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Billy Rayner

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Billy Rayner
Personal information
Full nameWilliam Frederick Rayner
Born(1935-05-22)22 May 1935
Yass, New South Wales, Australia
Died18 July 2006(2006-07-18) (aged 71)
Playing information
PositionHooker
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1956–67 Parramatta 195 7 0 0 21
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1957–64 NSW City Firsts 3 0 0 0 0
1960 New South Wales 2 0 0 0 0
1960 Australia 2 0 0 0 0
Source: [1]

Billy Rayner (22 May 1935 – 18 July 2006) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s.

Career

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Originally from Yass, New South Wales, Billy Rayner went on to play 195 games for Parramatta during a long 11-year career between 1956 and 1966. Rayner's playing career with Parramatta was during a very difficult period in the club's history where they struggled on the field for many years due to having limited resources and a weak playing roster. Rayner collected 6 wooden spoons in his career at Parramatta.[2] He went through a period of 161 successive first grade games without scoring a try, an Australian rugby league record.[3]

He also represented both New South Wales and Australia on two occasions each in 1960. He is listed on the Australian Players Register as Kangaroo No. 360.[4] His usual position was as at hooker.[5] He later went on to be a director of the Parramatta Eels's club.[6] In 1967, Rayner was made a life member of the Parramatta club.[7]

In 1995 Rayner was awarded life membership of the New South Wales Rugby League. In 2004, Rayner was inducted into the Parramatta clubs Hall of Fame.[8] He died after a short illness in July 2006, aged 71.[9]

References

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  1. ^ Rugby League Project
  2. ^ Seven clubs in mix for NRL wooden spoon and the most unwanted tag in rugby league
  3. ^ "Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  4. ^ ARL Annual Report 2005
  5. ^ Whiticker, Alan; Hudson, Glen (2007). The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players (5th ed.). Sydney, Australia: Gary Allen. pp. 454–5. ISBN 978-1-877082-93-1.
  6. ^ "Home". Rugby League Project.
  7. ^ "Parramatta National Rugby League Life Members". Parramatta Eels.
  8. ^ "Parramatta National Rugby League Hall of Fame". Parramatta Eels.
  9. ^ Sydney Morning Herald- Death Notice 21 July 2006