Harry 'Dealer, Bomber' Wells

  • Playing Career

Playing Career

Vital Statistics

Full Name
Harry James Wells
Nickname(s)
Dealer, Bomber
Born
Sunday, 8th May, 1932
Current Age
91 years and 355 days
Place Of Birth
Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia

Awards & Accolades

National Rugby League Hall Of Fame
2007
NSWRL Hall Of Fame
2022

Known Family Links

Brother
Colin Wells

Biography

Harry Wells (real name Wills) came from a long line of boxers (both his father and grandfather fought under the name 'Dealer' Wills) and brought many of the ring's attributes to his league career. A robust, weaving centre, Wells came from Wollongong to play for Souths in 1951, winning the premiership in his first season in Sydney, before returning home. In 1952 he represented NSW and toured with the Kangaroos, where he made the first of 22 Test appearances. Wells played against NZ (1953 and 1959), Great Britain (1954 and 1958), France (1955 and 1960), in three World Cup campaigns (1954, 1957 and 1960) and a second Kangaroo tour (1959-60). In the latter part of his career, he formed a great partnership with a young Reg Gasnier, and the pair played in 12 Test matches together. In 1956 Wells came to Wests as part of the club's premiership build-up but the Magpies lost the grand final to St George, 20-9. Wells played out the remainder of his career in the country and made one last appearance against Great Britain while playing for Monaro in 1966.
- ALAN WHITICKER

Additional Notes

His real surname was Wills.

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 %  
NSWRFL Premiership (NRL) 91 36 -   - 108 62 27 2 68.13% List
NSWRFL Finals 8 1 -   - 3 2 6 0 25.00% List
Country Carnival 5 6 -   - 18 1 3 1 20.00% List
City vs Country Firsts 7 3 -   - 9 4 3 0 57.14% List
Interstate Matches 27 6 -   - 18 18 9 0 66.67% List
Tour Matches New South Wales Firsts 9 2 -   - 6 6 3 0 66.67% List
Tour Matches Monaro/Southern Division XIII 1 - -   - - 0 1 0 0.00% List
Tour Matches Australia 42 20 -   - 60 29 12 1 69.05% List
Test Series 21 8 -   - 18 11 10 0 52.38% List
The Ashes 7 2 -   - 12 3 4 0 42.86% List
Tour Matches New South Wales Country Firsts 1 - -   - - 1 0 0 100.00% List
Tour Matches Southern Division 1 1 -   - 3 0 0 1 0.00% List
World Cup 8 5 -   - 15 6 2 0 75.00% List
Tour Matches Sydney Firsts 2 1 -   - 3 1 1 0 50.00% List
Tour Matches Monaro 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 1952-55, 1957-60 30 14 -   - 42 18 12 0 60.00% List

International Matches - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Australia 1952-1960 4 4 -   - 12 4 0 0 100.00% List

World Cup Matches - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Australia 1952-1960 8 5 -   - 15 6 2 0 75.00% List


Representative

Australia - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Southern Division 1952-55 5 4 -   - 12 0 3 2 0.00% List
Monaro/S.Division 1952 1 - -   - - 0 1 0 0.00% List
NSW Firsts 1952-61 36 8 -   - 24 24 12 0 66.67% List
NSW Country Firsts 1952-55 5 1 -   - 3 2 3 0 40.00% List
Sydney Firsts 1956, 1958 2 1 -   - 3 1 1 0 50.00% List
Possibles (AU) 1956 1 1 -   - 3 1 0 0 100.00% List
NSW City Firsts 1957-58, 1960 3 2 -   - 6 3 0 0 100.00% List
NSW City Seconds 1961 1 - -   - - 0 0 1 0.00% List
Monaro 1966 1 - -   - - 0 1 0 0.00% List
Overall1952-1966 55 17 0   0 51 31 21 3 56.36% List


Club Career

NSWRFL Premiership (NRL) - By Year

Team Season App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
South Sydney NSWRFL 1951 6 3 -   - 9 6 0 0 100.00% List
Western Suburbs NSWRFL 1956 15 2 -   - 6 11 4 0 73.33% List
Western Suburbs NSWRFL 1957 17 9 -   - 27 9 7 1 52.94% List
Western Suburbs NSWRFL 1958 11 6 -   - 18 7 4 0 63.64% List
Western Suburbs NSWRFL 1959 13 5 -   - 15 9 3 1 69.23% List
Western Suburbs NSWRFL 1960 16 5 -   - 15 9 7 0 56.25% List
Western Suburbs NSWRFL 1961 13 6 -   - 18 11 2 0 84.62% List

NSWRFL Premiership (NRL) - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
South Sydney 1951 6 3 -   - 9 6 0 0 100.00% List
Western Suburbs 1956-61 85 33 -   - 99 56 27 2 65.88% List
Overall1951-1961 91 36 0   0 108 62 27 2 68.13% List

Your Say

  • Anonymous
    16/05/2014

    Amazing career considering they held down a full time job looked after their family and paid for their own uniform to play in. Maybe the young players of today should meet Harry and find out what pride is about and how they should appreciate their forefathers!

  • Mark Kenny
    22/04/2017

    I met Harry when I was a kid in the seventies in Port Macquarie.
    My Father was a friend of his & he was doing some work for Harry & I tagged along.I was always a big Rugby League fan & over the years as I grew older I had the pleasure of being coached by Harry in School teams & watching him play for Port in the local comp when he Captain Coached the club.He must have been well into his forties then but still commanded lots of respect & his ability was still there to be seen.
    There is no doubt Harry was one of the greatest footballers of all time but I think his greatest attributes are his personality & humbleness.It has always been a pleasure talking to Harry & he has always been a true gentleman & I & Im sure many other local footballers in Port Macquarie are glad we had the pleasure of meeting him

  • Len Callaghan
    14/04/2019

    Harry made Gasnier, if not for harry Gasnier would not have been as good as he became.

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Contributions: Shawn Dollin, Andrew Ferguson, Greg Fiveash, Gary Neale, Rugby League Tables, Alan Katzmann, Paul Carter, AJ Lucantonio, Bill Bates, Tim Costello