Painful end to rugby league career

Press, 11 September 1985, Page 8

Painful end to rugby league career

By

JOHN COFFEY

Jeff Whittaker, the regular scrum-half in the Halswell premier rugby league side, did not share in the ecstacy of his club’s first Canterbury championship triumph at the Show Grounds last Sunday. The luckless Whittaker was in Christchurch Hospital when his partner in the Halswell halves, Phil Bancroft, kicked a lastsecond, long-range field goal to complete a 17-16 victory over Hornby in a dramatic grand final. Before the kick-off Whittaker had decided it would be his- Jast appearance in

Canterbury club football. He announced his intention to retire and concentrate fulltime on his business as a trotting trainer. But in the fifteenth minute Whittaker broke his right ankle when taken in a tackle by two opponents. Unaware of the extent of his injury, he had the ankle strapped and hobbled back on to the field. He was replaced soon afterwards. Whittaker was admitted to hospital while the match was still in progress. About 50 Halswell supporters and players called on him before setting off for their after-match celebrations,

and the steady stream of visitors continued until he underwent surgery on Monday afternoon. Meanwhile, the two stable girls employed at Whittaker’s training establishment at Sockburn were joined by plenty of willing volunteers in mucking out the stables and giving the 17 horses track-work. Whittaker, aged 24, represented Canterbury in every grade from eight years to 15 years, and captained The Rest against New Zealand at a national schoolboys’ tournament. He also led a provincial 19 years squad to Australia in 1978.