Frank Burge

Frank Burge had few peers when it came to forward play in the early years of rugby league.

Time after time over the long years after his retirement, he was called ''the greatest forward Australia has produced''.

Standing at 183cm and weighing a lean 90kg, Burge set new standards for lock-forward play, and often loomed up in support of his three-quarters after long breaks.

Burge scored tries at a phenomenal rate for a forward. He maintained an average of better than a try per game in a career that lasted 17 seasons.

He played predominantly for the old Glebe club, but in his final years spent two seasons playing in the Maher Cup with Grenfell before a final season with St George in 1927.

Burge established try-scoring records that are never likely to be broken. He holds the record for most tries in a premiership game: eight for Glebe against University in 1920.

He scored 33 tries in 23 tour matches for the Kangaroos in 1921–22 and by the end of his career had amassed 218 tries in 213 senior matches.

Burge played 154 games at premiership level. He was a first-grader at 16 and was a strong chance of being chosen for the 1911–12 Kangaroo tour in his first season, but selectors decided he was too young.

He later became a respected coach with St George, Easts, Newtown, Canterbury, Wests and Norths. However, despite his wonderful achievements, Burge never won a premiership as either player or coach.