Vernon Andrew Neville Bakalich (8 July 1929 – 21 November 2015) was a New Zealand rugby league player who represented New Zealand in the 1957 World Cup.[2]
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Vernon Andrew Neville Bakalich[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 8 July 1929 New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 21 November 2015 (aged 86) Whakatāne, New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Wing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing career
editBakalich played for Richmond in the Auckland Rugby League competition and was an Auckland representative. He was first selected for the New Zealand national rugby league team in 1953 in a test series against Australia. Bakalich played in the 1954 test series against Great Britain but was not selected for the inaugural World Cup later that year.
In 1955 Bakalich returned to the side, touring Great Britain and France. Bakalich scored a then record twenty six tries in 30 games while on tour.[3] He toured Australia in 1956 and was part of the squad for the 1957 World Cup. His last appearance for the Kiwis was against France in 1958. In total he played in 42 games for New Zealand, including in 13 tests between 1954 and 1957.[4]
In his final game for Auckland, in 1958, he scored a length-of-the-field try against the touring Great Britain side.[citation needed]
Legacy
editIn 2013 he was named on the wing in the Richmond rugby league club's team of the century.[4]
He died on 21 November 2015.[5]
References
edit- ^ BAKALICH, Vernon Andrew Neville - 1953 - 57 Archived 5 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine nzleague.co.nz
- ^ a b "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". rugbyleagueproject.org. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
- ^ Coffey, John and Bernie Wood Auckland, 100 years of rugby league, 1909-2009, 2009. ISBN 978-1-86969-366-4.
- ^ a b "Farewell dear friend -Vern Bakalich". richmondroversrugbyleague.com. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2016.
- ^ "Vernon Bakalich". nzherald.co.nz. 23 November 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2016.