William John Warlow

The chunky, snowy-haired Bill Warlow played rugby league for Carltons with Eddie Bonis and Gordon Bennett but he switched to Union and played for Valleys. Warlow was an extremely fit, active sportsman. Apart from his prowess in rugby, he was also an enthusiastic amateur boxer, a keen surfer, played tennis and enjoyed shooting.

In rugby, Warlow was a speedy three-quarter with good hands and was a strong defender. After three seasons of club football, he was selected for Queensland in 1932 when the Wallaby trials for the tour of South Africa in 1933 were held in Sydney. He had missed selection for Queensland’s matches against New South Wales and the All Blacks earlier in the season. Australian selector, Harold Baker, who was associated with Warlow’s Valleys Club in Brisbane, pressed for Warlow’s inclusion and he was a shock selection ahead of Cyril Towers and Harold Herd of New South Wales.

When selected for the Wallaby tour of South Africa, Warlow was 24-years-old, stood 5ft 9in tall and weighed 159lbs. He was chosen as a winger. Dr Alec Ross, the tour captain, was disgusted at the selection of Warlow and Queensland prop, John Ritter, because he considered Warlow not good enough and Ritter far too light to prop against the Springbok behemoths.

The tour selectors refused to pick Warlow in more than four country matches and Warlow had such a miserable time that he did not play again. Even years later, he refused to talk about his rugby experiences and Dr Alec Ross was still complaining about his selection on the South African tour. He was, however, a fine defender, had good hands and was speedy.