National Film and Sound Archive - Rugby League

[Fintan O'Laighin]

The National Film and Sound Archive has a curated collection on rugby league on its website at www.nfsa.gov.au/collection/curated/rugby-league. One of the segments is from 1967 and has a photo taken on the set of "The Footy Show", featuring host Rex Mossop, North Sydney's Mick Maher and Eastern Suburbs' Bruce "Lapa" Stewart in front of the passing competition board.

The description of the segment includes info on both Mossop and Stewart, but nothing on Maher beyond his name, not even his club. Might have to send the NFSA some text.

There's a cropped version of the photo on the main page, and a larger version accompanying the article.



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Enjoy a selection of memorable rugby league moments from the NFSA collection, dating from 1922 to 1999.

You can see the earliest footage in our collection of a local match, from 1922; an international game, from 1932; the 1939 grand final between South Sydney and Balmain; and a 1937 match between NSW and Queensland, a forerunner to the hugely popular State of Origin series.

We also take a look at some vital elements of the game - such as training and coaching, as well as injuries, violence and drugs.

Other scenes include a match played during a Canberra snowstorm, a documentary about an Indigenous Australian and multicultural team that started in the 1930s, Americans playing the game in Australia in 1953 and highlights from several 1970s grand finals.

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The set of The Rugby League Show, with Rex 'Moose' Mossop as the host, Mick Maher to his right and Bruce 'Lapa' Stewart on his left. Along with the famous 'Controversy Corner' segment, a feature of The Rugby League Show was the passing competition sponsored by the Commonwealth Bank. The bank's elephant logo formed the bullseye of the target; if you managed to pass the ball successfully through the bullseye you scored 10 points and triggered the sound of an elephant trumpeting. The highest point scorer was awarded a range of gifts including a Pelaco shirt, a Meapro ham and Patra fresh orange juice.

Mossop was an Australian rugby union and rugby league player, representing Australia in both codes. He was an uncompromising forward for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles throughout the 1950s and an Australian television personality from 1964 until 1991.

Stewart was a respected Indigenous elder and mentor in the La Perouse community, Sydney, and a driving force for the La Perouse Panthers club. A flying winger, Stewart played for Eastern Suburbs Roosters in 1967 scoring 10 tries from 24 games.

This photo is a straightforward documentation of the three individuals on set, possibly for publicity purposes, although none of them are posing for the camera. It was probably taken during the actual live broadcast of the show. This was an era in which players were less media savvy than today and you can see that in the awkwardness of their postures. The studio-made target behind them adds to the unsophisticated scene.