George Bishop

Playing Career

Vital Statistics

Born
Wednesday, 19th November, 1902
Died
Monday, 1st May, 1972 (Aged 69 years and 164 days)
Place Of Birth
Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia

Biography

Controversy followed George Bishop through several phases of a unique career. The former Balmain hooker returned to the club in 1927 after three seasons with Parkes and later represented NSW. Bishop was a controversial selection with the 1929-30 Kangaroos but answered criticism on the field, playing in two of the four Tests against Great Britain. In 1933 he was again selected to tour England but was ruled unfit because of injury. Following his retirement as a player, Bishop was graded as a referee in 1937. He went on to referee his old club in the 1946 and 1948 grand finals, drawing flak for his handling of the latter match. Progressing to Test level, he officiated in matches against NZ and Great Britain but it was his handling of the 1952 grand final, which resulted in an upset win to Wests over defending premiers Souths, which drew the most derision. Bishop stood down as a referee after the match and progressed to the national selection panel. In 1955, he was caught up in yet another controversy when he was accused of leaking news that centre Harry Wells had been dropped from Australia's Third Test team against France. Bishop was dumped from the panel the following year but had the distinction of having been a Test player, Test referee and Test selector during his career.
- ALAN WHITICKER

Playing Career Statistics

All statistics shown in this section are based only on data available in the RLP database, and are not necessarily a complete and/or 100% accurate representation of a player's career. This information should be used as a guide only. If you see a question mark (?), it denotes that the figure is not available.

To view a list of corresponding matches, click on the List button.

Competitions

Competition   App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
City Cup 1 - -   - - 1 0 0 100.00% List
NRL 81 10 22   - 74 34 41 6 41.98% List
Country Carnival 4 4 -   - 12 3 1 0 75.00% List
Interstate Matches 6 - 2   - 4 5 1 0 83.33% List
Tour Matches Australia 15 4 -   - 12 11 4 0 73.33% List
Test Series 2 1 -   - - 1 1 0 50.00% List
The Ashes 2 1 -   - 6 1 1 0 50.00% List
City vs Country Firsts 2 1 -   - 3 1 1 0 50.00% List
Tour Matches Metropolis 1 - 3   - 6 1 0 0 100.00% List
NRL Finals 1 - -   - - 0 1 0 0.00% List


International

Test Matches - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Australia 1929 2 1 -   - 3 1 1 0 50.00% List


Representative

Australia - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
NSW XII 1927 1 - -   - - 0 0 1 0.00% List
Metropolis 1927, 1930 2 - 3   - 6 2 0 0 100.00% List
Metropolis Seconds 1927 1 - -   - - 1 0 0 100.00% List
NSW Firsts 1927, 1929-31, 1933 13 1 4   - 11 10 3 0 76.92% List
Probables (AU) 1928 1 1 -   - 3 1 0 0 100.00% List
NSW City Seconds 1929, 1933 2 1 -   - 3 2 0 0 100.00% List
Combined City 1929 1 - -   - - 1 0 0 100.00% List
Kangaroos 1930 1 - -   - - 1 0 0 100.00% List
NSW City Firsts 1930-31 2 1 -   - 3 1 1 0 50.00% List
NSW City Probables 1931, 1933 2 2 -   - 6 2 0 0 100.00% List
Overall1927-1933 26 6 7   0 32 21 4 1 80.77% List


Club Career

NRL/NSWRL - By Year

Team Season App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Balmain NSWRFL 1923 1 - -   - - 1 0 0 100.00% List
Balmain NSWRFL 1927 14 6 -   - 18 5 7 2 35.71% List
Balmain NSWRFL 1928 13 1 -   - 3 4 9 0 30.77% List
Balmain NSWRFL 1929 7 - -   - - 2 4 1 28.57% List
Balmain NSWRFL 1930 9 1 14   - 31 4 4 1 44.44% List
Balmain NSWRFL 1931 8 - 1   - 2 2 6 0 25.00% List
Balmain NSWRFL 1932 11 1 7   - 17 6 4 1 54.55% List
Balmain NSWRFL 1933 8 - -   - - 3 4 1 37.50% List
Balmain NSWRFL 1934 3 - -   - - 2 1 0 66.67% List
Balmain NSWRFL 1935 7 1 -   - 3 5 2 0 71.43% List

NRL/NSWRL - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Balmain 1923, 1927-35 81 10 22   - 74 34 41 6 41.98% List

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Contributions: Max Turner, Greg Fiveash, Shawn Dollin, Andrew Ferguson, Rugby League Tables, Alan Katzmann, Paul Carter, Bill Bates