Brian Clay
Five-eighth, Lock
Player Bio
- Inducted:
- 2008
- Date of Birth:
- 18 April 1934
- Birthplace:
- Newtown, NSW
- Nickname:
- Poppa
- Debut Team:
- Newtown
- Date:
- 22 August 1953
- Opposition:
- Parramatta
- Venue:
- Erskineville Oval, Sydney
- Representative:
- Country, City, New South Wales, Australia
- Clubs:
- Newtown Bluebags, Griffith, St George Dragons
Career
Milestones
- Premierships: 1957-61, 1964-66
- Grand Final man of the match*: 1961
- Kangaroo Tour: 1959-60
- Rated No. 68 in Rugby League Week’s Top 100 players: 1992
Playing
- First Class Games
- 288
- Points
- 170
- Tries
- 56
Biography
Brian ''Poppa'' Clay was a wrecking ball at five-eighth, squat and powerful and a killer in defence. In many ways, Clay was the ''glue'' that held St George together so reliably through the Saints' greatest era — between powerful forwards and a gifted three-quarter line he was both the linkman and an immovable object.
He played in eight of the grand finals in Saints' 11-year run, missing only when broken arms beat him in 1962 and 1963.
Like Johnny Raper, he was a Newtown player who got away, wearing the royal blue jumper between 1953 and 1955 (appearing in two losing grand-final sides), straying to country club Griffith in 1956, and then Saints in 1957.
Hooker Ian Walsh was to declare in later years: ''Wally Lewis wouldn't have held a candle to Brian Clay.''
He was a centre and lock at Newtown, but an injury to Greg Hawick in the opening match of the 1957 World Cup (in which Clay played lock) saw him switched to five-eighth for the rest of the tournament. At St George, he made the five-eighth position his own.
Clay's Australian career was limited to that World Cup and the 1959–60 Kangaroo tour, when he played in all three Ashes Tests and two Tests in France and received rave reviews from English critics. His club career ended in 1967, by which time he had played 183 games for the Saints.
“Wally Lewis wouldn’t have held a candle to Brian Clay.”
Ian Walsh Former St George hooker
53. Brian Clay - Hall of Fame
Career Stats
Club Career
| Team Name | Competition | Year Start | Year End | Played | Tries | Goals | Field Goals | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newtown Bluebags | Premiership | 1953 | 1955 | 30 | 11 | - | - | 33 |
| Griffith | Group 20 Competition | 1956 | 1956 | - | - | - | - | - |
| St George Dragons | Premiership | 1957 | 1967 | 183 | 33 | - | - | 99 |
| St George Dragons | Official Pre-Season | 1962 | 1967 | 26 | 1 | - | - | 3 |
| St George Dragons | Touring Sides | 1962 | 1962 | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| St George Dragons | Ampol Cup | 1963 | 1963 | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| St George Dragons | State Cup | 1964 | 1965 | 4 | - | - | - | - |
Representative Career
City - Country
| Team Name | Opponent | Year Start | Year End | Played | Tries | Goals | Field Goals | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country Firsts | City Firsts | 1956 | 1956 | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| City Firsts | Country Firsts |
1957
1961 |
1959
1961 |
4 | 2 | - | - | 6 |
| City Seconds | Country Seconds |
1960
1962 |
1960
1962 |
2 | - | - | - | - |
State
| Team Name | Competition | Opponent | Year Start | Year End | Played | Tries | Goals | Field Goals | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | Interstate Series | Queensland | 1957 | 1959 | 7 | 3 | - | - | 9 |
| New South Wales | Touring Sides |
1959
1962 |
1959
1962 |
2 | - | - | - | - |
International
| Team Name | Competition | Year Start | Year End | Played | Tries | Goals | Field Goals | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | Tests and World Cup |
1957
1959 |
1957
1960 |
8 | 1 | - | - | 3 |
| Australia | Tour Matches | 1959 | 1960 | 16 | 4 | 1 | - | 14 |
| Australia | Rest of the World | 1957 | 1957 | 1 | - | - | - | - |
Other Representative
| Team Name | Opponent | Year Start | Year End | Played | Tries | Goals | Field Goals | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riverina | Maoris | 1956 | 1956 | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Southern NSW | New Zealand | 1956 | 1956 | 1 | 1 | - | - | 3 |
Hall of Fame Members
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.
