TABLE OF CONTENTS / SUB-HEADINGS

Foreword (by Ian Heads)

Ch. 1: A Grand Old Game is King Football
When Forwards Were Aristocrats
The Southern Rugby Football Union
The Call For a National Football Code
Abolish the Scrum
First Inter-Colonial Rugby Matches
Queensland’s Fireflies and Wanderers
In the Interests of Pure Sport
A British Tour and ‘Professionalism’
The ‘New Zealand Natives’ Tour
New Rugby Arrives
The Boom Days of Colonial Rugby
The Great Divide: Rugby League is Born

Ch. 2: When the Wallaroos Ruled Our Rugby World
Good Players Joining Our Ranks
The Barrackers of the Bollywogs
Footballers Compensated for Injury Bills
A Metropolitan Rugby Union
Sydney Clubs Fight to Regain Control
The Maorilanders Smack the NSW Blues
Treat Your Players as Gentlemen
NSW Footballers Paid Money to Play
Replace Social-Based Clubs With Districts?
Sydney Workers v Wallaroo Gentlemen
Twelve NSW Players Dropped

Ch. 3: The Rugby Reverend’s Sermon
Reverend Mullineux’s Team of Gentlemen
NSWRU and NZRU Squabble Over the British
Australia Plays Its First Test Match
A Colonial Team Might Tour Britain
Some Manly Advice From the Reverend
Colonial Rugby Dismisses Mullineux’s Views
Play to the Whistle

Ch. 4: The Birth of the District Clubs
Wallaroo are the Premiers
The District Scheme
Disbanding the Old Clubs
The Formation of the District Clubs
A League System
A Democratic and Classless Competition
The Opening of the 1900 Season
Brisbane and Newcastle Rugby on the Wane
District Club Football Has Come to Stay
The Locals Affectionately Trod on You
A Rival Rugby Competition

Ch. 5: What the Devil is That For?
A Fascinating Concept
Crowds Flock to See the New Zealanders
Sydney Clubs Want to Run the Game
Oysters and Whisky
Rugby and Victorian Rules Form a Pact
The New Zealanders are Dudded Again
A New British Team, A New Attitude
The Dobson Incident
The Football was Fairly Rough at Times
‘What Becomes of These Big Gates?’

Ch. 6: Messenger & Co.
Billy Howe, MRU Secretary
An Englishman in the NSW Team
The Three-Bob-A-Dayers on Iron Rations
The New Zealand Team for England
Much Indignation at Newcastle
Australia’s First Overseas Rugby Tour
Messenger Wins the Second Grade Final
NSW Rep Plays Victorian Rules - In Africa
The Triumphant ‘All Blacks’ Tour
Not the True Spirit of Rugby Football
Talking to the Northern Union
NZRU Profits £10,000 From All Blacks
James Giltinan and Victor Trumper
Victorian Rules on the Rise
Messenger Gives Rugby A Much-Needed Boost
Newcastle’s Walsh Joins an Auckland Club

Ch. 7: The Great Reunion
Auckland and Queensland Teams in Sydney
Players Pay Their Way - But Not Officials
The Little and Riddell Accident
Messenger Shreds the Critics
The Great Reunion of Footballers
The Genie is Out of the Bottle
Aucklanders Accused of Professionalism
Little and Riddell Get Help - Eventually
How Should the MRU Spend the Money?
The MRU Earns More, Clubs and Players Less
The Unions Protect Their Finances
An Unexpected Arrival From Lancashire
Thirteen-A-Side
The MRU Wins Everytime
Alec Burdon and the Nomadic Sydney Club
No More Medical Insurance
A Tour to Britain - But Who Can Afford It?
More Scope for the Agitator

Ch. 8: The Mirage of Professionalism
Albert Baskerville
N.U. Approves a New Zealand Team
Burdon Injured in Club Match
At Trumper’s Sports Store
To Form Professional Clubs?
The Players Must Find the Remedy
Some Notable Absentees
Not Even a Bag of Peanuts
25th Anniversary of NSW V Queensland
An Almighty ‘Crack!’
Little Better Than a Fowl-Yard
‘Give It To Messenger!’
A Dumped NSW Player Protests
Sydney Players to Join Baskerville’s Team

