Norm Pope (rugby league, born 1931)
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 10 September 1931 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 2 March 2003 (aged 71) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Fullback | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Norm Pope (10 September 1931 – 2 March 2003) was an Australian rugby league player.
A Balmain junior, Pope was a prolific goal-kicking fullback for Valleys and spent his entire first-grade career in Brisbane from 1950 to 1964, aside from one season with Rockhampton's Railways club.[1] He broke a Brisbane Rugby League (BRL) goal-kicking record in 1953 when he slotted 19 goals from 22 attempts in a rout of Wynnum Manly.[2] In 1956, Pope represented Australia in the 3rd Test against New Zealand at the Sydney Cricket Ground, kicking five goals in a 31–14 win. He set another BRL record in 1957 by amassing 330-points for the season.[3]
Pope served as coach of both Valleys and Wests.[4]
In 2022, Pope was named fullback in the Brisbane Rugby League Team of the Century, put together by the BRL and QRL history committee to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the competition.[5]
References
[edit]- ^ "£2 Bonus To Norm Pope". The Courier-Mail. 6 July 1953. p. 7 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ The Rugby League news (Vol. 34 No. 20), N.S.W. Rugby Football League, 18 July 1953 – via Trove
- ^ The Rugby League news (Vol 38, No. 29), N.S.W. Rugby Football League, 14 September 1957 – via Trove
- ^ "History of Brisbane Rugby League: Warning signs, 1970s". The Roar. 14 August 2020.
- ^ "BRL Team of the Century and Ipswich's best named". Fassifern Guardian. 24 August 2022.
External links
[edit]- Norm Pope at Rugby League Project