# 1969 Kangaroo tour of New Zealand

The 1969 Kangaroo Tour of New Zealand was a mid-season tour of New Zealand by the Australia national rugby league team. The Australians played six matches on tour, including two tests against the New Zealand national rugby league team. The tour began on 28 May and finished on 10 June.

## Leadership

Harry Bath coached the Kangaroos side throughout the tour. South Sydney's John Sattler captained the side. In the two matches in which Sattler did not play, the team was captained by Les Johns (against Wellington) and John McDonald against Auckland. The touring team was co-managed by Eddie Burns (Canterbury, NSW) and Jack Lynch (Ipswich, Qld).

## Touring squad

The Rugby League News published details of the touring team including the players' ages and weights. A team photo was published during the tour.
Match details - listing surnames of both teams and the point scorers - were included in E.E. Christensen's Official Rugby League Yearbook, as was a summary of the players' point-scoring.
Denman, Fitzsimmons, Manteit, Robson and Weiss were selected from Queensland clubs. Cootes, Costello and Lye were selected from clubs in New South Wales Country areas. The balance of the squad were playing for Sydney based clubs during the 1969 season.

## Tour

The Australians played six matches on the tour, winning the first four before losing the final two.
* Wednesday 28 May
| North Island Colts | 13 – 17 | Australia |
| | Report Database | |
* Rotorua International Stadium, Rotorua Attendance: 953

### First test

* Sunday 1 June
| New Zealand | 10 – 20 | Australia |
| Tries: Goals: Don Ladner (5/5) | Team Report Database | Tries: Ron Coote (2) John Cootes Denis Pittard Goals: Les Johns (4/4) |
* Carlaw Park, Auckland Attendance: 13,459 Referee: John Percival
| New Zealand | Australia |
| FB 1 Don Ladner RW 2 Dennis Key CE 3 John Wilson CE 4 Sam Rolleston LW 5 Mocky Brereton FE 6 Trevor Patrick HB 7 Graeme Cooksley PR 8 Oscar Danielson HK 9 Colin O'Neil (c) PR 10 Bill Noonan SR 11 John Hibbs SR 12 Tony Kriletich LF 13 Rodney Walker Coach: Lory Blanchard | FB 1 Les Johns RW 2 John Cootes CE 3 Graeme Langlands CE 4 John McDonald LW 5 Bob Honan FE 6 Denis Pittard HB 7 Dennis Ward PR 8 John Wittenberg HK 9 Elwyn Walters PR 10 John Sattler (c) SR 11 Ron Costello SR 12 Bob McCarthy LF 13 Ron Coote Coach: Harry Bath |
* Monday 2 June
| South Island | 15 – 24 | Australia |
| | Report Database | |
* Addington Showgrounds, Christchurch Attendance: 3,376
* Wednesday 4 June
| Wellington | 7 – 48 | Australia |
| | Team Report Database | |
* Basin Reserve, Wellington Attendance: 1,415

### Second test

* Saturday 7 June
| New Zealand | 18 – 14 | Australia |
| Tries: Bill Noonan Phil Orchard Goals: Don Ladner (5/5) Field goals: Don Ladner (1) | Team Report Database | Tries: Ron Coote Robert McCarthy Goals: Les Johns (4/4) |
* Carlaw Park, Auckland Attendance: 9,848 Referee: John Percival
| New Zealand | Australia |
| FB 1 Don Ladner RW 2 Phillip Orchard CE 3 Mocky Brereton CE 4 Brian Clark LW 5 Roy Christian FE 6 Gary Woollard HB 7 Graeme Cooksley PR 8 Oscar Danielson HK 9 Colin O'Neil (c) PR 10 Doug Gailey SR 11 Bill Deacon SR 12 Bill Noonan LF 13 Tony Kriletich Coach: Lory Blanchard | FB 1 Les Johns RW 2 Bob Honan CE 3 Graeme Langlands CE 4 John McDonald LW 5 John Cootes FE 6 Denis Pittard HB 7 Dennis Ward PR 8 John Sattler (c) HK 9 Elwyn Walters PR 10 John Wittenberg SR 11 Bob McCarthy SR 12 Col Weiss LF 13 Ron Coote Coach: Harry Bath |
* Tuesday 10 June
| Auckland | 15 – 14 | Australia |
| | Teams Report Database | |
* Carlaw Park, Auckland Attendance: 6,520