1969 Kangaroo tour of New Zealand

The 1969 Kangaroo Tour of New Zealand was a mid-season tour of New Zealand by the Australia national rugby league team. The Australians played six matches on tour, including two tests against the New Zealand national rugby league team. The tour began on 28 May and finished on 10 June.^[1]

1969 Kangaroo tour of New Zealand
Manager	Eddie Burns Jack Lynch
Coach(es)	Harry Bath
Tour captain(s)	John Sattler
Top point scorer(s)	Les Johns 42
Top try scorer(s)	Dennis Manteit 5
Top test point scorer(s)	Les Johns 14 Don Ladner 22
Top test try scorer(s)	Ron Coote 3
Summary	P W D L
Total	06 04 00 02
Test match	02 01 00 01
Opponent	P W D L
New Zealand	2 1 0 1
Tour chronology
Previous tour	1965 by to 1967 by to 1967-68 to 1968 by to
Next tour	1970 by to 1971 by to

Leadership

Harry Bath coached the Kangaroos side throughout the tour. South Sydney's John Sattler captained the side. In the two matches in which Sattler did not play, the team was captained by Les Johns (against Wellington) and John McDonald against Auckland.
The touring team was co-managed by Eddie Burns (Canterbury, NSW) and Jack Lynch (Ipswich, Qld).^[2]

Touring squad

The Rugby League News published details of the touring team including the players' ages and weights.^[3] A team photo was published during the tour.
Match details - listing surnames of both teams and the point scorers - were included in E.E. Christensen's Official Rugby League Yearbook, as was a summary of the players' point-scoring.^[4]
Denman, Fitzsimmons, Manteit, Robson and Weiss were selected from Queensland clubs. Cootes, Costello and Lye were selected from clubs in New South Wales Country areas. The balance of the squad were playing for Sydney based clubs during the 1969 season.^[5]

Player	Position	Age	Weight st.lb (kg)	Club	Tests on Tour	Games	Tries	Goals	FG	Points
Michael Cleary	Wing	29	14.0 (89)	South Sydney	0	2	4	0	0	12
Ron Coote	Lock	24	14.3 (90)	South Sydney	2	5	4	0	0	12
John Cootes	Wing	27	13.10 (87)	Newcastle Western Suburbs	2	4	3	2	0	13
Ron Costello	Second-row	26	14.1 (89)	C.B.C. Wollongong	1	4	2	0	0	6
Jeff Denman	Wing	26	12.0 (76)	Brisbane Eastern Suburbs	0	3	0	0	0	0
Brian Fitzsimmons	Hooker	26	12.8 (80)	Glastone Brothers	0	3	0	0	0	0
Bob Honan	Wing	25	12.7 (79)	South Sydney	2	6	1	0	0	3
Les Johns	Fullback	27	12.0 (76)	Canterbury	2	4	0	19	2	42
Graeme Langlands	Centre	27	13.0 (83)	St George	2	5	0	3	0	6
Graham Lye	Five-eighth	21	11.12 (75)	Illawarra Western Suburbs	0	3	0	0	0	0
Dennis Manteit	Prop	26	15.4 (97)	Brisbane Brothers	0	3	5	0	0	15
Bob McCarthy	Second-row	24	15.3 (97)	South Sydney	2	4	1	0	0	3
John McDonald	Centre	24	13.0 (83)	Manly-Warringah	2	5	2	0	0	6
Denis Pittard	Five-eighth	22	11.6 (73)	South Sydney	2	4	1	0	0	3
Ian Robson	Second-row	21	15.0 (95)	Brisbane Western Suburbs	0	2	0	0	0	0
John Sattler (c)	Prop	26	14.8 (93)	South Sydney	2	4	1	0	0	3
Elwyn Walters	Hooker	24	13.11 (88)	South Sydney	2	4	0	0	0	0
Dennis Ward	Halfback	24	10.10 (68)	Manly-Warringah	2	5	1	0	2	7
Col Weiss	Second-row	25	12.7 (79)	Bundaberg	1	5	1	0	0	3
John Wittenberg	Prop	30	15.3 (97)	St George	2	5	1	0	0	3

Tour

The Australians played six matches on the tour, winning the first four before losing the final two.^[6]

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North Island Colts	13 – 17	Australia
	Report [7] Database[8]

Wednesday 28 May

Rotorua International Stadium, Rotorua Attendance: 953

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First test

New Zealand	10 – 20	Australia
Tries: Goals: Don Ladner (5/5)	Team[7] Report[9] Database[10]	Tries: Ron Coote (2) John Cootes Denis Pittard Goals: Les Johns (4/4)