Ch. 9: A Professional League is Now a Certainty
Can the NSW Blues Defeat the All Blacks?
52,000 at a Rugby Match
Waiting for the Australian Team Selections
Burdon Dislocates His Shoulder
Combining Blues and Maroons
The All Blacks Board the ‘Brisbane Express’
A Nod and A Wink for Messenger
It Will Split Rugby Into Two Feeble Halves
It is Spoken of as the Rugby League
Clubs to Divide the League’s Income
Burdon’s Injury Not the Catalyst
Digging Their Own Graves
No Queenslanders for Australia’s Test Team
Bateman’s Crystal Hotel (August 8, 1907)
Players Don’t Draw the Crowds
Messenger Joins the Professionals

Ch. 10: Lily Whites v All Golds
Giltinan Takes on His Critics
The League Reveals Their All Blues Team
From Mudgee to Sydney is a Long Walk
The Professional All Blacks are Named
A Rumour About Town
Professionals Play Rugby Union
Messenger a Professional All Black
The Contract
A Purse of Sovereigns
The Greatest Crisis in Australian Rugby
Many Are Sitting on the Fence
No Joy for League in Queensland
The Phantom Team Arrives in Yorkshire
Professional All Blacks Make a Fortune

Chapter 11: 1908: The League’s Opening Whistle
The League Copied Almost Everything
The Foundation Meetings of the Clubs
Newcastle is In, St George is Out
Union v League: The Fight is On
Politicians, Publicans and Footballers
The N.U. Man in Sydney
The Professionals Can Be Left Alone to Die
League in Queensland and New Zealand
Messenger and the New Zealanders Return
The League Competition Matches Begin Today
At the Horse and Jockey Hotel
The NSWRL Have Made a Grave Error

Ch. 12: The Broken Turnstile
First Big League Game: NSW V New Zealand
Jimmy Devereux - The Hero of the Day
The Kangaroo is On His Tail
A Said Goodbye to a Friend
A Blood-Curdling War-Cry
The End of the ‘All Golds’
The Broken Grandstand Turnstile
League’s First Courtroom Battle
Wild Scenes in Queensland Matches
Giltinan Tackles a Difficult Task
A Few Ugly Rumours May Be Heard
Blues v Maroons

Ch. 13: Our Colonial Footballers in England
The Maoris Take Aim at Giltinan
Selecting the Union and League Teams
The Maoris Benefit Match
Ireland and Scotland Unions Don’t Want Us
League Team Sails on One-Way Tickets
Souths v Easts - The First League Final
On the Wallaby
No Pot of Gold for the Professionals
Snowbound Kangaroos
It Wasn’t Me - It Was My Brother
Hostile and Treacherous Aliens

Ch. 14: Dead to the World
Giltinan, Hoyle and Trumper Overthrown
The League is Going Under
The Queensland Amateur Rugby League
A Motor Car Compared to the Bullock Wagon
Shaky New Zealanders
Maggie Papakura Runs the Show
The Agra’ Riot
League and Union Set for Long Battle
Wallabies and Kangaroos to Bump?
The Sheriff Tackles the Maoris

Ch. 15: Kangaroos v Wallabies
The Signing of the Wallabies
The Man Behind the Gun
A Financial Bait
Knockout Knox Tries to Stop the Venture
Alas Poor Wallabies
The Glebe Point Jelly Fish
Another Case of the Tempter Succeeding
Kangaroos Get Nothing But Hard Knocks
The Game of a Century
Mighty Wallabies and Famous Kangaroos
Wearing the Insignia of Your Country
The Curtain Should Be Rung Down

Ch. 16: The Balmainiacs Forfeit the Final
A Brilliant Double Event
‘Sports’ Do You Call Them?
His Actions Necessitated Disqualification
The Unions Must Wake Up
Wallabies Allowed Back
The Time is Opportune For a Visit

Chapter 17: Jack is Now as Good as His Master
Playing the Game For the Game’s Sake
They Like to See Their Favourites Win
Rugby Union Football as a World Game
The Cream of the Old Country’s Footballers
The Game Was As Fast As the Wind
The Bustling Tactics of the Brawny English
Auckland R.U. Aware of the Approaching Evil
The Kangaroos Benefit Match
Brisbane’s Ground Packed to Overflowing
The Meeting of the Giants
All Were in a Fearful Good Humour
Sentiment Will Not Pay the Union’s Expenses
I Recently Stood at a Street Corner
Its Permanency is Assured

Author's Note and Acknowledgements
Match Results and Player Register
Bibliography
Footnotes
Index
Sub-Headings Directory
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