John Elford ( – 4 February 2024) was an Australian

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 1960s and 1970s. He played his entire first grade Australian club football for Western Suburbs and also played for both the

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and

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representative sides. A

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 ...

obituary described him as " great defender and a confident ball player."

Personal life

Elford was born in Casino, New South Wales, Australia. Elford was a

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sprint champion before starting his professional league career. He died on 4 February 2024, at the age of 76.

Career

Scouted by Noel Kelly, he came to the Western Suburbs club in 1966 as a winger but later was shifted to the forwards where he remained the rest of his career. By 1968 he was playing on the wing for Sydney Seconds. In 1969 Elford appealed against the league's transfer and retention system, that prevented him from joining another club. He claimed that players had attended training with the "smell of alcohol on their breath," and they, "later became sick on the field." He went on to accuse a coach of wanting, "to fight everyone in the first grade behind a shed, one at a time" He took no part in the 1969 season. Despite his previous problems with Magpies, he signed a contract to stay with the club for five years at the start of 1972. Later that year he made his representative debut for

, in what was described as, "a powerhouse display," by, "a rugged young second-rower who delights in the role of crashing defence and can split the opposition in attacking bursts." Elford was then subsequently selected for the Australian national side that same year, scoring two tries in a match against New Zealand. He would be selected for the Australian side in the 1972 Rugby League World Cup held in

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but broke his arm in a warm-up fixture prior to the tournament and could not take part. He is listed on the ''Australian Players Register'' as Kangaroo No. 461. His promising career was however often halted by injuries, and he was forced out of the entire 1973 season. In 1975, the tendons were operated on and he had a new plate placed in his arm. His career finished in 1976 after another broken arm. After his retirement from Sydney football, he returned to captain/coach his junior club, the Smithtown Tigers. They won a premiership in 1977 and lost a grand final in 1978.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Elford, John 1947 births 2024 deaths Australian rugby league players Western Suburbs Magpies players Australia national rugby league team players Rugby league players from Casino, New South Wales Rugby league second-rows New South Wales rugby league team players 20th-century Australian sportsmen