This week’s announcement that a Perth-based NRL club will join the premiership in 2027 – in conjunction with North Sydney Bears, who have been pressing for readmission in some form since the capitulation of the Northern Eagles – has rocked the rugby league world.
It’s an emotional return, albeit on the other side of the continent, for long-suffering Bears supporters and exciting for the average neutral fan – particular those with a sense of history and nostalgia.
North Sydney was a 1908 foundation club, but it’s narrative in the competition has strong overtones of disappointment, underachievement, decades in the doldrums and finals heartache, with just premierships in 1921-22 and one further grand final in 1943 to show for 92 seasons.
Nevertheless, the Bears maintain a cherished place in rugby league folklore – not least of all because of the iconic players who have donned the black-and-red jersey. We present to you the 20 greatest North Sydney Bears players.
Sid Deane – 35 games (1908, 1912-14, 1917, 1919)
Pioneering five-eighth or centre Deane played for NSW against the fabled New Zealand ‘All Golds’ during the NSWRL’s foundation 1908 season, before touring with the original Kangaroos and playing in two Tests against England.
He stayed on in Britain with Oldham but returned to Norths in 1912 and captained Australia in all three Tests of the home series against England in 1914. After two seasons with Hull, Deane came back for his third stint with Norths in 1917. He was named as a reserve in Norths’ Team of the Century in 2006.
Jim Devereux – 21 games (1908, 1910-13, 1922)
Devereux played just 21 first grade games for North Sydney, but such is his status as a pioneering great, the centre was named in the club’s Team of the Century in 2006.
A foundation Norths player in 1908, Devereux played in three Tests against New Zealand before embarking on the inaugural Kangaroo Tour. He top-scored with 17 tries, including a hat-trick in the drawn first Test against England.
Devereux spent long and successful stints with Hull either side of a 1910-13 term with North Sydney and returned in his mid-30s to play three games in Norths’ 1922 premiership success.
Cec Blinkhorn – 93 games (1914-18, 1920-23)
One of the great wingers, Blinkhorn was a productive try-scorer for several seasons for Norths before spending the 1919 season at Souths.
He returned to Norths the following season along with fellow wing champion Harold Horder and was integral to the club’s halcyon era of the early-1920s, setting club records for tries in a match (five in 1920) and a season (20 in 1922).
Blinkhorn toured with the 1921-22 Kangaroos, scoring a record 39 tries in just 29 games. He scored two tries in Norths’ 35-3 final win over Balmain to secure the ’22 title, while his tally of 79 tries remained a club record until bettered by Ken Irvine.
Blinkhorn returned to Souths for a season with Horder in 1924, making the last of his four Test appearances against Great Britain. While he was unlucky to miss out to Horder for a place in Norths’ Team of the Century, Blinkhorn was named as one of Australia’s 100 Greatest Players in 2008.
Duncan Thompson – 58 games (1916, 1920-23)
All-time great Queensland-born halfback Thompson played for North Sydney in 1916 before serving in World War I. He made his Test debut in 1919 and returned to the club the following season.
Thompson was the architect of Norths’ 1921-22 premiership triumphs, captaining the latter and directing their star-studded backline with expert precision.
He played five Tests while at the club – encompassing the 1920 Ashes series success and the 1921-22 Kangaroo Tour – but left Sydney in protest of a controversial suspension meted out to him in 1923 on a kicking charge.
Thompson, who further enhanced his reputation in Toowoomba, had a stand named after him at North Sydney Oval in 1929 and was chosen as North Sydney’s Team of the Century halfback in 2006.
Herman Peters – 101 games (1917-25)
Brilliant centre Peters more than held his own in Norths’ champion backline of the 1920s, which is regarded as one of the best club combinations of all time.
A star of the 1921-22 premiership successes, he was one of five Norths players to tour with the ’21-22 Kangaroos – although he only played four matches abroad and was destined not to play a Test for Australia.
A NSW rep in 1923, Peters scored a career-high 16 tries in just 16 games for Norths that year, while he captained the club later in his career as one of the last remnants of their title-winning line-ups.
He finished with 62 tries from 101 games and was arguably the most notable absentee from North Sydney’s Team of the Century in 2006.
Harold Horder – 50 games (1920-23)
Incomparable winger Horder – a South Sydney legend – spent four seasons of his phenomenal career with North Sydney, helping the club to unparalleled success.
The dazzling Test star joined Norths in 1920 – his ninth season of first grade – and scored 50 tries in four seasons, including four in a final-round victory over Wests which secured the club’s maiden, first-past-the-post premiership victory in 1921 of which he was the captain.
