Blackler Taking Case To Court
The 1963 New Zealand Rugby League hooker, G. C. Blackley, has instituted legal proceedings against the New Zealand Council because of its refusal to grant him a clearance to play in Australia, according to an Australian newspaper report.
Writing in the Sydney “Sun,” E. E. Christensen says that the finding will probably determine the future of Rugby League as an amateur sport in New Zealand.
Blackler, now married and resident in Australia, was refused a clearance because he had not played a full cycle of tours for New Zealand.
The report states that if the council loses the case any player could accept a professional offer to play overseas. “The alternative would be to bring in long-overdue payments for players in New Zealand,” said Christensen, who
was in New Zealand with the 1965 Australian team.
“In New Zealand the players have all the disadvantages of being classed as professionals in sport’s most classconscious country. But the farcical position exists where these alleged professionals get no money.
“The eventual payment of players in New Zealand is inevitable and Blackler's ease could hasten the start of it.”
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Bibliographic details
Press, Volume CV, Issue 31027, 5 April 1966, Page 19
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190Blackler Taking Case To Court Press, Volume CV, Issue 31027, 5 April 1966, Page 19
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