John "Johnno" Stuntz (1884–1917) was an Australian 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 and soldier who served in

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and died on the Western Front. A national and state representative winger, his club career was played with Eastern Suburbs, Western Suburbs and South Sydney in Australia, as well as one season with English club,

Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...

. He 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.

Rugby league career

One of Australian rugby league's founding players, Stuntz was a member of the 1907 rebel side ("the 1907 Pioneers") that played against the New Zealand ' All Golds' in the series that helped to establish

football in Australia. A fireman by profession, he played 14 matches (all grades) with Easts in the years (1908–10). In Easts' first match – the opening game of club rugby league in Australia, he scored four tries. This tally remains, equally with Jordan Atkins and Charlie Staines, the most tries scored on début in Australian premiership history. In the following season Stuntz was selected to represent Australia against a touring New Zealand Maori side. In 2004 the

Australian Rugby League The Australian Rugby League Commission Limited (ARL), formerly the Australian Rugby Football League Limited known as the Australian Rugby League is an Australian rugby league football competition operator. It was founded in 1986 as the Australi ...

granted Stuntz and his teammates retrospective representative status for the international games played against the Maori. During the Australian off-season at end of 1909, Stuntz signed with the

Warrington Wolves Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league club based in Warrington, England. They play home games at the Halliwell Jones Stadium and compete in Super League, the top tier of British rugby league system, British rugby league. Warringto ...

club for 125 pounds and a further 3 pounds 5

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s a week for the 1909-10 English season,. Stuntz returned to Australia and played for both the South Sydney (1911) and Western Suburbs (1913) clubs. While playing for South Sydney in 1911 Stuntz represented for

. Stuntz was awarded Life Membership of 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 ...

in 1914.

War service

Stuntz enlisted in the first AIF in 1916. He embarked from Sydney on board ''HMAT A18 Wiltshire'' in August 1916 as a

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in the 14th reinforcement raised for the 17th Battalion of the 5th Brigade (New South Wales).J Stuntz war record
In 1917, the 17th Battalion was involved in the attack on

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forces after their retreat to the

Hindenburg Line The Hindenburg Line (, Siegfried Position) was a German Defense line, defensive position built during the winter of 1916–1917 on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front in France during the First World War. The line ran from Arras to ...

. Stuntz was killed by machine-gun fire on 3 May 1917 being the first day of battle of Second Bullecourt. He has no known grave but is commemorated at the Commonwealth Memorial in

Villers-Bretonneux Villers-Bretonneux () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Villers-Bretonneux is situated some 19 km due east of Amiens, on the D1029 road and the A29 motorway. Villers-Bretonneux borde ...

Bibliography

* Whiticker, Alan & Hudson, Glen (2006) ''The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players'', Gavin Allen Publishing, Sydney * Lester, Gary ''The Story of Australian Rugby League'' * Mideleton, David (2005) ''Big League Annual 2005'' * Warrington Wolves website

Online sources

John Stuntz at the AIF ProjectStatistics at wolvesplayers.thisiswarrington.co.uk

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stuntz, Johnno 1884 births 1917 deaths Australia national rugby league team players Australian firefighters Australian military personnel killed in World War I Australian rugby league players New South Wales rugby league team players New South Wales rugby union team players Rugby league players from Sydney Rugby league wingers South Sydney Rabbitohs players Sydney Roosters players Warrington Wolves players Western Suburbs Magpies players 20th-century Australian sportsmen