1. Frank Burge was one of the greatest forwards in the history of rugby league in Australia.
19 Facts About Frank Burge
1. 2.
Frank Burge represented New South Wales on twenty-six occasions and played thirteen test matches for the Kangaroos and played for Australia in a further twenty-three tour matches.
3.
Frank Burge was a teetotaller who was way ahead of his time in observing a strict diet, he used coaching concepts familiar in modern sports psychology and upheld an all-year training regime that continued right through the long Sydney summer off-season.
4.
Frank Burge debuted for Australia in the domestic 1914 Ashes series against Great Britain appearing in all three Tests.
5.
Frank Burge is listed on the Australian Players Register as Kangaroo No 88.
6.
Frank Burge was the New South Wales Rugby Football League's top try-scorer in 1915,1916 and 1918 an extremely rare feat in even one year for a forward.
7.
Frank Burge played 16 seasons and a record 148 first grade games for Glebe and was club captain for many years.
8.
Frank Burge moved to St George in 1927, retired as a player at the end of that season, and coached the club for a further three seasons.
9.
Frank Burge maintained an average of a try a game for seventeen seasons scoring 218 tries in 213 senior matches with 146 coming from his 154 Sydney first grade matches.
10.
Frank Burge's first coaching job was with St George between 1927 and 1930.
11.
Frank Burge coached the club to the 1927 and 1930 grand finals where St George were defeated on both occasions.
12.
Frank Burge had similar success with Newtown in 1940 taking them to the finals after a second-placed finish.
13.
Frank Burge returned to North Sydney in 1945 and once more guided them to the finals.
14.
Frank Burge was awarded life membership of the New South Wales Rugby League in 1935.
15.
On 5 July 1958, after watching a Newtown versus North Sydney match at Henson Park, Frank Burge died suddenly after suffering a heart attack, 41 days short of his 64th birthday.
16.
In February 2008, Frank Burge was named in the list of Australia's 100 Greatest Players which was commissioned by the NRL and ARL to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia.
17.
Frank Burge went on to be named as an interchange player in Australian rugby league's Team of the Century.
18.
Uniquely, Frank Burge is the only Immortal who has not won a NRL, NSWRL or BRL Premiership.
19.
On 20 July 2022, Frank Burge was named in the St George Dragons District Rugby League Clubs team of the century as head coach.