Brian Carlson
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Brian Carlson (12 Feb 1933 to 14 April 1987) was an Australian rugby league player. He was a Centre & utility back for the Australia national team. He played in 17 Tests and 6 World Cup games between 1952 and 1961, as captain on 2 occasions.
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[edit] Club career
Carlson was a naturally gifted athlete raised in Newcastle, New South Wales. He represented at district junior cricket, played 1st Grade cricket with the Wickham club in Newcastle and was also a surf lifesaving competitor. After playing rugby league at school he was graded by the Norths Newcastle club in 1951. At age 18 he was selected to represent Newcastle against the touring French side.
[edit] Representative career
In 1952 he scored two tries on representative debut for Country Firsts. He represented for NSW that same season against Queensland in the 2nd game of the interstate series and then against the touring New Zealanders. He was selected in the 1952-53 Kangaroo tour playing in two Tests against England and one against France.
[edit] Career threatening injury
In 1954 a rib injury rupturing his kidney threatened both his career and his life. He was close to death but recovered and sat out the 1955 season to recuperate. He returned to the field in 1956 and 1957 accepting positions as player-coach firstly with Souths Newcastle then with Blackall in Central Queensland. He was selected in the 1957 World Cup squad and left Blackall in dispute over a release and signed a contract with the North Sydney Bears.
His return to International Rugby League at age 24 saw him rise to new heights. He played in three matches of the World Cup, was top scorer with 28 points and was named "Player of the 1957 World Cup". He played in all three Tests in 1957 against the visiting Great Britain side. He toured with the 1959-60 Kangaroos playing in 24 matches including 2 Tests and was the tour's 2nd top point scorer.
[edit] Australian captaincy
He was named Test captain in the First Test of 1959 against New Zealand. His second honour as Australian Captain came in the First Test of the 1961 tour of New Zealand. Keith Barnes was the Kangarooo captain for the 11 matches between Carlson's captaincy appearances.
He returned to Souths Newcastle in 1963 as captain-coach for 3 seasons. He worked in Newcastle as a tally clerk on the wharves.
[edit] Representative matches played
| Team | Matches | Years |
|---|---|---|
| New South Wales | 15 | 1952-1959 |
| Queensland | 4 | 1957 |
| Australia | 23 | 1952-1961 |
[edit] Sources
- Whiticker, Alan (2004) Captaining the Kangaroos, New Holland, Sydney
