Denis Pittard

Denis John Pittard (born 8 December 1945) is an Australian rugby league footballer, an attacking five-eighth who played in the 1960s and 1970s for the Western Suburbs, South Sydney and Parramatta as well as the Australian national representative side. He was known as "The Sneak", "The Phanthom" and "The Scarlet Pimpernel".

Denis Pittard

Personal information
Born	(1945-12-08) 8 December 1945 (age 78) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Playing information
Height	167 cm (5 ft 6 in)
Position	Five-eighth
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1965–67 Western Suburbs 44 14 0 0 42 1968–73 South Sydney 121 56 0 0 168 1974–75 Parramatta 32 11 28 0 89 Total 197 81 28 0 299 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1969–72 New South Wales 5 4 0 0 12 1969–70 Australia 2 1 0 0 3 1966–72 NSW City 2 1 0 0 3
Source: [1][2]

Playing career

Pittard played 46 games with Western Suburbs between 1965 and 1967, scoring 14 tries. He played 121 games with South Sydney between 1967 and 1973, scoring 56 tries. He played in the 1968, 1970 and 1971 victorious Rabbitohs Grand Final teams. He became the first player to win two Rothmans Medals in 1969 and 1971. He played 35 games with Parramatta Eels between 1974 and 1975, scoring 11 tries and 28 goals. Pittard wanted to play another season in 1976 but announced his retirement after receiving an opportunity to study outside Australia.^[3][4][5]

Pittard represented for Australia in two Test matches (1969–1970) and appeared five times for New South Wales (1969–1972). Pittard toured New Zealand with the Australian side in 1969 and was selected in the 1970 Australian World Cup squad. He is listed on the Australian Players Register as Kangaroo No. 433.^[6]

References

1. Rugby League Project
2. Yesterday's Hero
3. Sattler, John; Glory Days; ISBN 1921836334
4. "Official Player Numbers". Parramatta Eels.
5. "Western Suburbs Magpies First Grade Players". Wests Magpies.
6. ARL Annual Report 2005, page 54

Sources

• The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players – South Sydney Rabbitohs, Alan Whiticker & Glen Hudson, Bas Publishing, 2005.