John Sattler
Encyclopedia
|name = John Sattler
|fullname =
|nickname = Satts, Gentleman John
|image =
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|birth_date = 28 July 1942 (age 69)
|birth_place = Kurri Kurri, New South Wales
, Australia
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|yearAstart = 1962
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John William Sattler (born 28 July 1942 in Kurri Kurri, New South Wales
) is an Australian former rugby league
footballer of the 1960s and '70s. He was a rugged Prop forward who led his club, South Sydney
to four premiership victories between 1967 and 1971 and who played four tests for Australia – three as the national captain. He is also the father of former rugby league player Scott Sattler
who won a premiership with Penrith in 2003.
against the touring British side in 1962. The following year he joined South Sydney
.
In 1967 he was appointed Souths
captain and he inspired Souths to premiership wins on four occasions in 1967, 1968, 1970 and 1971. He also led his team to the Grand Final in 1969 where they lost to Balmain. His position of choice was at lock forward though he played his best football at Prop forward.
After 195 games with South Sydney, and four premiership victories, John Sattler signed for Brisbane Western Suburbs
in 1973.
Sattler has attained legendary status in the game for his role in the 1970 grand final, almost all of which he played with a broken jaw to help Souths to victory over Manly.
In the premiership decider of 1970 South Sydney were up against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
at the Sydney Cricket Ground
on 19 September. Having lost the previous Grand Final to the Balmain Tigers
, Souths were desperate to win. Approximately ten minutes into the game Sattler collapsed after being punched by Manly forward John Bucknall. He suffered a double fracture to his jaw but pleaded to team mate Mike Cleary, "Hold me up so they don't know I'm hurt". He was helped up and continued to play in the game. At half time Souths were leading 12–6 when his fellow team mates learnt about his injury.
During the interval he refused treatment and insisted he continue playing. He also told the side, "the next bloke who tries to cut me out of the play is in trouble," to prevent his team mates trying to protect him from further injury. At the end of the game South Sydney had scored 3 tries to nil in a 23–12 victory. He later went to hospital to receive treatment but only after receiving the Giltinan Shield and making an acceptance speech.
He captained the Queensland state
side against New South Wales
in 1973 before retiring from professional rugby league the following year.
Sattler was sent off fifteen times during his career and served a total of 30 weeks of suspensions. But he is remembered for his physical and mental toughness rather than his poor disciplinary record.
-based team for the New South Wales Rugby League premiership
.
In February 2008, Sattler 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.
In 2010 he was named as captain of Kurri Rugby League Club's team of the century.
|fullname =
|nickname = Satts, Gentleman John
|image =
|caption =
|birth_date = 28 July 1942 (age 69)
|birth_place = Kurri Kurri, New South Wales
Kurri Kurri, New South Wales
Kurri Kurri is a small town in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, in the Cessnock LGA. At the 2006 census its population was 5,644...
, Australia
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South Sydney Rabbitohs
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in Redfern, a suburb of South-central Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League premiership and are one of nine existing teams from the state capital...
|year2start = 1963
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|tries2 = 12
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|fieldgoals2 = 0
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Wests Panthers
The Western Suburbs Panthers, often simply referred to as Wests, are a rugby league club from Brisbane, Australia. The Club is the oldest in the QRL and despite absences from the top grade in recent years and several name changes the club continued to operate...
(Brisbane)
|year3start = 1973
|year3end = ??
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Norths Devils
The Northern Suburbs Devils, Norths for short, are a rugby league club representing the northern suburbs of Brisbane, Australia. The team colours are sky blue, navy blue and gold. They play in the Queensland Wizard Cup, and, through their predecessors, are one of the oldest clubs in...
(Brisbane)
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|teamA = Newcastle
Newcastle Rugby League
The Newcastle Rugby League is a rugby league competition in Newcastle, Australia. It is one of the oldest rugby league competitions in Australia, founded in 1910...
|yearAstart = 1962
|yearAend =
|appearancesA =
|triesA =
|goalsA =
|fieldgoalsA =
|pointsA =
|teamB = New South Wales
New South Wales rugby league team
The New South Wales rugby league team has represented the Australian state of New South Wales in rugby league football since the sport's beginnings there in 1907. Administered by the New South Wales Rugby League, the team competes in the annual State of Origin series against arch-rivals, the...
|yearBstart = 1969
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|goalsB = 0
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|teamC = Queensland
Queensland rugby league team
The Queensland rugby league team have represented the Australian state of Queensland in rugby league football since the sport's beginnings there in 1908...
|yearCstart = 1973
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|appearancesC = 4
|triesC = 0
|goalsC = 0
|fieldgoalsC = 0
|pointsC = 0
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|yearDstart = 1967
|yearDend = 71
|appearancesD = 4
|triesD = 0
|goalsD = 0
|fieldgoalsD = 0
|pointsD = 0
|updated = 31 August 2006
|source =
|new = yes
}}
John William Sattler (born 28 July 1942 in Kurri Kurri, New South Wales
Kurri Kurri, New South Wales
Kurri Kurri is a small town in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia, in the Cessnock LGA. At the 2006 census its population was 5,644...
