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1960/61 and 1961/62 seasons. Representing Bronte at the age of 17, Dick was chosen in the NSW State water polo team in 1958 where he competed at the
Australian Water Polo Championships in Sydney, and was selected to represent NSW on three other occasions at the Australian Water Polo Championships in Perth (1959), Melbourne (1960) and Adelaide (1961). Dick was also selected to represent Australia at water polo at age 20 for the 1960 Rome Olympic Games. Unfortunately, he was later banned from playing water polo by the Australian Swimming Union after he turned 'professional' by joining Parramatta Rugby League Club in 1962.
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and the expert coaching of ex-Hungarian international Bert Vadas, Dick became an excellent water polo player with a legendary shot at goal, and was a member of Bronte's inaugural 1st Grade water polo winning team in the NSWAWPA Premiership season of 1958/59, which they repeated in the 1959/60,
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His international rugby league debut in the First Test against South Africa in
Brisbane on 20 July 1963 saw Thornett become Australia's 28th dual code rugby international, following Michael Cleary and preceding
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As his summer sport, Dick followed in the footsteps of his two older brothers and was drawn to playing water polo for Bronte
Amateur Water Polo Club. Under the leadership of his brother
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was the leading
Australian rugby league fullback in the early sixties. Ken earned 12 Test caps for Australia and played alongside Dick at Parramatta over a 136-game club career.
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482:(23 September 1940 – 12 October 2011) was one of five Australians to have represented their country in three sports. He was an Olympic water polo player before becoming a
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John and Dick
Thornett both played together in Wallabies sides in 1961–62; Dick and Ken Thornett played together in three test matches on the
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forward, in his two senior seasons in rugby union in 1961 and 1962 Thornett made eleven national representative Tests appearances for the
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was an acclaimed
Wallaby captain who played 37 Rugby Union Tests for Australia over a distinguished 13-year career from 1955.
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and in 2008, rugby league's centennial year in
Australia, he was named as a reserve in a NSW Police team of the century.
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New South Wales
Amateur Water Polo Association Annual Reports for 1957/58, 1958/59, 1959/60 and 1960/61.
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and they played Test matches together. Dick left the amateur code after two years to join his brother
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in 1968 Thornett matched the then standing club record of four tries in a match.
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Thornett's final two club seasons at
Parramatta were affected by a bout of
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would bring to forward play shortly after
Thornett. In a club game against
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New South Wales Amateur Water Polo Association Annual Reports for 1959/60.
55:
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Thornett was born into a family of legendary footballing brothers.
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and he saw out the final year of his career with a season at
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in Tests against South Africa in 1963, on the 1963–64
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He made national representative appearances for the
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623:While playing rugby, Thornett also served in the
1311:Water polo players at the 1960 Summer Olympics
739:Auckland, 100 years of rugby league, 1909-2009
498:Thornett was raised in Sydney and educated at
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711:Toby Creswell and Samantha Trenoweth (2006).
8:
1346:People educated at Randwick Boys High School
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1296:Australia international rugby union players
535:Thornett was in the squad with his brother
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570:In 1969 he appeared as a guest player for
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1356:New South Wales rugby league team players
1351:New South Wales rugby union team players
1251:Olympic water polo players for Australia
767:The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players
126:Australia men's national water polo team
717:. Australia: Pluto Press. p. 715.
