🐇 Howard Hallett | Rabbitohs Coach #4
Full Name: George Ernest Howard Hallett
Born: 3/7/1890 at Richmond (Melbourne), NSW
Died: 28/5/1970 at Camperdown (Sydney), NSW [aged 79]
Club Playing Career: South Sydney 1908-24 (premiers 1909, 1914 and 1918)
Representative Playing Career: Australia/Australasia 1911-12, 1914 (six Tests and 27 tour Games, 11 tries); NSW 1909 and 1911-14 (18 Games, two tries, three goals, one field goal); City 1912; Metropolis 1910 and 1914; Kangaroos 1912 and 1917; Combined First Grade 1909; Red 1910
Club Coaching Career: South Sydney 1925-26 (two premierships)
Representative Coaching Career: South Coast-Berrima 1925
Awards and Accolades: Silver Belt Award (for Best and Fairest) 1914; NSW Life Membership 1921; Rabbitohs Life Membership 1961; Rugby League Week Top 100 (Ranked No. 40) 1992; NRL Hall of Fame (Inductee No. 8) 2008
There were no other fullbacks to compare Howard Hallett with before World War II until ‘The Little Master’, Clive Churchill, burst onto the scene in the late 1940s and started the modern era of fullbacks. Before him, fullbacks in League followed the rugby union tradition of offering little more than catching the ball and kicking it and providing a last line of defence. Hallett possessed wonderful kicking and handling skills, was able to catch the ball from a high kick on his fingertips while running at top speed, and was far superior to any of his contemporary fullbacks in initiating passing movements. He was the first player to master the art of kicking the ball into touch on the bounce, and in his golden period his tackling was deadly. Hallett's teammates were so assured of his ability to stop opponents in the last line of defence that he was bestowed the nickname of ‘The Rock of Gibraltar'.
Hallett starred as an Australian Rules player with Eastern Suburbs and switched codes to join South Sydney Rugby League club in 1908, the year of the game's first competition in Australia, when he played in three Second Grade games for the Rabbitohs. This was the only time he ever played in lower grades during his illustrious career. He made his top grade debut in the opening round of 1909 and continued to play first grade football for the Rabbitohs until 1924. His last game was against Wests in the 1924 City Cup competition where he broke his jaw. Very few players had such long playing careers as Hallett in those early years, with Tedda Courtney, being the only other player to play that long since 1908.
Hallett had a wonderful representative record which was unfortunately interrupted by four years of World War I, when international football was suspended and even inter-state for three of those years. He continued to serve the South Sydney club with distinction, being part of their three premiership-winning sides in 1909, 1914 and 1918. After retiring as a player, he became a coach of the Club and with immediate success. He coached the Rabbitohs First Grade and Reserve Grade teams in 1925 and 1926, and won every title on offer in both seasons. Souths’ 1925 First Grade side is still the only team to have won every game during the season. All other unbeaten sides played in at least one draw. The 1925 Firsts were ten points ahead of second-placed Wests on the ladder, and the League were forced to shorten the season and start the City Cup to keep fans interested. Their dominance was so great that the following season the NSWRL introduced an automatic finals series in order to maintain interest in the competition all the way to the last game. The system stayed in place until 1953.
Hallett was an all-round sportsman, playing A-grade cricket and being inducted as a Life Member of the NSW Rugby League, Maroubra Surf Club and the Rabbitohs. He was also the Club Secretary of the Maroubra Surf Club during the 1920s. Hallett died in 1970 at Royal Prince Henry Hospital, Camperdown, at the age of 79.
Hallett has the best success rate of any coach in the first grade premiership since 1908, in his two years as coach of the Rabbitohs they played in 28 games and lost only two – for a success rate of 92.85%.