) is an Australian former rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
footballer of the 1960s and '70s. He was a rugged Prop forward who led his club, South Sydney
South Sydney Rabbitohs
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in Redfern, a suburb of South-central Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League premiership and are one of nine existing teams from the state capital...
to four premiership victories between 1967 and 1971 and who played four tests for Australia – three as the national captain. He is also the father of former rugby league player Scott Sattler
Scott Sattler
Scott Sattler is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s who later became the Football Manager for the Gold Coast Titans. As a player he played for the Gold Coast Chargers from 1992 to 1993 as well as a second spell with the club between 1997 and 1998...
who won a premiership with Penrith in 2003.
Club career
One of the hardmen of Australian rugby league 'Satts' was an aggressive player on the field but a softly spoken gentleman off the field, hence his other nickname "Gentleman John". He began playing rugby league at the relatively late age of 16 for Kurri Kurri and represented NewcastleNewcastle, New South Wales
The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
against the touring British side in 1962. The following year he joined South Sydney
South Sydney Rabbitohs
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in Redfern, a suburb of South-central Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League premiership and are one of nine existing teams from the state capital...
.
In 1967 he was appointed Souths
South Sydney Rabbitohs
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in Redfern, a suburb of South-central Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League premiership and are one of nine existing teams from the state capital...
captain and he inspired Souths to premiership wins on four occasions in 1967, 1968, 1970 and 1971. He also led his team to the Grand Final in 1969 where they lost to Balmain. His position of choice was at lock forward though he played his best football at Prop forward.
After 195 games with South Sydney, and four premiership victories, John Sattler signed for Brisbane Western Suburbs
Wests Panthers
The Western Suburbs Panthers, often simply referred to as Wests, are a rugby league club from Brisbane, Australia. The Club is the oldest in the QRL and despite absences from the top grade in recent years and several name changes the club continued to operate...
in 1973.
The Legendary 1970 Grand Final
In the premiership decider of 1970 South Sydney were up against the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League's Telstra Premiership, the premier rugby league competition of Australasia...
at the Sydney Cricket Ground
Sydney Cricket Ground
The Sydney Cricket Ground is a sports stadium in Sydney in Australia. It is used for Australian football, Test cricket, One Day International cricket, some rugby league and rugby union matches and is the home ground for the New South Wales Blues cricket team and the Sydney Swans of the Australian...
on 19 September. Having lost the previous Grand Final to the Balmain Tigers
Balmain Tigers
The Balmain Tigers are a rugby league football club based in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Balmain. They were a founding member of the New South Wales Rugby League and one of the most successful in the history of the premiership, with eleven titles...
, Souths were desperate to win. Approximately ten minutes into the game Sattler collapsed after being punched by Manly forward John Bucknall. He suffered a double fracture to his jaw but pleaded to team mate Mike Cleary, "Hold me up so they don't know I'm hurt". He was helped up and continued to play in the game. At half time Souths were leading 12–6 when his fellow team mates learnt about his injury.
During the interval he refused treatment and insisted he continue playing. He also told the side, "the next bloke who tries to cut me out of the play is in trouble," to prevent his team mates trying to protect him from further injury. At the end of the game South Sydney had scored 3 tries to nil in a 23–12 victory. He later went to hospital to receive treatment but only after receiving the Giltinan Shield and making an acceptance speech.
Representative career
Being injured during the 1970 Grand Final he was not selected as captain for the Australian touring side announced later that night for the World Cup in England. However he had previously been selected in Australia's tour of Britain and France in 1967 and in the Australian teams which toured New Zealand in 1969 and 1971, in which he was selected as captain. He only managed to play in four tests for Australia, captaining his nation in three out of those four games.Queensland rugby league team
The Queensland rugby league team have represented the Australian state of Queensland in rugby league football since the sport's beginnings there in 1908...
side against New South Wales
New South Wales Rugby League team
The New South Wales rugby league team has represented the Australian state of New South Wales in rugby league football since the sport's beginnings there in 1907. Administered by the New South Wales Rugby League, the team competes in the annual State of Origin series against arch-rivals, the...
in 1973 before retiring from professional rugby league the following year.
Sattler was sent off fifteen times during his career and served a total of 30 weeks of suspensions. But he is remembered for his physical and mental toughness rather than his poor disciplinary record.
Post playing
In the mid 1980s John Sattler was involved in one of the unsuccessful bids to form a BrisbaneBrisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
-based team for the New South Wales Rugby League premiership
New South Wales Rugby League premiership
The New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the first rugby league football club competition established in Australia. Run by the New South Wales Rugby League from 1908 until 1994, the premiership was the state's and later the country's elite rugby league competition...
.
In February 2008, Sattler was named in the list of Australia's 100 Greatest Players (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the NRL
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
and ARL
Australian Rugby League
The Australian Rugby League is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in Australia. It is made up of state bodies, including the New South Wales Rugby League and the Queensland Rugby League...
to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia.
In 2010 he was named as captain of Kurri Rugby League Club's team of the century.