John Sattler - Glory, Glory

For a sport that provides so many thrills and bruises, week in and week out, it is surprising that the truly iconic images of rugby league can be counted on one hand. Norm Provan and Arthur Summons muddy Grand Final embrace. Terry Hill and Gorden Tallis going toe-to-toe. A bloodied Benny Elias hugging his mum after a State of Origin triumph.

And then theres the image of John Sattler being carried from the field, the victorious, broken-jawed captain who had brought more glory to his club and carved his name deep in the history of South Sydney and the game of rugby league.

Still today, any evidence of true courage on the field is immediately judged by the Sattler scale. Few, if any, moments have ever bettered it. The legend of John Sattler still casts its inspiring shadow over South Sydney.

Johns image is in the clubs rooms; I play to win. Everybody knows that is the mantra attached. The simple fact that he remains such an inspirational figure at the club he played for so many decades ago speaks volumes.

Now, at last, every South Sydney member and fan, and all lovers of rugby league, can enjoy the story of one of the games greatest heroes.

Russell Crowe

GLORY, GLORY

MY LIFE

JOHN SATTLER

WITH PETER BADEL

N E R O

Published by Nero,

an imprint of Schwartz Publishing Pty Ltd

3739 Langridge Street

Collingwood VIC 3066, Australia

email:

www.nerobooks.com.au

Copyright Peter Badel & John Sattler 2014.

Peter Badel & John Sattler assert their right to be known as the authors of this work.

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior consent of the publishers.

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry:

Sattler, John, 1942 author.

Glory, glory / John Sattler, with Peter Badel.

9781863956949 (hardback)

9781863956871 (paperback)

9781922231857 (ebook)

Sattler, John, 1942

Australian Rugby Football LeagueHistory. South Sydney Rabbitohs (Football team)

History. Rugby football playersAustraliaBiography. Rugby League football

AustraliaHistory.

Badel, Peter, author.

796.3338092

Cover design by Peter Long

Cover photograph: News Ltd / Newspix

Acknowledgements

A big thanks to Jeanne Ryckmans at Black Inc. for her enthusiasm and faith in this project from day one, to Ray Martin for his true professionalism, and to Julian Welch for his literary advice. A special mention to Souths historian Brad Ryder, the author of Bob McCarthys biography, and to stats whiz Michael Curin, a researcher extraordinaire who provided more help than I could ever have hoped for. Thanks also to Scott Sattler, Barbara Sattler, Pam Sattler, Wendy Sattler, Ron Coote, Michael Cleary, Bob McCarthy, Bob Hagan, Noel Kelly, Michael Westlake, Neil Cadigan, Steve Calder, Steve Ricketts, Alan Whiticker, Ian Collis, Ian Heads, Steve Haddan, Grantlee Kieza, Josh Massoud, James Hooper, David Middleton, Shane Richardson, Kate Richardson and the Rugby League Project website. And, last but not least, thank you, John Sattler, for sharing your remarkable life story.

P. B.

To my coaches, who guided me; to the fans, who make this great game; to my teammates, who protected and supported me; and most of all to my family, whom I cherish every day.
J. S.

For my beautiful wife, Lauren, my driving force, and for Vicky, the toughest single mum I know. And to Sam and Jules: this book is proof that if you work hard, your dreams can come true.
P. B.

Foreword

by Ray Martin

J OHN SATTLER WAS A RAW-BONED KID FROM Kurri Kurri, out the back of Newcastle in coal country. He was exactly the sort of bloke you would want alongside you in a battle trench. Or a pub fight. Or a rugby league scrum. Satts simply had no reverse gear. Going backwards was never an option.

Obviously, though, young John had never bothered to look in the mirror either. About as tall as a halfback, without any of the bulk or exaggerated muscle of a modern-day professional prop, he never really looked the part of the footy enforcer. A natural-born athlete, he moved easily, but perhaps more like a tennis player or a golfer. Someone who played a skilful, non-contact sport.

When you met John Sattler off the field, he was quietly spoken and neatly dressed, with impeccable manners. That seemed to reinforce your first impressions. He was a proper sort of man, the type who would always stand up if a lady entered the room. Even as a young bloke, John was all class, as he still is today.

But put him in a red-and-green jersey on a Saturday afternoon at Redfern Oval and Satts could become a raging bull, especially if the game demanded it.

I remember first seeing him in his second year, 1964, playing against St George, the juggernaut club that would win a world record 11 straight premierships between 1956 and 1966. Satts was unstoppable that day, running through concrete and tackling Mack trucks in Dragons colours. It took a melee following a broken scrum to eventually stop him; I recall the feisty forward getting his marching orders for belting a hapless St George opponent.

Particularly in the early days of his illustrious career, Satts spent a fair bit of time under suspension, when he let the mongrel out. Still, when you look back on a century of the greatest game of all, if you say South Sydney you automatically think of Johnny Sattler. He was the iconic, archetypal Rabbitoh warrior who asked for no favours.

Ian Chappell, the former Australian cricket captain, once quipped: If winnings not important, then why do they keep score? In my view, this sums up Sattler, too. And victory certainly came his way four premierships in six Grand Finals. The teams unlikely loss to the Balmain Tigers in 1969 still hurts the South Sydney true believers.

Satts 1970 Grand Final heroics with his broken jaw when he took the ball up for another 77 minutes while in excruciating pain didnt really surprise anybody who knew him. After all, he was the skipper, the leader of the pack so a broken jawbone wasnt going to pull him off. Maybe a broken leg might have done the job, but I highly doubt it.

Perhaps the greatest example of John Sattlers courage and conviction to the South Sydney cause came in more recent times, long after his glorious career had ended. The Rabbitohs expulsion from the National Rugby League in 1999 cut a Souths man like John Sattler to the core. When the club was reinstated for the 2002 season a victory led by the irrepressible George Piggins and Nick Pappas, the clubs indefatigable barrister the time had come to drastically change direction. Or perish.

It was truly decision time about the very survival of the South Sydney Rugby League Football Club. Heavily in debt, with broken- down, rat-infested training facilities and no longer able to attract star players, the Pride of the League was about to die. I know how impossibly dire things were, because I was a member of the football club board.

That was when Russell Crowe, the Oscar-winning actor and a one-eyed Rabbitoh from birth, offered to buy the football club and underwrite its future. Indeed, to give it a future. George Piggins, acknowledged as the heart and soul of the Rabbitohs, vehemently opposed the sale.

Suddenly, the clubs diehard supporters were split. Tradition or survival?

Crowe insisted we could have both and even a premiership or three. Along with over two-thirds of Souths football club members, I wholeheartedly agreed.

For John Sattler, the episode was a test of character. In the heart of an old-fashioned, decent bloke like him, mateship and loyalty are paramount. Adding to his heartache, Satts had spilt blood on the paddock, arm-in-arm with George Piggins, through some of the clubs greatest years.