Ken Thornett

Ken Thornett

Personal information
Nickname	The Mayor of Parramatta
Born	27 November 1937 Waverley, New South Wales
Playing information
Position	fullback
Club
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
1962–71	Parramatta Eels	129	17	0	6	63
1961–62	Leeds	?				?
	Total		17	0	6
Representative
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
1963–67	New South Wales	3	0	0	0	0
1963–64	Australia	12	6	0	0	18
Coaching information
Club
Years	Team	Gms	W	D	L	W%
1965–66	Parramatta Eels	36	19	3	14	53
Source: Rugby League Project, Yesterday's Hero

Ken Thornett (born 27 November 1937) is an Australian former rugby league fullback. He represented the Kangaroos in twelve Tests during 1963 and 1964 and on the off-season Kangaroo Tour.

Club and representative career

Thornett began his career playing first grade rugby union with Randwick, and was the youngest player ever to be selected to play in a first grade union side. Switching to rugby league, Thornett played with Leeds for several seasons and played fullback in Leeds’ 9-19 defeat by Wakefield Trinity in the 1961 Yorkshire Cup final during the 1961–62 season at Odsal Stadium, Bradford on Saturday 11 November 1961.

Ken Thornett was initially expected to sign with South Sydney upon a proposed return to Australia for the 1962 season; however negotiations with the Rabbitohs fell through and he signed with Parramatta.^[1] Although Ken Thornett played only seven games in his first season, six wins and a draw whilst he was playing lifted Parramatta to their first-ever finals position after having taken eight “wooden spoons” and won just 20 percent of their matches between 1952 and 1961. Thornett played regularly with Parramatta from 1963 and totalled 136 games for the blue and golds.

Thornett was the leading Australian rugby league fullback in the early 1960s after Keith Barnes and before Les Johns and Graeme Langlands.

Ken played in all six Tests of the 1963 Kangaroo tour and in 10 minor tour games. He made a further six Test appearances and by the end of his representative career in 1964 had played three Tests each against Great Britain and New Zealand, five against France and one against South Africa.

Ken Thornett captain-coached Parramatta in 1965 and 1966, but a dispute with the club saw him seek a transfer to Eastern Suburbs,^[2] but the blue and golds would not release him from the two years remaining on his contract^[3] without a large transfer fee.^[4] Ken Thornett retired at the end of 1968, but returned for one season under Ian Walsh in 1971 and helped Parramatta rise from last to fourth.

Sporting family

Ken and his two brothers were all exemplary sportsmen. John Thornett was a Wallabies captain who played 37 rugby union Tests for Australia over a distinguished 13-year career from 1955. Dick Thornett represented Australia at water polo, rugby league and rugby union. Much of Dick and Ken’s club football career was played together at Parramatta and they have the very rare distinction of having played three international rugby league Tests together on the 1963–64 Kangaroo Tour.

Accolades

In 1965 he was named NSW Player of the Year. The western grandstand of Parramatta Stadium was named the Ken Thornett Stand in his honour.

In February 2008, Thornett 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.^[5][6]

External links

• Ken Thornett at eraofthebiff.com
• Profile at leedsrugby

Footnotes

1. ‘Leeds’ Full-Back “Verbal Contract”: Thornett Accepts Offer by P’Matta’; Sydney Morning Herald, 17 April 1962, p. 29
2. Clarkson, Alan; ‘Thornett to Seek Transfer’; Sydney Morning Herald, 15 December 1966, p.
3. ‘Thornett to See Solicitor’; Sydney Morning Herald, 20 December 1966, p. 23
4. Goodman, Tom; ‘Thornett Made Player-Coach Offer by Wagga’; Sydney Morning Herald, 16 December 1966, p. 18
5. Peter Cassidy (2008-02-23). "Controversy reigns as NRL releases top 100 players". Macquarie National News. Retrieved 2008-02-23.
6. "Centenary of Rugby League - The Players". NRL & ARL. 2008-02-23. Retrieved 2008-02-23.