Cherrypicking the best league players for cash

He is looking forward to seeing how his side compares to that the Central Western Daily’s experts have compiled.

Vic Byrne, Noel Hurford and Tom ‘Curly’ Fitzgerald have come up with a short list of five players for each position for readers to choose from as they pick their best Orange team of first graders from the past 50 years.

The trio will then narrow the list down to a team of 17.

Readers can select their team and drop it off at the Central Western Daily office.

The reader whose team features the most number of players in the experts’ team will win $200.

But be quick as teams must be in today (see coupon page 14) before the competition closes.

Mr Hutchinson, who has been around rugby league in Orange for nearly 50 years, found it difficult to leave out so many quality players from his side and admitted he would probably change his mind time later

But yesterday he started his team off with CYMS fullback John Hennessey.

There are only two available spots on the wing but he couldn’t narrow the field down further than Kevin Consadine from CYMS, who went on to play for Newtown and Parramatta, Dave Kent from Ex-Services and Hawks flyer Wise Kativerata.

“It would be out of those three. I wouldn’t like to choose,” Mr Hutchinson said.

One of the CWD’s experts, Noel Hurford, makes the Hutchinson team in the centres alongside Eh-Services team mate Kevin Kind with Terry Hunt and John Connolly also coming into calculations.

Ex-Services also produced Hutchinson’s five-eighth with star of the late 1960’s Bobbie Priest an easy pick for him.

“My number one pick there would be Bobbie Priest. I reckon he is one of the best players that has possibly come out of Orange,” he said.

Priest’s halves partner would be Western Division Amco Cup winning half-back Robbie Pilon from CYMS, with Ex-Services duo Louis Newman and Ray Payne the front-rowers.

Hooker would appear to be the hardest position to pick given the way the position has changed over the past 50 years, but Mr Hutchinson was quick to name Jamy Forbes as his rake although he did make mention of John Kelly, who played for CYMS in the ’60s.

And it didn’t take long for Mr Hutchinson to name Pat Weldon alongside Brian Isbester in the second row.

“Talking to the old fellas, they reckon there is no-one tougher than Pat Weldon,” he said.

“Even my father thought he was one of the best second rowers.”

Orange United lock Bill Clingham rounds out the Hutchinson team although Dave Ross was another who could easily slot in at the back of the scrum in this team.