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Special Magpie nest
Barry Bryant was named on the interchange bench in Western Suburbs’ team of the 1960s. The back-rower was the Magpies’ best and fairest in 1969 during 132 career games.
Barry Bryant in his earlier days as a barnstorming Western Suburbs second-rower.
Barry Bryant used his annual salary of $3,500 in the 1960s to buy a Datsun 180B.
He reckons he was the second highest paid player at Western Suburbs Magpies that year.
But he wouldn’t have played football in any other era.
“Nowadays they buy a car with their pocket money,” he lamented.
“But I played the good football back then. I’ve got no complaints about when I played.
“All the money they get now, good luck to them.”
And he thinks a bit of luck may have also been on his side when he was named in Western Suburbs’ team of the 1960s at a glitzy dinner at Wests Ashfield Leagues Club recently.
The tough-as-nails forward was named on the interchange bench in an 18-man squad alongside internationals Arthur Summons and Noel Kelly.
Cowra’s Bryant admitted he wasn’t even going to attend the dinner when first invited. He had other plans for that weekend.
But when he was told beforehand he was named in the prestigious side, there was only one place he was going to be for the night in question.
“I knew the team was coming up but I didn’t even consider getting in it,” Bryant said.
“They rang me up and said ‘are you coming down for the dinner’.
“The point is I was going away at the weekend to a wedding so I said, ‘nah, I’m going away that weekend to a wedding’.
“About two weeks later they rang up and they said ‘you better come down’. And I said ‘why?’ And they said you made the team.
“You could have knocked me over with a feather.”
The 132-game veteran Magpie snared a spot on the bench of the Jack Fitzgerald-coached team.
Summons was named as captain with Kelly at hooker and former Kangaroo Peter Dimond on the wing.
Bryant made a big impact in Sydney when he left the bush as a raw 18-year-old searching for a chance in the top grade.
He blossomed in the late 1960s – particularly in 1969 – when he won the club’s best and fairest award en route to scoring 25 career tries.
He had a colourful career at Wests, rating Kelly as the best coach he worked under, and gaining City selection.
Bryant was also forced to miss two seasons of football due to national service training with the army.
“I think ’69 and ’70 were my two best years. In ’69 I won just about every award for the club.
“You played your best football against St George and Manly, and all these teams you hated.
“Playing against St George was a bit of an honour. In my first season we played (Reg) Gasnier, (John) Raper, (Brian) Poppa Clay and it was great playing against them.
“Raper was probably one of the best players I’ve ever seen.”
St George dominated Bryant’s era winning an unprecedented 11 straight premierships between 1956-1966.
But he admitted rugby league is a completely different game these days.
Injuries were an afterthought according to the back-rower, and you played every week almost regardless of your complaint.
“You played for the team (back then).
“Those days you didn’t get injured. You did but you played. These days blokes get injured with a broken fingernail and they’re out for three weeks.
“You had to play in those days otherwise you came back through the grades. It was not fast, nowhere near as fast as today, but a lot tougher. If you got hit in the mouth you had to get up and grin about it whereas today with television it’s all there, you can’t do that.”
Bryant said his interest for the game hasn’t diminished but there are a lot of aspects he disagrees with.
“The football today, I still watch it, I watch it every week, I’ve got pay TV here and it’s still a great game to watch but I disagree with half the rules which I think are spoiling the game. But then again the game is all for television.”
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