Keith Holman

Terrier-like halfback, first turned away by Sydney clubs because of his small stature, went on to become a giant at international level. Holman was an orphan who lived in Surry Hills before joining the RAAF during WWII. He came to Wests in 1948 from Dubbo on the recommendation of former clubman Eric Bennett and played for NSW the following year. His Test debut against Great Britain in 1950, the first of his 12 Test series during his career, was certainly a memorable one with Australia securing the Ashes for the first time since 1920. ‘Yappy' Holman formed a great partnership with Frank Stanmore at club, state and Test level and went on to shape the role of the modern halfback by setting standards for fitness, defence and work-rate to which future greats would aspire. Wests won the grand final in 1952 but Holman did not take part in the match as he was on tour with the Kangaroos. Another Kangaroo tour followed (1956-57) as well as two World Cup campaigns (1954 & 1957) and by the time his Test career finished in 1958, he had amassed the then record 32 Tests including 14 matches against Great Britain. Captain-coach of Wests in 1954-44 the only minor setback to his ‘rep’ career was when he was left out of the Sydney v. France match, along with Clive Churchill in 1955. While the Magpies could not win another premiership, Holman was given an emotional farewell by the SCG crowd after the club’s 1961 grand final loss to St George. After his retirement he took up the referee's whistle and officiated in the 1971 grand final. (In an interstate match at Lang Park, he sent off four players and caused a mini riot.) Holman also coached Port Kembla, his beloved Wests to victory in the Amco Cup final in 1977 - his swansong to a thirty-year involvement in the game – and was awarded an MBE the same year.

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 icon.

International
Test Matches - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Australia	1950-58	35	14	6				-	54	18	17	0	51.43%
Overall	1950-1958	35	14	6				0	54	18	17	0	51.43%
International Matches - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Australia	1950-1954	1	-	-				-	-	1	0	0	100.00%
Overall	1954	1	0	0				0		1	0	0	100.00%
World Cup Matches - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Australia	1950-1957	3	-	-				-	-	1	2	0	33.33%
Overall	1954-1957	3	0	0				0		1	2	0	33.33%
Representative
Australia - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
NSW Firsts	1950-58	25	20	1				-	62	19	6	0	76.00%
Sydney Firsts	1951	1	-	-				-	-	0	0	1	0.00%
NSW City Firsts	1951-58	8	7	3				-	27	7	1	0	87.50%
Overall	1950-1958	34	27	4				0	89	26	7	1	76.47%
Club Career
Australian League Matches - By Year
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Western Suburbs	NSWRFL 1949	?	8	1				-	26
Western Suburbs	NSWRFL 1950	?	5	1				-	17
Western Suburbs	NSWRFL 1951	?	8	-				-	24
Western Suburbs	NSWRFL 1952	?	3	6				-	21
Western Suburbs	NSWRFL 1953	?	9	5				-	37
Western Suburbs	NSWRFL 1954	?	7	6				-	33
Western Suburbs	NSWRFL 1955	?	1	9				-	21
Western Suburbs	NSWRFL 1956	?	9	14				-	55
Western Suburbs	NSWRFL 1957	?	4	2				-	16
Western Suburbs	NSWRFL 1958	?	8	1				-	26
Western Suburbs	NSWRFL 1959	?	1	-				-	3
Western Suburbs	NSWRFL 1960	?	5	-				-	15
Western Suburbs	NSWRFL 1961	?	2	39				-	84
Overall	1949-1961	?	70	84				0	378	?	?	?	?
Australian League Matches - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Western Suburbs	1949-61	?	70	84				-	378	?	?	?	?
Overall	1949-1961	?	70	84				0	378	?	?	?	?

Last modified: Sun, 12 May 2013 09:59:43 +1000 (Sydney time)