On this day, two Hall of Famers were born, Nathan Friend set up one of the most spectacular tries of all time and Great Britain suffered a massive defeat at the hands of the Kangaroos.
1902
Hall of Fame forward Vic Armbruster was born near Ballina on the NSW North Coast. Armbruster was one of the best of the many NSW players to head to Queensland in the 1920s. He was 20 when he won selection for NSW in the only interstate clash of 1922.
A tall second-rower, Armbruster settled in Toowoomba in 1924, and made an immediate impact on his new club Valleys, where he teamed with future Test stars Herb Steinohrt and Dan Dempsey.
A noted ball handler with the ability to slip a pass when surrounded by defenders and a player renowned for ”dropping back to take the high punts”, Armbruster’s international career began in the second Ashes Test of 1924. He played all three Tests against England in 1928 and was one of the first forwards chosen for the 1929–30 Kangaroo tour.
Armbruster returned to England in 1931, playing with fellow Australians Cec Aynsley and Bill Spencer at the Rochdale Hornets club, his career winding down in 1935.
1995
Jai Arrow was born in Fairfield, Queensland. He made his NRL debut with Brisbane in 2016 and played 24 matches for the club until leaving at the end of the following year.
Arrow joined the Titans and made his State of Origin debut in the 2018 series and was again called up for the Maroons the following year but his campaign was ended after suffering a leg injury after game one.
2002
Great Britain suffer their greatest humiliation in 95 years of international rugby league when they are trounced 64-10 by Australia at Aussie Stadium.
The Australians run in 11 tries to surpass their previous biggest win over the “Old Enemy” – a 50-12 result at Swinton in 1963. A crowd of 31,844 watched the first Sydney Test between the countries in a decade.
2015
An astonishing back-flipping offload by Warriors hooker Nathan Friend that leads to a try to winger David Fusitu’a creates interest across the globe as the Warriors outplay Melbourne 28-14 at Mt Smart Stadium. Vision of Friend’s achievement becomes a huge internet hit and is even replayed on US television.
2017
Queensland overcome the absence of Johnathan Thurston, Greg Inglis, Matt Scott and Darius Boyd to storm to their 11th Origin series victory in 12 years after crushing the Blues 22-6 before a record crowd at Suncorp Stadium.
2019
The Broncos continue shoring up their forward talent with the re-signing of prop Tevita Pangai until the end of 2022 on a contract reportedly worth around $600,000 per year.
This article contains information from the official records of NRL historian David Middleton.