Ed Courtney

Another legendary pioneer, 'Tedda' Courtney took part in the rebel games against the NZ 'All Golds' while playing RU for St George. The stocky forward joined Norths in 1908 but moved to Newtown after just one match and toured England with the 1908-09 Kangaroos. Courtney played in all three Tests in England and went on to appear in two further Tests against NZ the following year when he switched to Wests. After a season with Norths in 1910, in which Courtney played in the Ashes series against England, the durable prop returned to Wests. Courtney played in 25 matches on the 1911-12 Kangaroo Tour, including the Test victories that secured the Ashes for the first time. His final Test series was in 1914 when he again took on the Englishmen, but he went on to outlast all the pioneers of 1908 and played over 300 grade matches before retiring. (Courtney even played along-side his son, Edward, at Wests in 1924!) ‘Tedda’ Courtney was later named Canterbury coach during the club's disastrous debut season in 1935 and resided at Lakemba until his death in 1957 – living long enough to savour the Jubilee Year of rugby league in Australia.