Sunday 1 June

Carlaw Park, Auckland Attendance: 13,459 Referee: John Percival

New Zealand	Australia
FB 1 Don Ladner RW 2 Dennis Key RC 3 John Wilson LC 4 Sam Rolleston LW 5 Mocky Brereton FE 6 Trevor Patrick HB 7 Graeme Cooksley PR 8 Oscar Danielson HK 9 Colin O'Neil (c) PR 10 Bill Noonan SR 11 John Hibbs SR 12 Tony Kriletich LF 13 Rodney Walker Coach: Lory Blanchard	FB 1 Les Johns RW 2 John Cootes RC 3 Graeme Langlands LC 4 John McDonald LW 5 Bob Honan FE 6 Denis Pittard HB 7 Dennis Ward PR 8 John Wittenberg HK 9 Elwyn Walters PR 10 John Sattler (c) SR 11 Ron Costello SR 12 Bob McCarthy LF 13 Ron Coote Coach: Harry Bath

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South Island	15 – 24	Australia
	Report[11] Database[12]

Monday 2 June

Rugby League Park, Christchurch Attendance: 3,376

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Wellington	7 – 48	Australia
	Team[13] Report[14] Database[15]

Wednesday 4 June

Basin Reserve, Wellington Attendance: 1,415

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Second test

New Zealand	18 – 14	Australia
Tries: Bill Noonan Phil Orchard Goals: Don Ladner (5/5) Field goals: Don Ladner	Team[16] Report[17] Database[18]	Tries: Ron Coote Robert McCarthy Goals: Les Johns (4/4)

Saturday 7 June

Carlaw Park, Auckland Attendance: 9,848 Referee: John Percival

New Zealand	Australia
FB 1 Don Ladner RW 2 Phillip Orchard RC 3 Mocky Brereton LC 4 Brian Clark LW 5 Roy Christian FE 6 Gary Woollard HB 7 Graeme Cooksley PR 8 Oscar Danielson HK 9 Colin O'Neil (c) PR 10 Doug Gailey SR 11 Bill Deacon SR 12 Bill Noonan LF 13 Tony Kriletich Coach: Lory Blanchard	FB 1 Les Johns RW 2 Bob Honan RC 3 Graeme Langlands LC 4 John McDonald LW 5 John Cootes FE 6 Denis Pittard HB 7 Dennis Ward PR 8 John Sattler (c) HK 9 Elwyn Walters PR 10 John Wittenberg SR 11 Bob McCarthy SR 12 Col Weiss LF 13 Ron Coote Coach: Harry Bath

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Auckland	15 – 14	Australia
	Teams[19] Report[20] Database[21]

Tuesday 10 June

Carlaw Park, Auckland Attendance: 6,520

References

1. "Kangaroos Tour 1969 - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
2. New South Wales Rugby Football League. (1920). "Team Manager for N.Z." The Rugby League News. 50 (14 (3 May 1969)). Sydney: N.S.W. Rugby Football League. nla.obj-767453332. Retrieved 28 Jan 2021 – via Trove.
3. New South Wales Rugby Football League. (1920). "Players for N.Z. Tour". The Rugby League News. 50 (18 (24 May 1969)). Sydney: N.S.W. Rugby Football League. nla.obj-759105460. Retrieved 28 Jan 2021 – via Trove.
4. E.E.Christensen (1970). "Australian Tour of N.Z.". E.E. Christensen's Official Rugby League Yearbook. 24. Sydney: E.E.Christensen.
5. "N.S.W. 12, Queensland 5, Country 3 No Surprises In Rl Tour Team". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. 19 May 1969. p. 14. Retrieved 29 Jan 2021.
6. SteveRicketts (2019-06-19). "FLASHBACK: June 1969". Steve Ricketts. Retrieved 2020-09-09.
7. "Weiss may play". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. 29 May 1969. p. 30. Retrieved 29 Jan 2021.
8. 1969 North Island Colts vs Australia – Rugby League Project
9. "One-Sided R.L. Test New Zealand No Match For Australia". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. 2 Jun 1969. p. 12. Retrieved 29 Jan 2021.
10. 1969 New Zealand vs Australia – Rugby League Project
11. "Kangaroos strike referee trouble again". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. 3 Jun 1969. p. 20. Retrieved 29 Jan 2021.
12. 1969 South Island vs Australia – Rugby League Project
13. "Injuries plague league tourists". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. 4 Jun 1969. p. 32. Retrieved 29 Jan 2021.
14. "League tourists win at a canter". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. 5 Jun 1969. p. 40. Retrieved 29 Jan 2021.
15. 1969 Wellington vs Australia – Rugby League Project
16. "Curfew set by coach". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. 7 Jun 1969. p. 30. Retrieved 29 Jan 2021.
17. "N.Z. On Top In Test". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. 9 Jun 1969. p. 12. Retrieved 29 Jan 2021.
18. 1969 New Zealand vs Australia – Rugby League Project
19. "Battered league tourists face hard game". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. 10 Jun 1969. p. 22. Retrieved 29 Jan 2021.
20. "Sensational End To Tough League Tour - Referee knocked out; Wittenberg in hospital". The Canberra Times. Canberra: National Library of Australia. 11 Jun 1969. p. 32. Retrieved 29 Jan 2021.
21. 1969 Auckland vs Australia – Rugby League Project