Benny's Playing Number

[Gunnedah_Tiger]

I am after some help. What number did Benny Elias play with, 9 or 12? I can't remember when Australia made the change to the English way of numbering the forwards.

 

[supercoach]

Benny was 12–Wayne Pearce was 9

 

[simonthetiger]

Junior was 8 for Balmain!

 

[jirskyr]

Benny was 12–Wayne Pearce was 9

Junior usually played at 8? He played 9/12 for rep sides.

They changed the number system to international (13 as lock, 8/10 as props) in 1989\. So Benny played as both 9 and 12 (in fact in 1989 and 1988 GFs he had different numbers).

 

[simonthetiger]

Spot on…..9 and 10 were the 2nd rowers.

 

[Gunnedah_Tiger]

Thanks for your help. Benny was one of my heroes, a Tigers legend forever! :sign:

 

[Justo]

The player yes.

The business man. Hmm. Jury out on that one.

 

[supercoach]

on the couple of you tube games I checked out Junior was wearing 9, but it was only a couple of games in the late eighty, so maybe they just hap[pen to be games where he was wearing a different number. Should know saw him run round a few hundred times, but my memory is fading fast

 

[quintus]

Benny played in 12 and Wayne played in 8….Wayne took over that position from the mighty Neil Pringle.... from memory.... :sign:

 

[jirskyr]

on the couple of you tube games I checked out Junior was wearing 9, but it was only a couple of games in the late eighty, so maybe they just hap[pen to be games where he was wearing a different number. Should know saw him run round a few hundred times, but my memory is fading fast

I was a mad-keen Junior follower as a lad, I had his number 8 over all my shirts. It really depended on where Balmain selected him, as he normally played lock, but got squeezed to 2nd row for NSW and Australia with the likes of Ray Price.

 

[TrueTiger]

I have a signed Wayne Pearce jumper no 8,Benny had no 12 …

The signature says " Wayne Pearce (junior) 1980-1990..the jumper has Saxonvale Wines on it as the sponsors...front and back...
WP also gave me a photo of him playing in the same jumper,on it he wrote ...".stay strong you are a true tiger".