Frank Johnson

South Coast hooker represented Country between 1940-43 while playing for Port Kembla. During the war years Johnson had two seasons with St George but returned to captain-coach Wollongong in 1946. He represented Country again that year, playing in front of a record 52,366 crowd at the SCG, and was also a rep for Southern Districts against Great Britain. Moving back to Sydney to play for Newtown he represented NSW in 1947 and toured with the 1948-49 Kangaroos. Johnson played in just seven minor matches on tour but at club level, later rose to the position of captain-coach in 1952. Although remaining with Newtown as coach, he retired as a player in 1953 but was forced to make a comeback following an injury to experienced leader Col Geelan. Johnson's final game was Newtown's loss to Souths in the 1954 grand final but he went on to become one of the unsung heroes of the code who devoted much of his adult life to the development of the game. Johnson was a member of the NSWRL Coaching panel and replaced Keith Gittoes as Director of Coaching in 1974. He was responsible for developing coaching skills as far as Darwin and Papua New Guinea and was made a Life Member of the NSWRL in 1982. Awarded the OAM Frank Johnson died in 1993, aged 70.