Known as "Whacka", Graves commenced his footballing in Newcastle, New South Wales and came to the attention of Sydney talent scouts when he scored two tries in his international debut representing Newcastle against a touring British side in 1946.
Graves joined South Sydney in 1947 and after only four first grade games was selected for New South Wales. He formed a strong backline pairing with Clive Churchill and was victorious in Grand Finals with Souths in 1950 (scoring two tries) and in 1951 (scoring four tries).
Graves was appointed captain-coach of Cootamundra in 1954.[3] The team won the Group 9 premiership.[4][5]
Representative careeredit
He debuted for Australia against New Zealand in the 1st Test of 1948, played in the rest of that series and then toured Great Britain with the 1948 Kangaroos. He played in two Tests and twenty tour games returning as the side's top scorer with 16 tries and 35 goals for 188 points.
He represented for Australia in seven Test matches (3 Great Britain, 3 New Zealand and 1 France) between 1948 and 1951. He was selected to represent Sydney against France during their 1951 tour of Australasia in a match that ended in a 19-all draw.
He holds positions 1, 2, 4 and 5 in the table of Most Points in a Match for the Rabbitohs with respectively 29 points (Round 8, 1952 v Easts); 27 points (Round 14, 1949 v Easts); 23 points(Round 18, 1952 v Newtown) and 23 points (Round 10, 1948 v Parramatta).
Along with five other Rabbitohs he has achieved the feat of scoring five tries in a single match (Round 14, 1949 v Easts.)
Footnotesedit
^ ab"Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". Rugby League Project. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
^. yesterdayshero.com.au. Archived from the original on 3 September 2012. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
^"Football: Graves to Coach Here". Cootamundra Herald. Cootamundra. 8 March 1954. p. 4. Retrieved 2 May 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Coot's Easy Win in Group Nine Grand Final Against Temora". Cootamundra Herald. Cootamundra. 6 September 1954. p. 1. Retrieved 2 May 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Graves Scored 236 Points This Scored". The Daily Advertiser (Wagga Wagga). Wagga. 9 September 1954. p. 8. Retrieved 2 May 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Grand final simply super". Illawarra Mercury. 21 September 1997. p. 26. Retrieved 6 October 2009.
Published sourcesedit
Andrews, Malcolm (2006) The ABC of Rugby League, Austn Broadcasting Corpn, Sydney
NRL Official 2007 Season Guide, News Magazines Surry Hills Sydney, for the National Rugby League
January 01, 1970
john, graves, rugby, league, confused, with, johnny, greaves, john, johnny, graves, january, 1926, july, 1983, australian, rugby, league, footballer, played, 1940s, 1950s, australian, international, representative, goal, kicking, wing, played, club, football, . Not to be confused with Johnny Greaves John Johnny Graves 19 January 1926 23 July 1983 was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s An Australian international representative goal kicking wing he played his club football for the South Sydney Rabbitohs with whom he won back to back premierships in 1950 51 1 Johnny GravesPersonal informationFull nameJohn Neal GravesBorn 1926 01 19 19 January 1926Maitland New South Wales AustraliaDied23 July 1983 1983 07 23 aged 57 Paddington New South Wales AustraliaPlaying informationPositionWingClub Years Team Pld T G FG P 1946 Maitland 1947 52 South Sydney 77 79 158 0 553 Total 77 79 158 0 553 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1946 Newcastle 1948 51 Australia 7 5 14 0 43Source 1 2 Contents 1 Club career 2 Representative career 3 Records 4 Footnotes 5 Published sourcesClub career edit nbsp Whacka Graves scores his first of four tries in the 1951 Grand Final Known as Whacka Graves commenced his footballing in Newcastle New South Wales and came to the attention of Sydney talent scouts when he scored two tries in his international debut representing Newcastle against a touring British side in 1946 Graves joined South Sydney in 1947 and after only four first grade games was selected for New South Wales He formed a strong backline pairing with Clive Churchill and was victorious in Grand Finals with Souths in 1950 scoring two tries and in 1951 scoring four tries Graves was appointed captain coach of Cootamundra in 1954 3 The team won the Group 9 premiership 4 5 Representative career editHe debuted for Australia against New Zealand in the 1st Test of 1948 played in the rest of that series and then toured Great Britain with the 1948 Kangaroos He played in two Tests and twenty tour games returning as the side s top scorer with 16 tries and 35 goals for 188 points He represented for Australia in seven Test matches 3 Great Britain 3 New Zealand and 1 France between 1948 and 1951 He was selected to represent Sydney against France during their 1951 tour of Australasia in a match that ended in a 19 all draw Records editHe was the NSW Rugby Football League s top try scorer season 1951 and his achievement that year of 28 tries in 17 games still stands in 5th place on the overall Australian list of Most Tries by an Individual in a Season As of 2021 his record of four tries in a Grand Final also achieved that season still stands 6 He holds positions 1 2 4 and 5 in the table of Most Points in a Match for the Rabbitohs with respectively 29 points Round 8 1952 v Easts 27 points Round 14 1949 v Easts 23 points Round 18 1952 v Newtown and 23 points Round 10 1948 v Parramatta Along with five other Rabbitohs he has achieved the feat of scoring five tries in a single match Round 14 1949 v Easts Footnotes edit a b Statistics at rugbyleagueproject org Rugby League Project 31 December 2017 Retrieved 1 January 2018 Yesterday s Hero Your Sporting Hero s Johnny Graves South Sydney yesterdayshero com au Archived from the original on 3 September 2012 Retrieved 13 January 2022 Football Graves to Coach Here Cootamundra Herald Cootamundra 8 March 1954 p 4 Retrieved 2 May 2020 via National Library of Australia Coot s Easy Win in Group Nine Grand Final Against Temora Cootamundra Herald Cootamundra 6 September 1954 p 1 Retrieved 2 May 2020 via National Library of Australia Graves Scored 236 Points This Scored The Daily Advertiser Wagga Wagga Wagga 9 September 1954 p 8 Retrieved 2 May 2020 via National Library of Australia Grand final simply super Illawarra Mercury 21 September 1997 p 26 Retrieved 6 October 2009 Published sources editAndrews Malcolm 2006 The ABC of Rugby League Austn Broadcasting Corpn Sydney NRL Official 2007 Season Guide News Magazines Surry Hills Sydney for the National Rugby League Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Graves rugby league amp oldid 1180827430, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,