GROUP Three Rugby League’s Hall of Fame will have four new members following an induction to be held at the Wingham Services Club on Saturday, January 12.
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- The inductees are:
- Keith Tull (Gloucester)
- Barrie Smith (Wauchope)
- Barrie ‘Carrots’ Morrison (Taree)
- Gary Bridge (Taree)
Their playing careers spanned from the 1950s to the 1990s while two remained heavily involved in the game once they retired.
Tull will be the third ex-Gloucester player to be inducted following Kevin Everett and Joe Smith. A school teacher, Tull returned to Gloucester in 1951 as a captain-coach. He previously played in the Maher Cup as captain-coach with Cootamundra while he also represented Country Firsts and Riverina. Tull also had a brief stint with Parramatta.
A powerful centre, Tull had seven seasons with the Magpies, remarkably missing just one game. He steered Gloucester to premierships in 1954 and ’57 in the then Group 18 competition. Tull is credited for laying the foundations for Gloucester’s golden era in Group 18 in the late 1950s to the mid-1960s.
Smith was a well travelled player, who turned out for Camden Haven, Wauchope, Brewarrina and Kone Tigers in Port Morseby. He represented Group 15 and was selected to play for Western Division against France but was forced to withdraw because of injury.
He has made an indelible impression on Group Three as an administrator. Smith’s been a member of the group executive since 1983 and has served as treasurer, president and chief executive (secretary), a position he held from 1995 until last November when he stepped down. Smith helped steer the group through its darkest time in 1994 when it appeared the competition would fold. He was also instrumental in negotiating the return of Wauchope and Port Macquarie to Group Three after both moved to Group Two in 1995.
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A Chatham Cundle junior, Bridge was a NSW Schoolboy representative halfback who came into grade with Taree United in 1978. He made his first grade debut with United in 1980 but switched to Wingham in 1981, where he represented Country Seconds as a winger against City.
Bridge was lured to Balmain in 1982 and represented City Seconds as a five-eighth in 1984. He switched to Eastern Suburbs in 1987 but returned home in 1990, where he had a season with Taree Old Bar. In the years since Bridge has been closely associated with the game at a junior and senior level. He’s a life member of Taree Panthers JRLC and has coached club and representative teams, including Country under 16s.
He was a first grade referee and has coached Taree City’s first grade, taking the side to the 2005 grand final.
Morrison, a front rower, was a controversial and colourful character in Group Three for 20 years, while he also played in Newcastle. A Taree Old Bar junior, Morrison also had stints with Wingham, Gloucester and Taree United. Morrison made his first grade debut with Old Bar in 1965 but moved to Newcastle to play with Macquarie United the following year. He was named the best and fairest player in the Newcastle competition in 1966 and represented Newcastle against New Zealand the following year. Morrison had a brief stint with St George in 1970 before returning to Macquarie. He was back in Group Three with Taree Old Bar in 1972 but switched to Wingham in 1973 before heading to Gloucester in 1974/75/76.
Morrison represented North Coast in a mid-week Amco Cup clash against North Sydney and against Great Britain in 1974.
He won a Group Three premiership with Taree United in 1977 and from 1978 to 1982 alternated between Taree Old Bar and Wingham, winning premierships with Old Bar in 1979/80. He retired after Wingham’s grand final loss in 1982. The hall of fame is a joint initiative between Group Three and the Men of League.