Eric Weissel

Eric Weissel (1903–1972) was an Australian rugby league footballer, a state and national representative goal-kicking five-eighth. He played his club career in country New South Wales and is considered one of the nation's finest footballers of the 20th century.[1]

Eric Weissel

Weissel in 1930
Personal information
Full name	Eric Leslie Weissel
Born	1903
Died	1972 (aged 68–69)
Playing information
Position	Five-eighth
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1921–26 Cootamundra 1927–34 Temora 1935–36 Barmedman 1937 Narrandera 1938–39 Wagga Wagga Magpies Total 0 0 0 0 0 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1928 New South Wales 1928–30 Australia 8 8

Biography and Club career

Weissel was born in Cootamundra in 1903. He died in 1972.

Weissel played his entire club football career in his home area of the Riverina in southern New South Wales. He rejected offers from Sydney and England clubs, choosing instead to stay in the district he called home, and turned out with five different clubs during an 18-year career: Cootamundra, Temora, Barmedman, Narrandera and Wagga Wagga.[2] With Cootamundra he was captain during two years when they retained the regional Maher Cup with an unbeaten record. Weissel coached Wagga Magpies to win the Clayton Cup in 1939.[3]

Representative career

After being selected for New South Wales in 1928, Weissel made his international representative debut against a touring British side that same year, featuring in two Tests. He made the Australian squad for the 1929–30 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain, playing in three Tests and 17 tour matches. He topped the tour scoring tally with five tries and fifty-six goals on the tour. In the First Test at Hull, Weissel featured in the 31-8 Australian victory scoring a try and kicking five goals.

He played in all three Tests of the 1932 Domestic Ashes series against Great Britain, including the brutal "Battle of Brisbane" Test.

Weissel eighth from left, Kangaroos 1st Test 6 Jun 1932

Run-on side plus mgrs 6 Jun 1932 Weissel seated 2nd from left

Cricketer

Sean Fagan's rl1908.com site quotes a Donald Bradman biography which records that Weissel was playing for a Riverina representative side on 22 November 1926 at the Sydney Cricket Ground against a Southern Districts side in which Bradman was making his SCG debut. Weissel dismissed "the Don" for 43. [4]

Accolades

Since 1976 the Eric Weissel medal has been awarded to the best and fairest player of the season in the Riverina regional country rugby league competition.

The Eric Weissel Oval, a 10,000-seat stadium in Wagga Wagga was named in his honour.

In February 2008, Weissel 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.[5]

Eric Weissel

Eric Weissel Oval is disused today

See also

• Eric Weissel Oval

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

References

1. Century's Top 100 Players Archived 25 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine
2. Daniel Lewis, "How Kelly the bush ranger helped to hold up league's country riches", smh.com.au, 24 November 2009
3. "Football - Rugby League - Clayton Cup - Placed Teams' Records". The Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga). Wagga: National Library of Australia. 23 October 1939. p. 6. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
4. rl1908.com Blog mentioning Bradman and Weissel
5. "Centenary of Rugby League - The Players". NRL & ARL. 23 February 2008. Archived from the original on 26 February 2008. Retrieved 2008-02-23.