playing as a three-quarter back for Ipswich's Brothers club, Flannery was selected for the Australia's

1954 Rugby League World Cup The 1954 Rugby League World Cup was rugby league's first World Cup and was held between 30 October and 13 November and hosted by France and was won by Great Britain who beat France in the final at the Parc des Princes in Paris. As it was the fi ...

squad which failed to make the final. He continued to represent Queensland and Australia until 1956, retiring from representative football after the 1956–1957

Kangaroo tour Kangaroo Tour is the name given to Australia 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 too ...

. In total, he played 15 international games for Australia, including two World Cup games. Flannery continued with Ipswich Brothers, serving as

player-coach A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

in 1957 and 1958 before retiring at the age of 30.

Post-playing

Flannery married Norma Dempsey, daughter of the former rugby great

Dan Dempsey Dan Dempsey (15 January 1901 – 9 January 1960) was an Australian rugby league national and Queensland state representative player. He played as a and is considered one of the nation's finest footballers of the 20th century. Biography Club ca ...

. Flannery and his wife ran the Ulster Hotel in

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

, formerly owned by Dan Dempsey, for 58 years. Their son, Denis, died of a childhood disease in 1970. In June 2008, the centenary year of

rugby league in Australia In Australia, rugby league is a popular spectator and participation sport which has been played since 1908. It is the dominant winter football code in the states of New South Wales and Queensland. According to Ausplay in 2024, there were 174, ...

, Flannery was named on the wing of the

Queensland Rugby League's Team of the Century The Queensland Rugby League Team of the Century is a hypothetical team comprising the best players who have played for Queensland to form a team for 1909 until 2008. Rugby league in Queensland was initiated in 1909 with the Queensland Rugby Leagu ...

, recognised for his "sweet side-step and swerve". Flannery died in his

Flinders View, Queensland Flinders View is a suburb of Ipswich in the City of Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. In the , Flinders View had a population of 5,816 people. Geography Flinders View is bisected by the Cunningham Highway which also forms part of the northern an ...

nursing home on Sunday, 12 February 2012, aged 83.

References

External links

Queensland Representatives at qrl.com.au
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Flannery, Denis 1928 births 2012 deaths Place of birth missing Rugby league players from Ipswich, Queensland Australian rugby league coaches Australian rugby league players Queensland rugby league team players Australia national rugby league team players Rugby league wingers People educated at St Joseph's College, Nudgee 20th-century Australian sportsmen