He scored 35 tries in 25 games on the subsequent Kangaroo Tour, before racking up 17 touchdowns in Norths’ 1922 premiership season. Horder returned to Souths two years later, while he ousted long-time wing partner Cec Blinkhorn for a place in the North Sydney Team of the Century in 2006.
Norm Strong – 210 games (1949-62)
Widely regarded as one of the great clubmen of premiership football, Strong’s mark of 210 first-grade games stood as a North Sydney record for more than three decades after his retirement.
The consistent, hardworking hooker was part Norths’ 1952-54 finals campaigns, including the side which lost the ’52 final to South Sydney.
The likes of Kevin Schubert, Ken Kearney and Noel Kelly thwarted his representative aspirations, but Strong was nevertheless a highly-valued part of the Bears’ set-up, repealing his decision to retire at the end of 1960 to spend two more seasons with the club.
Peter Diversi – 63 games (1952-55)
A tough, mobile lock renowned for his punishing tackles and outstanding cover defence, Diversi played seven interstate matches for NSW and five Tests for Australia during his four seasons at North Sydney.
The Wollongong product was a key part of the Norths side which qualified for finals series in 1953-54 but left to captain-coach in the country in ’56 before returning to Sydney with Manly. Diversi was named lock in Norths’ Team of the Century in 2006.
Brian Carlson – 72 games (1957-62)
A supremely gifted backline superstar who rates alongside Australia’s finest players of all time, Carlson spent six sparkling seasons at North Sydney, scoring 31 tries and 515 points.
Equally devastating at fullback, wing or centre, he was an automatic Test selection while playing in Newcastle and Wollongong, before joining Norths in 1957.
The club failed to reach the finals during his tenure but he was brilliant nonetheless and made the last 15 (two as captain) of his 23 Test appearances while a Norths player – including starring roles in the 1957 World Cup success and on the 1959-60 Kangaroo Tour.
Carlson was named at fullback in North Sydney’s Team of the Century in 2006.
Ken Irvine – 176 games (1959-70)
ARL Team of the Century winger Irvine, the premiership’s greatest-ever tryscorer, was named North Sydney’s Clubman of the Century by the Men of League – due recognition of his stunning record of 171 tries in 176 games in a team that largely struggled during his tenure.
The flying flankman scored at least 13 tries in each of his 12 seasons in Bears colours, a testament to his durability as well as his devastating ability, while he was a driving force in Norths’ run to rare finals appearances in 1964-65.
He made all of his 33 Test appearances (33 tries) for Australia – including three Kangaroo Tours – and 25 interstate appearances (28 tries) for NSW while at Norths.
Irvine captained the Bears later in his career (infamously attempting to lead his team off the field in protest at Keith Page’s refereeing in a 1970 match) before joining Manly and winning Grand Finals in the last two seasons of his glittering career.
Billy Wilson – 54 games (1963-67)
Hard nut front-rower Wilson played the last four seasons of the longest career in first-grade history with North Sydney.
The St George great played the last three of his 11 Tests for Australia in his first year at Norths, captaining his country against New Zealand before touring with the 1963-64 Kangaroos.
A broken leg kept him out of the Bears’ ’64 finals campaign, but he was a key part of the side that reached the 1965 preliminary final.
Taking on the role of non-playing coach in 1967, Wilson came out of retirement to play three games for his injury-riddled team, becoming the first player to appear in first grade at the age of 40 and the first player whose career spanned 20 seasons.
He was named as a prop in Norths’ Team of the Century in 2006.
Ross Warner – 186 games (1963-74)
Warner took over the hooker position from club stalwart Norm Strong, who was the only player in Norths’ history Warner trailed on the club’s appearances roster by the time he retired.
The Tamworth product made three appearances for NSW early in his tenure with the Bears and was a non-playing reserve for Australia against France in 1964.
Warner’s only finals appearances came in his first two seasons in Sydney, but he captained the club during the early-1970s. He ousted the likes of Strong and John Gray to be named hooker in the Bears’ Team of the Century in 2006.
Fred Griffiths – 68 games (1963-66)
South African Rugby Union convert Griffiths joined Norths in 1963 after a decorated stint with Wigan. The goalkicking fullback immediately assumed the captain-coach role and steered the club to finals appearances in 1964-65 – Norths’ first in a decade and their last for 17 years.
He topped the premiership’s pointscoring in all four of his seasons with the Bears, including a then-club record total of 177 in 1965, and left to captain-coach in the country after tallying 590 points in red and black.
Griffiths also represented South Africa in its historic Test series against Australia in 1963 and captained Other Nationalities against Sydney Colts the following season.
Don McKinnon – 183 games (1977-88)
Steeped in North Sydney tradition as the son of long-serving player, coach and president Harry McKinnon, Don was an intimidating prop in 12 seasons of first grade with the club.
