In 2015, the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs celebrate 80 years. In a video featuring Ray Warren re-live some of the greatest moments from our history.
The video was featured at the Bulldogs 80th anniversary Gala dinner to celebrate the club’s history and heritage.
To celebrate the occasion, the Board of Directors have chosen to create a Hall of Fame, with five inaugural inductees being added this evening. A selection panel including Gary Lester, Barry Nelson OAM, Ian Heads OAM, David Middleton and Phil Gould came together to select the inductees and were provided with the following criteria:
- A Hall of Fame inductee player must have been selected in either the 50th, 70th or 80th team of the decade.
- They must be retired
- No more than five players can be inducted at one time
- Must be a player, administrators are not eligible.
- Must have played at least 100 first grade games for the Bulldogs
- And they must embody the spirit and values of the Bulldogs
The five inaugural players inducted into the Hall of Fame are:
- Eddie Burns: was a local junior who went on to play 221 games (1935-50) for the club before then coaching the first grade side for three seasons (1960-62). Burns was a mobile tough forward who had a reputation for his try scoring ability, mainly through his support play.
- Les Johns: played nine seasons (1963-71) in the blue and white as a fullback who also had the goal kicking duties. He was named as part of the Ring of Champions back in 2007 before then being named in the ‘100 Greatest Players’ in 2008.
- Dr George Peponis: moved to Australia as an 18 month old and became entrenched in the Canterbury area. Played 11 seasons (1972-82) and also captained the club for five years that included the 1980 Premiership. Is a member of the ‘Ring of Champions’
- Steve Mortimer: held the halfback position at the club for 13 seasons (1976-88) making 272 appearances. ‘Turvey’ captained the club to the 1984 and 1985 Premierships and was also part of the 1980 and 1988 victories. Also a member of the ‘Ring of Champions’ and the ‘100 Greatest Players’.
- Terry Lamb: was the five-eighth of the club for 13 seasons making 262 appearances, with 121 of those as captain. Was part of four Premiership winning sides and is still today the most talked about Bulldog of all time. ‘Baa’ is also a member of the ‘Ring of Champions’ and the ‘100 Greatest Players’.
A Team of the Decade was also named, with the best starting 13 and four reserves named that played between 2005-2014. This team, named this evening, follows on with the tradition after a 50th Anniversary and 70th Anniversary teams were named.
The past decade has included two Grand Final appearances and four other appearances in the finals which shows how strong and high quality the calibre of players have been over the past 10 years.
The final 17 were chosen and endorsed by the Board with seven current players and 10 former players chosen in the side.
The selected side is as follows:
1. Luke Patten
2. Hazem El Masri
3. Josh Morris
4. Willie Tonga
5. Matt Utai
6. Josh Reynolds
7. Trent Hodkinson
8. James Graham
9. Michael Ennis
10. Roy Asotasi
11. Sonny Bill Williams
12. Andrew Ryan
13. Greg Eastwood
14. Aiden Tolman
15. Mark O’Meley
16. Willie Mason
17. Frank Pritchard
