Vale Noel Kelly

[The Mad Hatter]

Another Wests and Australian great and RL hard man passes on.

A true character, he will be missed.

Condolences to his family and friends and to both the Western Suburbs and Wests Tigers fan bases.

Noel never took a backward step and is a legend of the game.

RIP

 

[King hit]

RIP to one of the toughest and greatest players

RIP Noel, I'm a collector of vintage Rugby league jerseys so I'm going to wear a Magpies one tonight as a touch to his memory

 

[Generalzod]

 

[Suitman]

What a great clip.
The more things change, the more they stay the same.

RIP Noel Kelly.
Controversy Corner was a staple of mine as a kid.

 

[PARRA_FAN]

Wow. I'm in shock. It wasn't that long ago that I went to a Rugby League function and I saw Noel Kelly. He was sinking back the schooners, having a good laugh, talking about the good old days of footy. He was hilarious.

A true character. The game has lost one of the greats. He will sadly be missed

RIP Noel Kelly

 

[Brutus]

No no no no, not Ned!!!!

One of the true characters and great men of the game.

RIP you Ipswich, Magpies and Aussie legend.

 

[Babyface O'reilly]

And still the owner of the best quote in rugby with his classic put-down of Rex Mossop’s auto biography.

“I never knew how tough Rex was until I read his book”

Vale champ.

 

[Twizzle]

A real hard head of the game, saved his best for the test matches against the poms.

RIP champ

 

[Knight Dragon]

A genuine hard man of the game, I had the pleasure of meeting him many years ago in North Queensland.

RIP mate.

 

[Generalzod]

All those panelist have passed on now, One of the reason I was a Cronulla supporter was because of Steve Rogers......

 

[Babyface O'reilly]

All those panelist have passed on now, One of the reason I was a Cronulla supporter was because of Steve Rogers......

That shirt collar On Steve was something else. I remember all those blokes on the panel but I thought Peter Peters was a regular too or did he come later on?

 

[Twizzle]

Late rugby league icon Noel Kelly set a quirky record that may never be broken

By The Mole

Rugby league legend Noel Kelly, who died yesterday, was one of the game's great characters - and set a record that may never be beaten.

Kelly was sent off TWICE in the same game - and refused to go either time!

A hard man in the tough era of the 1960s, Kelly was sent off 15 times and suffered 16 broken noses in his career - but one infamous day in France on the 1963 Kangaroo tour, he decided enough was enough.

"It was unbelievable really and the sort of thing that could probably only happen in France," Kelly told me several years ago.

"We had this same ref, his name was Monsieur Casson, several games in a row and we developed a mutual hatred for each other. Every time the ball went into the scrum and I won it, he would recall it - stuff like that.

Iconic rugby league hooker Noel Kelly. (Getty)
"Finally, in a game against Avignon, I got fed up and asked (teammate) Frank Stanton, who spoke more French than the rest of us put together, how to call this bloke a 'so-and-so'. He told me and I gave the ref a mouthful.

"He sent me straight off but I just said I wasn't going. I sat down on the ground, and then I moved back to the second row.

"He tried to send me off again for belting a bloke later in the game but I just sat down again. Eventually he gave up and I finished the game."

A much-feared enforcer on the field, Kelly was a warm, compassionate man off it and the rugby league world is in mourning at his passing.

https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/noel-k...a42-9847-48107fd7f04f?ocid=Social-NRLFS#close

 

[Hutty1986]

An absolute icon of the game. RIP to a great of a great game.

 

[super_coach]

A good mate of mine told me a story about the day he debut for the Magpies. He said he was just out of school and was picked at lock. Anyway, Ned Kelly came up to him in the dressing room and told if anyone belts you just him know. My mate said okay Mr Kelly.

Anyway first hit up my mate takes he is smashed, he staggered to his feet and Kelly said who was it son, my mate said I think it was the other lock. About a minute later the other lock is on a stretcher.

Kelly was one hard man on the field and was one of the nicest off the field

RIP Ned