November 17: Holmes' fantastic five; Jess and RTS strike gold

On this day, Australian winger Lionel Cooper scores 10 tries in an English club match, Valentine Holmes bags five in a Test for the Kangaroos and Billy Slater is named best in the world.

1951   

Australian winger Lionel Cooper scores an astonishing 10 tries in one match playing for Huddersfield against Keighley in the English competition.

1956

Former Australian forward Les Boyd was born. The Western Suburbs and Manly second-rower represented NSW in three State of Origins and was also a member of the all-conquering 1982 Kangaroo Tour squad.

Boyd was responsible for one of the most infamous incidents in rugby league history - his high shot on Queensland forward Darryl Brohman in an Origin match in 1983 which led to him being handed a 12-month suspension.

1993   

In a landmark agreement between the NSWRL and the players' union, suspended players will forfeit 1/30th of their salaries for every week they are suspended from 1994. Following a recommendation by the chief executives a rule change will be trialled in the Tooheys Challenge whereby scrums and penalty restarts will be taken 20 metres from the sideline. The move, proposed by Canberra’s Tim Sheens, is designed to open up the game.

1994   

Canterbury chief executive Peter Moore says a Super League should not be rushed. The proposal should be targeted for 2000, not 1996, he says.

2000   

Northern Eagles captain Geoff Toovey is nominated for life membership of the Manly Warringah Rugby League club.

2001   

Australia level the Ashes series with a thumping 40-12 victory over Great Britain at Bolton.

2008   

New Zealand and Manly centre Steve Matai prepares for shoulder and neck surgery and will miss the World Cup final.

2010   

Former Cronulla coach Ricky Stuart is recalled as NSW State of Origin coach until the end of the 2013 series.

2013   

Fiji are confirmed as Australia’s semi-final opponents when they down Samoa 22-4 in Warrington.

2017   

Winger Valentine Holmes rewrites the record books with five tries in Australia’s 46-0 defeat of Samoa in a World Cup quarter-final in Darwin. He is the first player to score five tries in a Test for Australia.

2018   

Jamaica’s Reggae Warriors stage a major international boilover by defeating the USA 16-10 in Jacksonville to qualify for the 2021 World Cup.

2019

Roger Tuivasa-Sheck and Jessica Sergis won the prestigious men’s and women’s Golden Boot awards as the best international players of 2019. Tuivasa-Sheck, the Kiwis and Warriors fullback, edged out Tonga prop Siosiua Taukeiaho and New Zealand teammate Jared Waeraa-Hargreaves, the Sydney Roosters' front-row pairing. Sergis beat Jillaroos teammate Ali Brigginshaw, England captain Emily Rudge and Papua New Guinea Orchids skipper Elsie Albert for the international honour.

This article contains information from the official records of NRL historian David Middleton.