Robert Emanuel Mable (1885–1960) was a pioneer

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 in the

New South Wales Rugby League The New South Wales Rugby League Ltd (NSWRL) is an Australian rugby league football competition operator in rugby league in New South Wales, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Co ...

(NSWRL) competition.

Career

Mable played for the Eastern Suburbs club in the years 1908 to 1910. A

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

, Mable played for

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 ...

in the very first rugby match run by the newly created '

New South Wales Rugby Football League The New South Wales Rugby League Ltd (NSWRL) is an Australian rugby league football competition operator in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission.It was registered on 21 ...

' which had just split away from the established

New South Wales Rugby Football Union The New South Wales Rugby Union (NSWRU), formerly known as the Southern Rugby Football Union (SRFU) between 1874 and 1892, is the governing body of rugby union within most of the state of New South Wales in Australia. It is a member and foundi ...

. Mable was a member of the rebel sides that played against the New Zealand ' All Golds' in 1907, and was later awarded life membership in the

for the role that he played in the series that was instrumental in the birth of rugby league in Australia. He played in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs club's

first match ''First Match'' is a 2018 American drama film written and directed by Olivia Newman, based on her 2010 short film of the same name. The film stars Elvire Emanuelle, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Colman Domingo, Jharrel Jerome, and Jared Kemp. The film p ...

and the NSWRL's first premiership decider. Mable was awarded Life Membership of the

in 1914 for his early participation in the game's inception in Australia. He is also recognized as the 8th player to play for Eastern Suburbs Club. He died on 8 September 1960.

References

*E. E. Christensen's yearbooks {{DEFAULTSORT:Mable, Bob 1885 births 1960 deaths English rugby league players English rugby union players New South Wales rugby league team players Place of death missing Rugby league players from London Rugby league second-rows Sydney Roosters players