When Australia run out for their opening World Cup game against Fiji this weekend you might be wondering why their team list looks like a Powerball quick pick.1
It’s because of Michael Hagan. Kind of.
At this year’s World Cup, the nations will number their squad from 1 to 24, with each player’s name on the back.
You would assume that most will name their best 17, give them jerseys 1 to 17 and then fill in the rest. That’s basically how the Super League has done it for years.
Pretty simple and boring, right? Hagan thinks so.
The Kangaroos’ assistant coach has been credited with the idea of numbering the Australian squad by when they made their Test debut.
Meaning veteran Daly Cherry-Evans, who debuted back in 2011, will wear no. 2 throughout the tournament. Why not no. 1? Well, that has of course been allocated to the captain of the side, James Tedesco.
The uncapped players will then get their numbers based on alphabetical order. So Matt Burton gets no. 12 while Isaah Yeo gets no. 24.
As of writing this, no other nation has released their squad numbers. I hope some get into the spirit and do some truly unhinged things as well. Maybe go from 24 to 1 or pull some numbers out of a hat.
This is how the side will line up in Leeds:
1. James Tedesco
9. Josh Addo-Carr
8. Latrell Mitchell
4. Valentine Holmes
23. Murray Taulagi
7. Cameron Munster
2. Daly Cherry-Evans
18. Tino Fa'asuamaleaui
3. Ben Hunt
5. Jake Trbojevic
17. Angus Crichton
22. Jeremiah Nanai
11. Cameron Murray
20. Harry Grant
16. Reuben Cotter
13. Pat Carrigan
10. Jack Wighton
Seems like a lot of people are outraged about this. Some (me) find it funny.
I don’t have much else to add on the World Cup but you know what I do want to talk about? Something that’s never spoken about enough.
You guessed it - SUPER LEAGUE.
For Southern Hemisphere rugby league, this is pretty much the first time that specific squad numbers will be handed out since the 1997 Super League season.
Pre-NRL, teams would number their squads from first grade down to third grade. So on occasion, you’d see a player called up to the senior team on gameday wearing a no. 29 or something.
From the 1950s to the 1980s, the numbering by position was different, with the forward pack reversed (8 - lock, 9 and 10 - second row, 11 and 13 - front row, 12 - hooker). That changed in 1989 to the current system.
Since 1998, it’s just been the usual 1 to 17 almost every week with a late inclusion wearing the 20 or 21 here and there. There have been some exceptions.
Last year, we were blessed with Newcastle’s Dom Young wearing no. 32 on his NRL debut because it’s the only jersey that fit him.
In 2000, Melbourne’s Marcus Bai returned from injury wearing no. 55 and the club were later fined for it because the NRL hates fun.
But it was in 1997 that we got true jersey number madness.
While the old shrivs in the ARL were happy with their classic numbering system, the absolute lunatics in the Super League wanted more. Not content with global domination and billboards in China, they decided to spice up their competition by letting the inmates run wild.
They let the players pick their jersey numbers for the season.
So let’s investigate. Who chose what, who was boring, who wasn't and most importantly, who got to wear no. 23?2
Adelaide Rams
The Rams (RIP) were one of the clubs that truly embraced the chaos. They went into the season without a no. 2 jersey and nothing from jerseys 14 to 20. Regular wingers Wayne Simonds and Joe Tamani wore 22 and 44 respectively.
Kurt Wrigley started at five-eighth 10 times in the no. 33, while Luke Williamson started there nine times in jersey 51.
Williamson was one of four Rams to wear a jersey in the 50s with second-rower Andrew Pierce wearing 50, centre David Kidwell donning 52 and prop Adam Peek making his first-grade debut in no. 53.
Captain Kerrod Walters started 20 games at hooker in no. 27, although he was outdone by his older brother Steve but we’ll get to that later.
Chaos rating: 9 / 10. The Rams understood the assignment.
Highest number: Adam Peek - 53
No. 23: Bruce Mamando. Papua New Guinean legend wore the 23 for Adelaide. 1997 would be the high point of his first-grade career, playing 14 games.
Auckland Warriors
Well, this is disappointing. The Warriors, who wore cool and creative jerseys during the 1990s, did absolutely nothing exciting with their numbers and just named their squad 1 to 24.
Gene Ngamu played 20 games at five-eighth. What number did he wear? 6. Stacey Jones started every game at halfback. His number? 7. Yawn.
