April 16: Priddis reaches 300; Knights' brothers in arms
On this day, Luke Priddis enters the '300 Club' and a Hall of Fame winger, who played for both South and North Sydney, was born.
1892
Cyril 'Cec' Blinkhorn was born at Redfern. The winger joined North Sydney in 1914 to woo crowds with lightning fast feet and bewildering sidestep. He quickly graduated to first grade and was a shining star for Norths over five seasons before he switched to South Sydney in 1919.
When he crossed back over the harbour and rejoined the Bears in 1920 he brought the great Harold Horder with him. The pair formed one of the finest wing combinations the game has seen. Their efforts helped give Norths two premierships and two City Cups between 1920 and 1922. Both toured with the 1921–22 Kangaroos.
2008
Cronulla second-rower Lance Thompson announces his retirement following battles with a knee injury and illness (type one diabetes). The match ends in a 21-20 golden point loss for the Sharks.
2010
St George Illawarra hooker Luke Priddis becomes the 14th player in the history of the premiership to play 300 games, when he helps the Dragons to a 19-6 defeat of the Gold Coast at Skilled Park. It was Priddis' 14th and last season of first grade. He had won the Clive Churchill Medal and premiership with the Panthers in 2003 and was a member of the 2000 Broncos premiership-wining team.
2016
Newcastle field three sets of brothers in their line-up for a round seven clash against Brisbane. Daniel and Jacob Saifiti, Sione and Pat Mata’utia and Tariq and Korbin Sims all play in the match at Hunter Stadium. It is the first time since 1994 when Darren and Jason Smith, Steven and Glen Hughes, and Ben and Simon Gillies played in a game for Canterbury that three sets of brothers have appeared together.
2019
St George Illawarra extend the contract of coach Paul McGregor for a further two seasons.
2020
Wests Tigers coach Michael Maguire contacts the manager of Quade Cooper to determine if the out-of-work Wallaby playmaker would be available for a short-term deal in the NRL.
This article contains information from the official records of NRL historian David Middleton.
