IVOR LINGARD - PARRA'S POCKET SIZED HERCULES
Parramatta fans received a shock last year when officials placed highly regarded Leo Toohey on the transfer list and went ahead with plans to lure featherstone rover Ivor Lingard to Australia. Toohey was snapped up by Canterbury and fans eagerly awaited Lingard's first game with the blue and gold. He'd needs to be good, they said, to justify the release of the brilliant Toohey.
Ivor made his debut in a pre-season trial match against Saints. If Toohey's transfer had been a surprise, then Lingard's appearance was even a bigger shock. The diminutive, boyish-looking five-eigth would be "killed" in Sydney, they declared. Ridicule (?) such as "too small", "ridiculous (?)", "it must be his young brother, surely, this one's a ring-in" were bandied about freely around the ground. Matters did not improve for Lingard when Reg Gasnier stole the ball from him in a tackle and careered away for a run-away try.
To-day Ivor Lingard is something of a local hero. In the recent State match against St. George he silenced the great Gasnier with a remarkable display of tackling. He never left Gasnier all through the match. Against Balmain he blotted Danzey out of the game and reduced brilliant Hal Browne to a state of frustrated impotence. To rub salt into Browne's wounds, he snapped up a pass he dropped and sent Dick Thornett and Barry Rushworth goalward for a match winning try.
Last season Lingard was regarded as a steady, defensive type of five-eigth, lacking the nippiness and strength to make the most of openings. This season he is a transformed player. He had been moved to inside centre, where his opportunism in taking advantage of opponents' errors is reaping rich rewards. His deadly tackling is thwarting opposition backline moves. He is obviously appreciating the wider spaces.
How does he do it, this little fellow? He plays well above his weight, some say as much as two stone above. Lingard is exceptionally strong and is never far from the ball. He gets over a lot of ground, has clever footwork and a good pair of hands. In addition, he pays strict attention to his physical condition. He is a non-smoker and drinks but rarely, perhaps at the end of a week's work in company of his mates.
Ivor has adaprted himself to a strange country with surprising ease. Even his manner of talking, with only a trace of accent, is now completely Australian.
Parramatta supporters have not only accepted Ivor as one of their own-they have taken this pint-sized bundle of courage to their hearts.
