Rugby League

Alan Ridley

1910 - 1993

League International


A	B	C

D	E	F

Image Descriptions:
A & B - 1929 Kangaroo's caps.
C - 1934 West's football cap.
D - 1929 Federal Capital Sprint Trophy.
E - 1936 Football boots.
F - 1936 Kangaroo's Jumper & blazer pocket.

Alan Ridley was born in Gulargambone on 18 July 1910 and played his early football with Queanbeyan Acton Rovers in the Canberra competition. His rise to international honours was meteoric and he developed into one of the greatest wingers in league history. At the age of 18 he was chosen from the Canberra competition to represent Group 8, Southern Division, New South Wales Country and Australia, all in the same year without having played first grade football.

Alan was a big man at 14 stone and 6 ft. He won the 100 yard sprint for the Federal Territory in a time of 10.1 seconds, and he was the first sportsman from the Federal Territory to represent Australia in any sport.

He was the 'baby' of the 1929 Kangaroos and was highly acclaimed in England. In a match at Castleford which Australia won 53-2, Alan scored five tries, a feat that was not equalled until achieved by Terry Lamb in 1986. Ridley was reserve for the first Test but suffered a knee injury before the second and underwent surgery in London. He did not play again on tour.

Prior to his surgery, he played in seven games and scored 11 tries. He joined Western Suburbs in 1931 and between then and 1936 the club won two premierships. Ridley was selected, along with Wests captain Frank McMillan, for the 1933-1934 Kangaroo tour. On this tour he played 27 matches and scored 25 tries, the highest for the team, and was second in point scoring only to the immortal Dave Brown who scored 19 tries and kicked 82 goals.

Alan Ridley moved to Orange when offered a position with Radio 2GZ in 1933. He continued to travel to Sydney each weekend to play with Wests until 1936. He played in all three Tests against England in 1936 and then retired just as suddenly as he had entered the game.

He married Edna Pritchard who captained the New South Wales women's cricket team and played basketball for New South Wales. Alan was Mayor of Orange in 1956-1957 and retired in Orange, the city he represented with pride and great distinction.

Paul Dunn

1963 -

League International

Paul Anthony Dunn was born at Molong on 7 August 1963. His family moved to Orange in 1967. His first Rugby League experience was with the Holy Family under 8's team, where he filled the role of prop forward and quickly gave indications that he had an outstanding talent. From 1971 Paul played with De La Salle College teams, up to the under 13 division before his family moved to Blackheath and then to Bathurst in 1979.

After one session with St Pats in Bathurst Paul moved to Railway and from there he represented Western Division under the age of 18 before moving to Sydney to join Eastern Suburbs. Paul played 30 first grade matches with Easts between 1983 and 1985 and then moved to Canterbury Bankstown for the 1986 season. During his time with Canterbury, Paul was to represent Sydney Firsts, County Origin and New South Wales and Australia on 15 occasions.

His first Test was against Papua New Guinea on 4 October 1986. That was followed by the undefeated Kangaroo tour of England and France. Paul played in New Guinea as a second row forward, but after several lead-up matches in England he was chosen as a prop for the second and third Tests. He retained this position for the two Tests against France and then a further Test against Papua New Guinea. Paul also played in the World Cup final against New Zealand in 1988. At the end of the season he was awarded the prestigious Clive Churchill Medal.

Between 1986 and 1990 Paul played over 100 first grade matches with the Canterbury Bankstown Club. His early training in Orange junior teams gave him the inspiration to pursue a career in league and also instilled in him the sense of fair play for which he was noted throughout his representative career.

Darren J Britt

1969 -

League International

Darren James Britt was born in Orange on 9 October 1969 and attended Holy Family Infants School which also produced another Test and Bulldog star in Paul Dunn. He attended De La Salle which later become James Sheahan Catholic High School, where Darren completed Year 10. On leaving school Darren played for two years with the CYMS Under 18s before moving to Sydney at the age of 18.

His introduction to Sydney football was with Western Suburbs Magpies in 1988, where he remained until 1993. In his first year with the Magpies in 1988, the hard running prop forward powered his way to selection for City Under 19s and NSW Under 19s.

Darren joined the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs in 1994 and in 1995 achieved a career highlight with a win over Manly in the Grand Final. In 1997 he took over the captaincy and led the Bulldogs to the Grand Final only to lose to the Brisbane Broncos.

Darren continued to impress everyone with his tremendous dedication and high work rate, but it was not until 1998 that his efforts were recognised by the national selectors and he donned the Green and Gold for Australia in his first Test against New Zealand. Darren has now played four Tests against the Kiwis and one against England.

Up to the 2000 season, Darren had represented the Bulldogs on 130 occasions, 124 of which have been in first grade, 6 in reserve grade and 2 World Cup Challenge games. Well known Bulldogs player/coach Terry Lamb probably summed up Darren when he said recently: 'Darren's an old-style type of footballer, who is much respected by both his team mates, and by his opposition'.