John Peard

John "Bomber" Peard (born 15 January 1945) is an Australian former rugby league footballer and later coach. An Australian international and New South Wales representative Five-eighth, he played for the Eastern Suburbs, St George and Parramatta NSWRFL clubs in the 1960s and 1970s. Peard's nickname, 'Bomber', came from his revolutionary towering punt kick, popularly referred to as a bomb, which terrorised opposition players, especially the Fullbacks and Wingers they were aimed at. It has now become a common feature of the modern game.[5]

Not to be confused with John Whitehead Peard.

John Peard
Personal information
Full nameJohn Henry Peard
Born (1945-01-15) 15 January 1945
Atherton, Queensland, Australia
Playing information
Height5 ft 8 in (173 cm)[1]
Weight12 st 0 lb (76 kg)[1]
PositionFive-eighth
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1966–71 Eastern Suburbs 62 11 0 10 53
1972–73 St. George 17 3 0 1 10
1974–75 Eastern Suburbs 45 5 28 0 71
1976–79 Parramatta Eels 59 16 62 0 172
Total 183 35 90 11 306
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1976–77 New South Wales 4 0 1 0 2
1975–77 Australia 11 4 0 0 12
Coaching information
Club
Years Team Gms W D L W%
1980 Parramatta Eels 22 11 2 9 50
1982–83 Penrith Panthers 52 16 1 35 31
1988 Country Origin 1 1 0 0 100
1988 New South Wales 3 0 0 3 0
Total 78 28 3 47 36
Source: [2][3][4]

Playing career

Peard played in Eastern Suburbs lower grades before making his 1st grade debut in 1966. That year the Roosters failed to win a game. But the Roosters enjoyed more success over the next few years under the coaching of Jack Gibson. They reached the Semi-finals in 1967 and 1968.

After failing to reach the finals for the next three seasons, Peard joined Graeme Langlands at the St George Dragons in 1972 and stayed for two seasons.

In 1974 Peard, along with coach Jack Gibson, rejoined the Roosters for one of the most successful periods in the club's history. He was a key figure for the Roosters, winning back to back premierships in 1974 and 1975, and they were also a winner of mid-week and pre-season cups. In Easts 38–0, 1975 premiership victory over St George, Peard kicked 7 goals. At the end of the 1975 season Peard was selected to represent Australia in that year's Rugby League World Cup, scoring a try in Australia's 25-0 thumping of England at Headingley in Leeds.

Peard joined the Parramatta Eels in 1976 and was named 'player of the year' that season, helping the club to its first ever Grand Final appearance where they faced one of the power teams of the 1970s, Manly-Warringah. His "bomb" came into play early in the Grand Final as Manly winger Tom Mooney dropped a bomb over his tryline leading to a try by Eels winger Jim Porter. Unfortunately for Peard and the Eels, the club's first premiership eluded them as Manly ran out 13-10 winners.

Parramatta made their second Grand Final in succession in 1977, this time facing Peard's former team St George. It was to be the first drawn Grand Final in premiership history with the scores locked at 9-9 at full time. The replay was a disaster for the Eels as the Dragons ran riot, winning 22-0.

By 1978, injuries had begun to take their toll and John Peard retired at the end of the 1979 season.

Post-playing career

Peard moved on to coach Parramatta, Penrith Panthers, and became the coach of New South Wales for the 1988 State of Origin series, in which NSW lost the series 3-0 despite having home ground advantage for the first time since the Origin concept became a series in 1982. His tenure lasted just one series as he was sacked following the Blues' whitewash series defeat,[6] leaving him the least successful coach in State of Origin history.[7]

Peard was later the assistant coach, then officially the first grade 'co-coach' alongside Mark Murray at the Sydney Roosters during 1993-94.

Peard also worked for the ABC as a rugby league commentator, most notably alongside Warren Boland and Arthur Beetson. This usually involved being the sideline caller of Saturday afternoon NSWRL games, for which the ABC had the live TV coverage rights for decades until the advent of the Super League War in 1995. Peard was famous for his humorous rapport with Boland, and in particular former teammate Beetson.

Peard is a life member of the Eastern Suburbs club. The John Peard Cup, which commenced in 2004, was named in his honour.[8]

Peard suffered a life-threatening stroke in 2002 and he documents his rehabilitation in his autobiography Fine Thanks Mate: John 'The Bomber' Peard on Football, Life and Second Chances, released in April, 2007.[9] As part of the book promotion he appeared on The NRL Sunday Footy Show on 1 April 2007.

Footnotes
  1. "World Series". Rugby League Week. 1975–1976. p. 85.
  2. RLP
  3. Yesterday's Hero
  4. Rugby League Project
  5. https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wmoRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=r-cDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2820,5865440
  6. Woodward, Curtis (6 June 2018). "The year State of Origin chewed up the legendary Jack Gibson and spat him out". The 81st minute. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  7. "New South Wales Origin – Coaches". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  8. "Sydney Roosters and St. George honour former great". Rleague.com. 1 July 2004. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 1 April 2007.
  9. "Book Description". ABC Shop. Archived from the original on 21 June 2007. Retrieved 1 April 2007.

References
  • Peard, John; Writer, Larry (2007). Fine Thanks Mate: John 'The Bomber' Peard on Football, Life and Second Chances. Sydney, New South Wales: ABC Books. p. 269. ISBN 978-0-7333-2103-0.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Terry Fearnley
1976–1979		 Coach
Parramatta Eels
1980		 Succeeded by
Jack Gibson
1981–1983
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