John 'Bomber' Peard

When John 'Bomber' Peard perfected the ‘up and under’ at Easts and P’matta in the mid 1970s he brought a new term to the RL vocabulary - the ‘bomb’. An Easts junior, Peard's initial season of first grade was in 1966 - the year the club failed to win a match. The clever pivot later played with St George in 1972-73 until the 13 import rule forced him back to the Roosters. Peard's talent with the ball and his goal-kicking ability blossomed under Jack Gibson. He kicked three goals in the club's 1974 grand final win over C’bury and seven goals the following year in the 38-0 thrashing of St George. In 1975 he was called into Australia's World Series squad and despite being in the autumn of his career he was courted by P’matta. Under the coaching of Terry Fearnley in 1976 Peard's execution of the ‘bomb’ became a lethal attacking weapon. Peard was named ‘Player of the Year’ in 1976 but it was not just for his talent with the boot. He gave great service to his backline in a year when P’matta made their first grand final (only to lose to Manly, 13-10). In 1977 Peard again represented Australia in the World Cup but was ruled out of the grand final because of a groin injury (Mark Levy played five-eighth). Peard took the field for the replay but he was not 100 per cent fit and injuries affected the remainder of his career. He tried coaching after his retirement but P’matta failed to make the semis in his only year as Eels coach (1980) and his two years at Penrith (1982-83) were unrewarding. Peard was NSW State of Origin coach in 1988 but the Blues were beaten 3-nil and he was replaced by his former Easts mentor Jack Gibson. Peard was still closely associated with the Roosters after his retirement and his laconic wit was heard to good effect as a side-line commentator for the ABC during the early 1990s. In 2001 he suffered a life-threatening stroke but courageously fought back to regain his health.