David Bailey, Meti Noovao, Aaron Whittaker, Jerry Seuseu and Steve Buckingham all wore numbers higher than 26 but they were fringe players who mostly played towards the end of the season.
The Warriors may as well have been in the ARL with this attitude.
Chaos rating: 1 / 10. Fail.
Highest number: Steve Buckingham - 38
No. 23: Anthony Swann. A New Zealand international in 1996, Swann was a regular for the Warriors in 1997, playing 23 games at centre.
Brisbane Broncos
Much like the Warriors, the Broncos kept it simple and numbered their squad by the strongest lineup. I mean, what do you expect with Wayne Bennett as coach.
Mick De Vere, Shane Webcke and Andrew Gee were regulars and wore “higher” numbers nothing outlandish (18, 21 and 23 respectively). Although, unlike the other two, Gee was an established veteran at the time and still went with 23. Interesting.
Outside of that, Phillip Lee wore 33 and Shane Walker wore 44 but both were just squad players in 1997. Petero Civoniceva made his debut a year later but in reserve grade wore 32.
Chaos rating: 2 / 10. Hey, we got at least one over 40.
Highest number: Shane Walker - 44
No. 23: The aforementioned Gee. Did the Maroons prop choose 23 out of his love for Michael Jordan? Was he just randomly assigned the number? Perhaps we’ll never know.
Canberra Raiders
Well, this might almost be as boring as the previous two. The Mal Meninga-coached Raiders did absolutely nothing wacky with their squad numbers.
The craziest it got was winger Geoff McNamara playing five games in the no. 40 jersey.
After their top 22, they used a bunch of players throughout the year with high numbers. The names include McNamara, no. 25 Damon Booby (haha), no. 45 Barry Lea and no. 41 Matt Gafa. Gafa made his debut as an 18-year-old in 1997, playing two games, but wouldn’t play first grade again until 2004.
Chaos rating: 4 / 10. They did have numerous 40s.
Highest number: Barry Lea - 45
No. 23: Ben Rauter. Rauter wore 23 in reserve grade, making his NRL debut in 1998. He currently works in a coaching capacity with the Cowboys.
Canterbury Bulldogs
Finally, some good fucking food numbers. The Bulldogs opening day team sheet looked like this:
7, 11, 33, 22, 20, 42, 1, 5, 19, 3, 25, 50, 10, 18, 23.
Amazing. Props Mitch Newton and Darren Britt wore numbers 5 and 3 respectively. Five-eighth Travis Norton wore no. 42. Winger Darryl Halligan had no. 11. Solomon Haumono wore no. 50!
Their numbers were so insane that nobody in first grade wore the numbers 2, 6, 8, 9, 14, 15 or 17 in 1997. Where were they? In reserve grade. Ben Gillies wore 2, Matua Parkinson had 8, Hannes Ventner had 14, Tony Grimaldi had 15 and Robert Tocco had 17.
The Bulldogs’ 1997 season ended at Belmore in a minor prelim loss to Penrith in which their halves Craig Polla-Mounter and Barry Berrigan wore jerseys no. 1 and no. 4. The world is not fair.
Chaos rating: 10 / 10. This was art.
Highest number: Paul Mellor - 51
No. 23: Robert Relf. Big Rob Relf wore the prestigious 23 throughout ‘97. He played 126 games for the Dogs before stints at the Cowboys and Widnes. Had a biff with Peter Shields in ‘98.
Cronulla Sharks
The Super League runners-up were one of the fun clubs when it came to jersey numbers in 1997.
How fun? Well, fullback David Peachey wore 21, their wingers wore 23 (Richie Barnett) and 45 (Mat Rogers), one of their regular centres wore 33 (Russell Richardson) and their starting front rowers, Les Davidson and Jason Stevens, wore 38 and 40.
Nobody in their first-grade squad even wore the no. 1 jersey. From the (very few) reserve grade team lists I could find, no one wore it there either.
The Sharks lost the decider to the Broncos but look at this lineup:
21, 45, 3, 33, 17, 6, 7, 8, 9, 40, 11, 31, 13, 12, 18, 24, 38.
In a Grand Final. Three thirties and two forties! They should’ve won.
Chaos rating: 10 / 10. Jerseys 40 and 45 in a Grand Final means instant 10.
Highest number: Paul Mellor - 51
No. 23: Richie Barnett. The Kiwi international was in his final season for the Sharks before heading to the Roosters in 1998. He did not play in the Grand Final.
