Duncan Thompson

Duncan Thompson

File:Duncan Thompson 1925.jpg
Personal information
Full name	Duncan Fulton Thompson
Position	Halfback

Duncan Fulton Thompson MBE (born 14 March 1895 in Warwick, Queensland, died 17 May 1980 in Auchenflower, Queensland) was an Australian rugby league footballer, coach and administrator.

Club career and wartime

A banker and skillful rugby league halfback, who commenced his club career in Queensland with Ipswich, Thompson moved to Sydney in 1916 where he played for Norths before enlisting in the First Australian Imperial Force in 1916 during World War I. He left Sydney in 1917 on HMAS Ayrshire with the 9/49th Battalion and saw active service in Belgium and France. In 1918 he was shot through the chest at Dernancourt, France but survived. He was told he would not play sport again and carried a bullet fragment in his body for the rest of his life.

After returning to Australia in 1919 Thompson joined the Commonwealth Bank and re-commenced his football career. He won premierships with Norths in 1921 and 1922 captaining the side in 1922. His departure from Sydney was bitter following a suspension on kicking charge which he steadfastly denied.

Returning to Queensland he captained the Toowoomba Clydesdales in 1924 and 1925, alongside Herb Steinohrt and Tom Gorman in the renowned Toowoomba sides which beat all-comers including Sydney premiers Souths, Brisbane, Ipswich and visiting representative sides including New South Wales, Victoria, Great Britain and New Zealand.

Representative career

He first represented for Queensland in 1915. After the war he made the 1919 tour of New Zealand in the first Australian full Test representative side to cross the Tasman. With the world still recovering from WWI and in the midst of the deadly Spanish flu pandemic, the side could only find passage to New Zealand on a cockroach and rat-infested cargo ship out of Newcastle harbour. Half-way across the Tasman, bites from the ship-bred vermin led to Thompson and "Chook" Fraser falling victim to blood-poisoned legs.

Along with other North Sydney stars in Harold Horder and Cec Blinkhorn he was selected on the 1921-22 Kangaroo tour playing in all three Tests and 23 tour matches and topping 100 points on the overall tour with 49 goals converted. His representative career closed in 1924 with two Test appearances in the Ashes series against the touring British Lions.

Post playing

He coached the Toowoomba Clydesdales to six victories in the Bulimba Cup in the 1950s. He was a state and national selector in the 1950s and 1960s.

Accolades

In 1929 the Duncan Thompson Stand at the North Sydney Oval was named after him. In 1960 Thompson was honoured as a Member (civil) of the Order of the British Empire for his contribution to sport.

In 2005 he was inducted into the Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame and in August, 2006 was named at halfback in the North Sydney Bears' team of the century.. In February 2008, Thompson was named in the list of Australia's 100 Greatest Players (1908-2007) which was commissioned by the NRL and ARL to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia.

Sources

• Whiticker, Alan & Hudson, Glen (2006) The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players, Gavin Allen Publishing, Sydney
• Andrews, Malcolm (2006) The ABC of Rugby League Austn Broadcasting Corpn, Sydney
• Centenary Test Game Day Souvenir Program (2008) , News Magazines, Surry Hills, Sydney

External links

• Duncan Thompson at the Online Dictionary of Australian Biographies
• Duncan Thompson stats at rugbyleagueproject.com
• [http://qrl.com.au/display.php?pg_id=958 Master Coach Joins Hall Of Fame - article at qrl.com.au
• Queensland Team of the Century named - article at nz.leagueunlimited.com