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1291:Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees
576:New Zealand national rugby league team
679:RA & the private schoolboy image
7:
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1316:Australian male water polo players
1306:Auckland rugby league team players
74:Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
14:
796:Dick Thornett at eraofthebiff.com
667:Dick Thornett rugby union profile
593:and in three matches of the 1968
1321:Rugby league players from Sydney
801:Dick Thornett at menofleague.com
776:Austn Broadcasting Corpn, Sydney
769:, Gavin Allen Publishing, Sydney
714:1001 Australians You Should Know
531:. On the Wallabies 1961 tour of
1331:Rugby union players from Sydney
1271:Australian rugby league players
1336:Sportsmen from New South Wales
1276:Dual-code rugby internationals
1256:Australian rugby union players
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737:Coffey, John and Bernie Wood
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815:Australian Olympic Committee
806:Richard Thornett – a Tribute
791:Sport Australia Hall of Fame
625:New South Wales Police Force
58:, New South Wales, Australia
880:1963–64 Kangaroo Tour squad
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765:& Hudson, Glen (2006)
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772:Andrews, Malcolm (2006)
580:New Zealand Rugby League
1286:Parramatta Eels players
1281:Sydney Roosters players
774:The ABC of Rugby League
574:in a match against the
480:Richard Norman Thornett
37:Richard Norman Thornett
1341:Randwick DRUFC players
681:ABC News 14 June 2023
648:1963–64 Kangaroo Tour
582:'s diamond jubilee.
204:International career
29:Personal information
16:Australian sportsman
551:Rugby League career
264:Playing information
257:Rugby league career
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519:Rugby Union career
143:Rugby union career
1301:Rugby union locks
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724:978-1-86403-361-8
631:Sporting brothers
506:Water Polo career
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100:Water polo career
52:23 September 1940
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964:Graeme Langlands
894:(captain, coach)
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924:Peter Gallagher
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388:Representative
348:Eastern Suburbs
326:Parramatta Eels
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162:Amateur team(s)
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67:12 October 2011
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749:. p.p.207-208
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637:John Thornett
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591:Kangaroo tour
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537:John Thornett
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105:National team
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23:Dick Thornett
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1200:Johnny Raper
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1019:Billy Wilson
1014:Ken Thornett
1008:
984:Johnny Raper
939:Brian Hambly
934:John Gleeson
919:Peter Dimond
843:Olympics.com
773:
766:
757:Bibliography
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641:Ken Thornett
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578:to mark the
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557:second-rower
554:
541:Ken Thornett
533:South Africa
522:
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484:rugby league
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137:Rugby player
113:
89:Ken Thornett
69:(2011-10-12)
18:
1246:2011 deaths
1241:1940 births
1145:Billy Smith
999:Kevin Smyth
929:Reg Gasnier
904:John Cleary
488:rugby union
153:Position(s)
80:Relative(s)
1235:Categories
1220:Harry Bath
1164:Fred Jones
1136:Bob Fulton
1091:Eric Simms
994:Kevin Ryan
979:Paul Quinn
974:Barry Muir
959:Noel Kelly
949:Ken Irvine
654:References
565:Canterbury
494:Early life
274:Second-row
48:1940-09-23
1202:(captain)
1191:Ron Coote
969:Jim Lisle
954:Les Johns
898:Ian Walsh
829:Olympedia
614:hepatitis
609:in 1912.
603:Jim Lisle
595:World Cup
587:Kangaroos
529:Wallabies
452:Australia
235:Australia
91:(brother)
86:(brother)
741:, 2009.
572:Auckland
448:1963–68
426:1963–69
322:1963–71
270:Position
225:(Points)
183:(Points)
914:Ken Day
813:at the
789:at the
543:at the
231:1961–62
189:1961–62
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393:Years
368:Total
289:Years
56:Sydney
618:Easts
396:Team
344:1972
292:Team
284:Club
251:
210:Years
168:Years
110:Years
743:ISBN
719:ISBN
486:and
383:176
371:169
339:173
330:160
220:Apps
215:Team
178:Apps
173:Team
157:Lock
121:1960
114:Team
64:Died
42:Born
841:at
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443:21
434:13
400:Pld
296:Pld
242:(6)
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465:3
415:FG
380:0
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374:0
361:3
352:9
311:FG
239:11
199:()
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1151:8
1141:7
1132:6
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1114:4
1105:3
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1087:1
1071:–
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1051:t
1044:v
871:e
864:t
857:v
727:.
420:P
410:G
405:T
316:P
306:G
301:T
50:)
46:(
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