Never Before, Never Again

Description

Larry Writer tells the remarkable and timeless story of how St George - one of Australia's most famous rugby league clubs - accomplished a sporting miracle from 1956 to 1966. Delving into those 11 seasons and the lives of the men who achieved the impossible, Writer produces a remarkable study of sporting success. Never Before, Never Again was first published in 1995. Copies have been hard to find ($130-$150 on eBay). To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the last of the 11 premierships - in a season when the NRL's marketing mantra is 'History Happens' - this special edition features new forewords by two modern-day Saints heroes, Craig Young and Mark Gasnier, and ends with an emotional postscript, built on an exclusive interview Larry Writer conducted with two of the Saints' heroes of the streak: Johnny King and Eddie Lumsden. We learn what has become of these two league giants and their comrades. They are all in their 70s and 80s now; a number have passed away. But the spirit of '56-66 lives on, and must never be forgotten.

Larry Writer's first book was published in 1990; since then he has written acclaimed biographies, such as his study of policeman/footballer 'Bumper' Farrell, and books on sport, true crime and Australian culture. His work, Razor, won the 2002 Ned Kelly best non-fiction crime book award, and was the basis for the Underbelly: Razor TV series. Dangerous Games was short-listed for the inaugural William Hill Australian Sports Book of the Year in 2015. Writer has co-written books with Divinyls singer Chrissie Amphlett, tennis champions Rod Laver, John Newcombe and Margaret Court, AFL's Paul Roos, rugby union's Dan Crowley, and league's Greg Alexander, Rex Mossop, Petero Civoniceva, Kevin Walters and John Peard.