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HallOfFame

Norm Provan

Second row

Player Bio

Inducted:
2008
Date of Birth:
18 December 1931
Birthplace:
Urana, NSW
Nickname:
Sticks
Debut Team:
St George
Date:
07 April 1951
Opposition:
Manly
Venue:
Kogarah Oval, Sydney
Representative:
City, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Club:
St George

Career

Milestones

  • Premierships: 1956-61, 1962-65
  • Kangaroo Tour: 1956-57
  • NSWRL Player of the Year: 1958
  • Sun-Herald Best and Fairest: 1954
  • Grand Final man of the match*: 1957-58, 1963
  • Australian Rugby League Team of the Century: 2008
  • New South Wales Team of the Century: 2008
  • Rated No. 26 in Rugby League Week’s Top 100 players: 1992
  • Named in NRL Team of the 1950s: 2007
  • Premierships: 1956-65
  • Immortal: 2018

Playing

First Class Games
351
Points
281
Tries
93

Biography

Norm Provan was a giant of the game in every respect. Apart from his imposing stature (he stood 193cm), Provan was a towering figure for St George in their record run of premiership wins and for Australia in 18 Test and World Cup appearances.

At Test level, he formed one of Australia's most revered back-row partnerships with Queensland and later Western Suburbs second-rower Kel O'Shea.

It was Provan's efforts for St George that helped cement his legend in the game.

He played in 10 of St George's 11 successive grand-final victories, the last five as captain-coach. He bowed out in 1965, when the Dragons triumphed 12–8 over Souths in front of 78,056 spectators.

In 1957, EE Christensen wrote how Provan with his stellar performances had gained for himself ''a niche in rugby league history along with the Burges, Pearces, Treweekes (sic) and Narvos ... Provan's crashing runs were a feature of the World Cup and, never a shiner, he was just as hard with his tackling as he was brilliant in attack.''

Provan was born in the NSW Riverina, went to school in the North Sydney district, and trialled unsuccessfully with Eastern Suburbs before joining St George from the Sutherland juniors.

''Provan was born to lead,'' wrote Ian Heads in March of the Dragons. ''His honesty, ambition, will to win, courage, dignity, modesty, pride in achievement, loyalty and fair play fitted him perfectly for the task.''

“One of the worst to play against, one of the best to play alongside.”

Kel O’Shea Australian team-mate and second-row partner

Norm Provan - Immortal

Career Stats

Club Career

Club
Team Name Competition Year Start Year End Played Tries Goals Field Goals Points
St George Dragons Premiership 1951 1965 256 63 1 - 191
St George Dragons City Cup 1959 1959 1 1 - - 3
St George Dragons Touring Sides 1962 1963 2 - - - -
St George Dragons Official Pre-Season 1962 1965 21 3 - - 9
St George Dragons State Cup 1964 1965 4 2 - - 6

Representative Career

City - Country

City - Country
Team Name Opponent Year Start Year End Played Tries Goals Field Goals Points
City Seconds Country Seconds 1953 1953 1 - - - -
City Firsts Country Firsts
1954
1957
1962
1955
1960
1962
7 7 - - 21
Sydney
1954
1958
1960
1954
1958
1960
3 - - - -

State

State
Team Name Competition Opponent Year Start Year End Played Tries Goals Field Goals Points
New South Wales Interstate Series Queensland 1954 1961 20 4 - - 12
New South Wales Touring Sides
1954
1959
1954
1960
5 2 - - 6

International

International
Team Name Competition Year Start Year End Played Tries Goals Field Goals Points
Australia Tests and World Cup
1954
1956
1954
1960
18 8 - - 24
Australia Tour Matches 1956 1957 12 2 - - 6
Australia Rest of the World 1957 1957 1 1 - - 3

Hall of Fame Members

Acknowledgement of Country

National Rugby League respects and honours the Traditional Custodians of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and future. We acknowledge the stories, traditions and living cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on the lands we meet, gather and play on.

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