William Mullins (born 30 January 1948) is an Australian former

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who played during the 1960s and 1970s in the

New South Wales Rugby League premiership The New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the first rugby league football club competition established in Australia and contributor to today's National Rugby League. Run by the New South Wales Rugby League (initially named the New Sout ...

, the major rugby league competition in Australia at the time.

Career

Eastern Suburbs Roosters

A former professional runner, Mullins played his junior football with the Canterbury-Bankstown club before joining Eastern Suburbs in

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

where he played 190 first grade matches in the years until

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

. At the time of his retirement, he was the club's leading try-scorer with 104 tries. Roosters flyer Anthony Minichiello wants to surpass Bill Mullins' effort of 105 tries for the Chooks
/ref> A tall, powerfully built , Mullins played in some of the great Easts sides of the seventies, winning premierships in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

and

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, and finishing runners up in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

Grand Final. He also won pre-season cups in 1974 and

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

, mid-week cups in 1975 and

. Mullins was a representative of City Firsts and

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, though injuries suffered at the wrong times during his career prevented him from representing his country. In a trial for

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

selection in 1971, Mullins suffered a broken jaw and again, in 1973 when he was 'king hit' in a game against Manly-Warringah costing him any chance of being selected to the 1973 Kangaroo tour. During the

1976 NSWRFL season The 1976 New South Wales Rugby League premiership, New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the 69th season of Sydney's professional rugby league football competition, Australia's first. Twelve teams, including six of 1908's foundat ...

, Mullins played as a for Eastern Suburbs in their unofficial

1976 World Club Challenge The 1976 World Club Challenge was an unofficial trial of what would later become the World Club Challenge concept, with the 1975 NSWRFL season's premiers, Eastern Suburbs hosting the 1975–76 Northern Rugby Football League season's Premiershi ...

match against British champions St. Helens in Sydney.

Young Cherry Pickers

At the end of the 1978 NSWRFL season, Mullins moved to the rural NSW town of

Young Young may refer to: * Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents * Youth, the time of life when one's age is low, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood Music * The Young, an America ...

where he played for the Young Cherry Pickers, but a series of broken legs brought about an end to his rugby league career.

Personal life

Mullins for many years owned a fish and chip shop in Sydney's

Charing Cross Charing Cross ( ) is a junction in Westminster, London, England, where six routes meet. Since the early 19th century, Charing Cross has been the notional "centre of London" and became the point from which distances from London are measured. ...

. Brothers Russell and Terry Mullins played for Sydney's

Western Suburbs Magpies The Western Suburbs Magpies (legal name: Western Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club Ltd) is an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as the club is commonly ...

against Bill and his son

Brett Mullins Brett Mullins (born 21 January 1972) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, and early 2000s. A New South Wales State of Origin and Australian international representative back, he played his club ...

is an Australian representative who has won premierships with

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

and

Sydney Roosters Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club, known as the Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Eastern Suburbs. The club competes in the National Rugby Lea ...

. Mullins is the grandfather of the rugby league footballer for the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs; Jack Hetherington and

Canberra Raiders The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugb ...

outside back James Schiller.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mullins, Bill 1948 births Living people Australian rugby league players New South Wales rugby league team players Rugby league players from Campsie, New South Wales Rugby league wingers Sydney Roosters players City New South Wales rugby league team players 20th-century Australian sportsmen