Douglas Allan McRitchie (1923–1998) was an Australian rugby league player who played in the 1940s and 1950s. A New South Wales state and Australia national representative centre, he played his club football in Sydney for the St. George club.
McRitchie was a St. George Dragons local junior who was graded in 1940. He had a long career with the club playing eight seasons in first grade between 1942 and 1950. McRitchie featured in three Grand finals for the club. He was part of two sides who lost deciders - 1942 and 1946 and saw success with the 1949 premiership team.[3]
His career was disrupted during by WWII, he enlisted in the AIF and he saw service in New Guinea with the 129 Australian Brigade.[4] After demobilisation, he resumed his playing career at St George, and he captained and co-coached the club with head coach Charlie Lynch in the 1947 NSWRFL season.
Representative careeredit
McRitchie represented New South Wales on six occasions between 1948 and 1950. He was named in the 1948-49 Kangaroo Tour squad and played two Tests against Great Britain, two Tests against France and a further ten tour matches during that series. He is listed on the Australian Players Register as Kangaroo No. 261[5]
1950 Ashes winedit
He played a further two tests in 1950 against Great Britain, the last being of major significance.
Doug McRitchie will always be remembered as the player who clinched the Ashes for Australia in 1950. He made the initial opening and overlap that gave Ron Roberts the try in the Sydney Cricket Ground mud heap on the 22 Jul 1950 Third Test. The Kangaroos won the Test 5–2. McRitchie had hit the English Captain Ernest Ward so hard that the visiting star developed an aversion to tackling that resulted in a split-second hesitancy that gave McRitchie the opening that proved so vital.[6]
Doug's brother Bill McRitchie played for St George from 1942 to 1945. Bill was involved in an infamous event in 1945, when he lost a portion of his ear during a match at Henson Park. Newtown stalwart Frank Farrell was accused of the allegation.[8] McRitchie was awarded Life Membership of St. George Dragons in 1997.[9]
doug, mcritchie, douglas, allan, mcritchie, 1923, 1998, australian, rugby, league, player, played, 1940s, 1950s, south, wales, state, australia, national, representative, centre, played, club, football, sydney, george, club, personal, informationfull, namedoug. Douglas Allan McRitchie 1923 1998 was an Australian rugby league player who played in the 1940s and 1950s A New South Wales state and Australia national representative centre he played his club football in Sydney for the St George club Doug McRitchiePersonal informationFull nameDouglas Allan McRitchieBorn 1923 07 31 31 July 1923 1 Marrickville New South Wales AustraliaDied30 July 1998 1998 07 30 aged 74 Milton New South Wales AustraliaPlaying informationPositionCentreClub Years Team Pld T G FG P 1942 50 St George 81 25 0 0 75 1951 Queanbeyan Total 81 25 0 0 75 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1948 50 New South Wales 6 0 0 0 0 1948 50 Australia 6 0 0 0 0 1948 50 NSW City 4 0 0 0 0 1951 NSW Country 1 1 0 0 3Coaching informationClub Years Team Gms W D L W 1947 St George 0 0 0 0Source 2 Doug McRitchie middle row right in StGeorge s 1946 side Contents 1 St George Dragons career 2 Representative career 2 1 1950 Ashes win 3 Later career 4 Death 5 Accolades 6 ReferencesSt George Dragons career editMcRitchie was a St George Dragons local junior who was graded in 1940 He had a long career with the club playing eight seasons in first grade between 1942 and 1950 McRitchie featured in three Grand finals for the club He was part of two sides who lost deciders 1942 and 1946 and saw success with the 1949 premiership team 3 His career was disrupted during by WWII he enlisted in the AIF and he saw service in New Guinea with the 129 Australian Brigade 4 After demobilisation he resumed his playing career at St George and he captained and co coached the club with head coach Charlie Lynch in the 1947 NSWRFL season Representative career editMcRitchie represented New South Wales on six occasions between 1948 and 1950 He was named in the 1948 49 Kangaroo Tour squad and played two Tests against Great Britain two Tests against France and a further ten tour matches during that series He is listed on the Australian Players Register as Kangaroo No 261 5 1950 Ashes win edit He played a further two tests in 1950 against Great Britain the last being of major significance Doug McRitchie will always be remembered as the player who clinched the Ashes for Australia in 1950 He made the initial opening and overlap that gave Ron Roberts the try in the Sydney Cricket Ground mud heap on the 22 Jul 1950 Third Test The Kangaroos won the Test 5 2 McRitchie had hit the English Captain Ernest Ward so hard that the visiting star developed an aversion to tackling that resulted in a split second hesitancy that gave McRitchie the opening that proved so vital 6 Later career editHe was signed to captain coach Queanbeyan New South Wales in 1951 7 During the 1951 French rugby league tour of Australia and New Zealand McRitchie played for a Monaro side against the Les Chanticleers Doug s brother Bill McRitchie played for St George from 1942 to 1945 Bill was involved in an infamous event in 1945 when he lost a portion of his ear during a match at Henson Park Newtown stalwart Frank Farrell was accused of the allegation 8 McRitchie was awarded Life Membership of St George Dragons in 1997 9 Death editMcRitchie died at Milton New South Wales on 30 July 1998 on the eve of his 75th birthday 10 Accolades editOn 20 July 2022 McRitchie was named in the St George Dragons District Rugby League Clubs team of the century 11 References edit McRitchie at WWII Roll Archived from the original on 6 October 2014 Retrieved 2 October 2014 Doug McRitchie Career Stats amp Summary Rugby League Project Rugbyleagueproject org Alan Whitiker Glen Hudson The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players 2005 edtn ISBN 9780732908164 McRitchie at WWII Roll Archived from the original on 6 October 2014 Retrieved 2 October 2014 ARL Annual Report Rugby League News 14 Aug 1954 Immortals Doug McRitchie https nla gov au nla obj 631853959 view sectionId nla obj 642595337 amp partId nla obj 631854458 page n3 mode 1up Doug McRitchie Career Stats amp Summary Rugby League Project The Ear Bite Incident Canberra Times 31 July 1945 p4 Dragons Our Proud History St George and Illawarra Rugby League Daily Telegraph Death Notice 04 08 1998 Gasnier joins Immortals in St George Dragons Team of the Century www nrl com 20 July 2022 Sporting positions Preceded byCharlie Lynch 1947 Coach nbsp St George1947 Succeeded byJim Duckworth 1948 1950 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Doug McRitchie amp oldid 1206373211, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