Hunter Mariners
The Hunter Mariners, who almost became World Club Champions before dying, were pretty meh when it came to their squad numbers.
They went 1 to 17 with a few exceptions. Scott Hill, recruited from the Bulldogs, was the club’s first-choice five-eighth wearing no. 21. A young Brett Kimmorley finished the season as starting halfback in jersey 20. Prop Anthony Brann was a regular in the side in his no. 31.
One very cool thing did happen though. Tyran Smith, who started the year with North Queensland and wore no. 12, joined the club mid-season and wore the no. 55 jersey. Outstanding.
Chaos rating: 3 / 10. Tyran Smith gives them a slight bump.
Highest number: Tyran Smith - 55
No. 23: Steve Ebrill. Ebrill played his lone first-grade game in the no. 23 jersey. His brother Greg later played for Manly and the Northern Eagles.
North Queensland Cowboys
It seems like the Cowboys tried to earnestly name their best lineup and then allocate the jerseys accordingly. It turned out way better than that.
Kyle Warren was given the no. 1 jersey but became the club’s regular lock. Instead, Scott Mahon (no. 22) and Reggie Cressbrook (no. 14) spent time at fullback.
One of their regular wingers, Luke Phillips, wore no. 28. Mark Shipway played 15 games at centre wearing no. 20. Their captain and starting front-rower Ian Roberts wore 31. Second rower Peter Jones wore 21. They were all over the place and it rocked.
Not to be outdone by his little brother, Steve Walters played 21 games at hooker in the no. 49 jersey. Seven other players would join Walters and don numbers in the 30+ range. They may have come last but at least they looked crazy doing it.
Chaos rating: 8 / 10. Their team lists looked randomly generated every week.
Highest number: Steve Walter - 49
No. 23: Ian Dunemann. Ian and his brother Andrew partnered in the halves together five times in ‘97. The Toowoomba duo were the first pair of brothers to ever play for the club.
Penrith Panthers
People think the Panthers are cocky and abrasive in 2022? Wait until they meet the maniacs from ‘97. These guys had ZERO respect for conventional rugby league numbering systems.
Their returning captain, and alleged ‘one-eyed flog’, Greg Alexander led the way by wearing the no. 55 jersey. Kiwi international Jason Williams played 19 games on the wing in no. 43. Ryan Girdler spent time at five-eighth and centre in his no. 13 jersey.
In the forwards, Phil Adamson regularly started at prop in jersey 25, while his brother Matt started 16 games at second-row in no. 21. Their first-choice lock Darren Brown wore 33!
Much like the Rams and Bulldogs, they didn’t even use a no. 2 jersey. But they did use a no. 45, worn by future club legend Tony Puletua in his rookie year.
Chaos rating: 9.5 / 10. They killed it.
Highest number: Greg Alexander - 55
No. 23: Gordon Falcon. A union convert from New Zealand, Falcon played 22 games over three years for Penrith before returning to the 15-man game with stints at the Brumbies and Hurricanes.
Western Reds
And finally, we get to the Western Reds, who were cruelly taken from us at the end of the ‘97 season. I’m happy to report that the Reds did in fact “get it”.
While some of their regulars wore the usual numbers (halfback Matt Rodwell wore no. 7, starting prop Robbie Kearns wore 8, and lock Dale Fritz had 13) they also had some true nutters in the squad.
Julian O’Neill (no. 22), Matt Geyer (no. 15) and Greg Fleming (no. 48) were the club’s fullbacks throughout the year. Five-eighth Scott Wilson rocked the no. 26, while front-rower Rodney Howe wore the no. 49 kit.
They also had two players in the 50s with Damien Chapman, a regular at hooker, wearing no. 50, and winger Tristan Brady-Smith donning the 51.
Chaos rating: 8 / 10. They deserved to be brought back for this.
Highest number: Tristan Brady-Smith - 51
No. 23: I don’t know! Nobody wore it in first grade and in the team lists I found I couldn’t see a no. 23 in reserve grade either. Therefore the no. 23 Western Rams jersey is the world’s rarest rugby league jersey.
So there you have it. Now you know all about the magical history of jersey numbers. What have we learned from all this? I don’t know, bring back the Rams and Reds, I guess.
You probably already know.
Thanks to Michael Jordan, athletes the world over love to wear the no. 23. Surely some absolute superstars wore the number in 1997, right?