Gerald Vernon Round (c. 1939 – 1 February 1969) was an English professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s. He played at representative level for Great Britain, and at club level for Wakefield Trinity, as a fullback.

Gerry Round
Personal information
Full nameGerald Vernon Round[1]
Bornc. 1939
Hebden Bridge, England
Died1 February 1969 (aged 29)
Birkenshaw, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Playing information
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight12 st 7 lb (79 kg)
PositionFullback
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1958–68 Wakefield Trinity 241 55 127 0 419
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1959–62 Great Britain 8 0 0 0 0
Source: [2]

Background

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Gerry Round was born in Hebden Bridge, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. He died on 1 February 1969, aged 29, when his car hit a lamp post in Birkenshaw, near Bradford.[3]

Playing career

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Club career

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Gerry Round made his début for Wakefield Trinity in March 1958.

Round played fullback in Wakefield Trinity's 3–27 defeat by Wigan in the Championship Final during the 1959–60 season at Odsal Stadium, Bradford on Saturday 21 May 1960.[4] He played fullback in Wakefield Trinity's 38–5 victory over Hull F.C. in the 1959–60 Challenge Cup Final during the 1959–60 season at Wembley Stadium, London on Saturday 14 May 1960, in front of a crowd of 79,773.

Round played fullback in Wakefield Trinity's 19–9 victory over Leeds in the 1961–62 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1961–62 season at Odsal Stadium, Bradford on Saturday 11 November 1961. He played fullback in the 12–6 victory over Huddersfield in the 1961–62 Challenge Cup Final during the 1961–62 season at Wembley Stadium, London on Saturday 12 May 1962, in front of a crowd of 81,263.

He played fullback in the 25–10 victory over Wigan in the 1962–63 Challenge Cup Final during the 1962–63 season at Wembley Stadium, London on Saturday 11 May 1963, in front of a crowd of 84,492.[5]

He played his last match for Wakefield Trinity during the 1968–69 season. He appears to have scored no drop-goals (or field-goals as they are currently known in Australasia), but prior to the 1974–75 season all goals, whether; conversions, penalties, or drop-goals, scored 2-points, consequently prior to this date drop-goals were often not explicitly documented, therefore '0' drop-goals may indicate drop-goals not recorded, rather than no drop-goals scored.

International honours

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Round made his debut for Great Britain in December 1959 against Australia, after only 29 senior appearances in rugby league football.[6] He won seven additional caps in 1962 against France (2 matches), Australia (3 matches), and New Zealand (2 matches).[2]

Outside of rugby league

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Gerry Round attended Rishworth School, West Riding of Yorkshire in the 1950s, before beginning a 3-year civil engineering course at University of Leeds in 1958.

References

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  1. ^ "Inquest On RL Footballer". Huddersfield Weekly Examiner. No. 33852. 15 February 1969. p. 8 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  2. ^ a b "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  3. ^ "Great Britain Rugby League star killed". Liverpool Echo. No. 27722. 1 February 1969. p. 1 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ^ "1959-1960 Championship Final". wigan.rlfans.com. 31 December 2011. Archived from the original on 25 September 2006. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
  5. ^ Hoole, Les (2004). Wakefield Trinity RLFC - FIFTY GREAT GAMES. Breedon Books. ISBN 1-85983-429-9
  6. ^ Briggs, Cyril & Edwards, Barry (12 May 1962). The Rugby League Challenge Cup Competition - Final Tie - Huddersfield v Wakefield Trinity - Match Programme. Wembley Stadium Ltd. ISBN n/a
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