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| 1980-81 2nd Grade Premiers led by John Roberts |
John had three careers with Waratahs, beginning as a young man in the late fifties playing some important roles at times in the A Grade side as a left arm orthodox spin bowler and a late order batsman whose confidence grew with practise. When he left the club in the mid 1960's, his legacy was a trophy he had instigated which would bear his name and reward the most promising junior of each season. Some fair cricketers can find their name engraved: Mike Connolly, Peter Snell, Jason Kelleher and Daniel Ryan to name but a few. John returned to play an important leadership role at Waratahs, captaining the lower grade sides for several seasons, being runners up in 1974-75 (A Res) and 1981-82 (3rd Grade) but winning a premiership with the mighty Waratahs Vets in 1980-81 (2nd Grade) ... a dream team if ever there was one. They beat the other Waratahs team in the final, the one where all the blokes were under 40!
John also fulfilled other leadership roles within the club. When I arrived at my first training session in early 1979, it was John who greeted me, introduced me to players and shepherded my first weeks at the club. He was a shrewd selector and a quiet but very determined man with a thoughtful knowledge of the game and the courage to back his judgement.
Waratahs acknowledges and salutes his contribution on and off the field. As we knew him, he was a team mate, a mentor, a friend and he leaves us to be in very good company.
A service will be conducted for John at Piddington's of Armidale at 2:00pm on Wednesday 4th April.
Team mates are invited to leave a comment below or you may email me with your comment and I'll post it for you plangsto@bigpond,net.au
Deeply saddened and feeling like the titans of my youth are all becoming mortal.
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