Long service to Hornby club

Press, 24 February 1977, Page 12

Long service to Hornby club

For more than 60 years, Hornby has been a proud name in the rugby league code, and for all but the first decade John Lloyd — in whose honour the testimonial game between the Invitation team and a Canterbury XIII is being played — has served the club in one capacity or another.

It was as a sixth grade player in 1928 that Mr Lloyd made his debut for Hornby and it was not until 1948 that he retired from the playing fields. Even then, he had been an executive member of the club for 10 years. He went on to act as secretary for a similar period and was president of the club from 1958 until last year. Scores of schoolboy players were given their early grounding in rugby league by Mr Lloyd as he lent his experience to coaching, and for about 40 years he has carried out the thankless task of being the custodian of Hornby’s home ground, Leslie Park. Considerable persuasion was required before Mr Lloyd would accept a life membership of the club in 1965, and two years ago he became the first to be bestowed with life membership of the Canterbury Rugby League without actually having spent a term on that body’s administration. The fine work of Mr Lloyd in strengthening

Hornby’s resources has filtered through to other clubs, and the whole sport has benefited. Hornby. The very name has prompted feelings of anxiety into opposing sides during three periods of particular prominence. There were the great tussles with the Marist Old Boys side which had transferred from rugby union in the mid-twenties; the title wins of 1933, 1934 and 1936; and the six championship victories between 1962 and 1969. Great individuals, too, have made their way at Hornby. Older patrons will recall the club’s early Kiwis, Parkes, Henry, Stuart, Mason and WilsonHall, after World War II there was the accomplished outside back, Bill McKenzie, and in the 1960 s the magnificent loose forward, Mel Cooke, had with him John Bray, lan Drayton and Brian Langton. The enterprise which exists within the club is typified by its plush headquarters at Leslie Park, and its quick action in rebuilding its ranks when it fell on comparatively hard times — in performance, not in numbers — a couple of seasons ago. Hornby was third in the 1976 Canterbury competition, and has its eyes set firmly on further improvement in the months ahead.