Benny Wearing

Infobox rugby league biography
playername = Benny Wearing
fullname = Benny Wearing


caption =
country =
position = Winger
currentclub =
dateofbirth = 1901
placeofbirth =
countryofbirth =
dateofdeath = 1968
placeofdeath =
countryofdeath =
height =
weight =
club1 = South Sydney
year1start = 1921
year1end = 33
appearances1 = 172
tries1 =
goals1 =
fieldgoals1 =
points1 = 836
teamA = New South Wales
yearAstart = 1924
yearAend = 32
appearancesA = 21
triesA =
goalsA =
fieldgoalsA =
pointsA = 117
teamB = Australia
yearBstart = 1928
yearBend = 38
appearancesB = 1
triesB =
goalsB =
fieldgoalsB =
pointsB = 12
updated =
source =
new = yes

Benny Wearing (1901 - 1968) was an Australian rugby league player, a star of the 1920s to 30s for the South Sydney Rabbitohs. He made a single appearance in 1928 for the Australian national representative side.

Club records

He was a prodigious try scoring Wing three-quarter and played a major part in South Sydney's seven premiership victories between 1925 and 1932. He played 173 first grade games for Souths between 1921 and 1933 which stood as the club record till Jack Rayner eclipsed it in the late 1950s.

He scored 836 points for the Rabbitohs (144 tries and 202 goals) which stood as the club record for several decades. Today that achievement remains in 3rd place on the club's all-time point scoring list behind Bernie Purcell and ahead of Johnny Graves.

His 144 career tries for the Rabbitohs stills stands as the club record.

For the seasons 1925 and 1928 he was the NSW Rugby League's top point scorer and in three consecutive seasons from 1926 to 1928 he was the League's top try scorer, a feat only ever achieved by two other players - Gordon Wright in the 1920s and Nathan Blacklock 1999 to 2001.

Representative career

He debuted for Australia in the 3rd dead rubber Test of 1928 against the touring British Lions side. He scored two tries and kicked three goals to help Australia to a 21 to 14 victory at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

In spite of that contribution and good club form in 1929 he was overlooked by selectors for the 1929-1930 Kangaroo Squad.

Accolades

In February 2008, Wearing was named in the list of Australia's "100 Greatest Players" (1908-2007) which was commissioned by the NRL and ARL to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia. [cite news|author=Peter Cassidy |publisher="Macquarie National News"|title=Controversy reigns as NRL releases top 100 players |url=http://www.livenews.com.au/Articles/2008/02/22/Controversy_reigns_as_NRL_releases_top_100_players |accessdate=2008-02-23|date=2008-02-23] [cite web|publisher="NRL & ARL"|title=Centenary of Rugby League - The Players |url=http://www.centenaryofrugbyleague.com.au/site/the-players.aspx?cat=3&list=true |accessdate=2008-02-23|date=2008-02-23]

References

* Andrews, Malcolm (2006) "The ABC of Rugby League", Austn Broadcasting Corpn, Sydney
* NRL Official 2007 Season Guide, News Magazines Surry Hills Sydney, for the National Rugby League

Footnotes