Beres Sexton spotlight on 'Rules'

This week's column is devoted to looking at the football career of Jack Luhrs who has capably written this column for the past 26-years.
Jack, who was born at Whitton, moved to Sydney with the coming of the war and joined the Eastern Suburbs Australian Rules Club, playing with them from 1944 to '49.
He started with the juniors with Easts, playing in their 1946 reserve grade premiership and playing his last and playing his last two seasons with the club.
Football was very strong when Jack was playing with the influx of Inter-State servicemen, with sides such as Sydney Naval, Airforce and local sides like Newtown and Eastern Suburbs.
East's didn't win a first-grade premiership while Jack was playing with them, but as fortune would tell it, they won seven straight from that year after he left them. 
One of the best-known players from those days would be Keith Miller of Test cricket fame, who was regarded by Jack "as a tremendous kick of the ball".
As a point of interest, the Eastern Suburbs Club is one of the oldest clubs in Sydney being formed in 1878, which makes it 101-years-old.
Jack came to Griffith in 1949, when he was transferred with his job on the railways and joined the Swans half-way through the season under the playing coach Roy Watterston.
He was a member of the Griffith team of 1950 under Keith Shea that played the grand final against Ganmain being beaten by 32-points. Griffith led by one goal at half-time in this grand final but weakened in the last half.
Possibly one of the biggest moments in Jack's career was being a member of the 1952 team which won Griffith's first premiership beating Whitton.
This side was captained by Tom Roulent who was also playing coach. Jack also won the Griffith club's best and fairest award that season. Most of Jack's football was played in the ruck, but he played as centre half back for the 1952 season because of an injury to regular back Keith Thompson.
He also represented the South West between the years 1949-54, playing in five inter league games fixtures in the years he was playing for Griffith.
Jack played about 120 games with the Griffith Club, averaging about 20 games a season in his six years with the club.
He started writing for the two local newspapers in 1953 when still playing first grade, those papers were the Advocate and The Area News. He was writing with The Area News on Tuesdays and Fridays, and the Advocate on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays writing football in every issue of each paper.
It was when he finished playing football that Jack took up broadcasting in 1956, continuing right through to 1970 and briefly again a few years back.
When The Area News went out of circulation another paper came on the scene being the "Daily News", which Jack, also wrote for before it too became extinct.
These years were from 1968 to 1970. Also, the Advocate went out of circulation during 1969 when Jack was writing for the re-started Area News and the new Griffith Times.
The Griffith Times, too, went out of circulation within four years, leaving Jack writing only for The Area News.
Jack considers Tom Roulent, Terry Wood, Keith Thompson, Don Durnan, Dooley Carroll and Les Meek as some of the toughest players he has played with or against.
Also considered are Lenny Brill from the South West and Keith Miller and Clinton Wines, who went on from coaching Eastern Suburbs to play in Carlton's 1945 premiership side.
Clinton Wines also came to the South West as coach of both Ganmain and Grong Grong-Matong, his son Phillip also played with Narrandera before he was killed (drowning accident) at Darlington Point.
Jack also has three sons playing football, Grant who is playing for Claremont in Perth, Glenn in the Farrer League and the youngest son Drew, who is playing in the Griffith seconds.
Grant was chosen in the 1976 N.S.W.  team which played Tasmania on the Sydney Showground, captained by Peter Hudson. N.S.W. were victorious.
That was the same year that Grant played in Eastern Suburbs premiership side. He played his first season with Claremont in 1977. He has had 35 first grade games in his three seasons with them, coached by Brownlow Medallist, Graham Moss. Grant will be returning to the Riverina next year.
Glenn has played this season with North Wagga in the Farrer League, a team which is in the "five".
Youngest son Drew is currently a member of the Griffith's top reserve grade side, captained by Kevin Kirkpatrick.

(The Area News - Wednesday, July 18, 1979)