He was the engine-room cornerstone of the Bears’ first finals appearance in 17 years in 1982, while he represented NSW in one Origin and toured with the ‘Invincibles’ Kangaroos squad at the end of the year, making his sole Test appearance against Papua New Guinea.
His total of 183 games was third in club history at the time, but his one-season, six-game stint with Manly in 1988 at the end of his career is mostly remembered for urinating on Lang Park during the Broncos’ first-ever game.
Mark Graham – 146 games (1981-88)
Adorned with the ‘world’s best second-rower’ tag for much of the 1980s, New Zealand Player of the Century Graham was a devastating performer for a North Sydney side which largely struggled during his eight seasons with the club.
The unwaveringly tough and skilful forward helped the Bears to their first finals series in 17 years in 1982 and was named Dally M Second-rower of the Year in 1982-83, while he skippered the Bears for the bulk of his time in Sydney.
The long-serving Kiwi captain made 16 of his 29 Test appearances from Norths. He later coached in the club’s lower grades, but his NRL head coach stint with the Auckland Warriors was a disaster.
Graham claimed a second-row spot in Norths’ Team of the Century named in 2006 and later became the first New Zealander to be inducted into the NRL Hall of Fame.
Greg Florimo – 285 games (1986-98)
A strong-running centre or robust five-eighth who dabbled in the back-row, Florimo became a North Sydney club legend in a 13-season first grade career, racking up a record 285 games for the Bears – the most appearances for one club in premiership history at the time.
He made one appearance for NSW in 1988 before falling off the selectors’ radar, but enjoyed a representative renaissance after a career-best ’94 season for Norths.
Florimo was selected in the Kangaroo Tour squad, playing two Ashes Tests, before playing all three matches for the Blues in ’95 and featuring in two further Tests against New Zealand.
The durable utility never played less than 18 games in a season, while he played in all four of the Bears’ agonising preliminary final defeats during the 1990s.
A centre in North Sydney’s Team of the Century named in 2006, while he has since been at the forefront of the Bears’ long-term push for NRL re-inclusion as CEO.
Gary Larson – 234 games (1987-99)
Gladstone forward Larson was an invaluable workhorse in 13 seasons at North Sydney, racking up the second-most first grade appearance in the club’s history.
A tireless second-rower who regularly tallied astounding tackle counts, the blonde-haired Larson gravitated towards the front-row later in his career.
He played a then-Origin record 24 consecutive matches for Queensland from 1991-98, while he was an unlucky omission from ’94 Kangaroo Tour squad, Larson played nine Tests for Australia during the Super League war years – including the ’95 World Cup final victory at Wembley.
Larson, a prop in Norths’ Team of the Century, played in four preliminary finals for the Bears but was sent off in the ’94 loss to Canberra.
David Fairleigh – 193 games (1989-99)
A mobile, dynamic backrower in the Bradley Clyde mould, Fairleigh was one of Norths’ most regular representative players during their 1990s renaissance.
Fifth on the Bears’ all-time appearance register and with 37 tries to his credit, the Central Coast junior featured in the club’s 1994-98 finals campaigns, claiming the Rothmans Medal in 1994 and finishing second to teammate Jason Taylor in ’96.
He represented NSW in 10 Origins from 1991-97, toured with the ’94 Kangaroos and played five Tests for Australia. He was named alongside Mark Graham in the second-row in Norths’ Team of the Century.
Jason Taylor – 147 games (1994-99)
Former Wests halfback Taylor was Norths’ halfback and linchpin in the last 147 consecutive games – 136 of them as captain.
Although his running and defensive capabilities were below that of his elite No.7 rivals, Taylor was an outstanding ball-player and director of play with a superb all-round kicking game.
He ranks as one of the great goalkickers of all time, and chalked up the only four season totals above 200 points in Norths’ history amongst a club record 1,274 career points. Taylor led the Bears to preliminary finals in 1994 and ’96-97, while he won the last Rothmans Medal in 1996.
Representative opportunities were scarce for Taylor, but the ’93 NSW Origin rep played for City twice while at Norths.
Billy Moore – 211 games (1989-99)
Hardworking, inspirational lock Moore chalked up the third-most appearances in North Sydney’s history.
Underlining his durability by playing 20 games or more in every season from 1992-98, Moore also represented Queensland in 17 straight matches during that period as one of the decade’s most iconic Origin performers.
Moore also made four Test appearances during the Super League war years. He scored 34 tries for the club and appeared in all four of the Bears’ preliminary finals losses during the ’90s, while he was named as a reserve in Norths’ Team of the Century in 2006.
The Maroons icon is also a North Sydney director.