Lionel Williamson (born 8 April 1944) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s and 1970s.[2] A talented wing, he played in the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership with the Newtown club and also represented Queensland and Australia.[3]

Lionel Williamson
Personal information
Born (1944-04-08) 8 April 1944 (age 80)
Innisfail, Queensland, Australia
Playing information
PositionWing
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1964–65 Halifax
1968–71 Innisfail
1969–74 Newtown 112 41 0 0 123
Total 112 41 0 0 123
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1964–68 Queensland 10 0 0 0 0
1968 North Queensland
1968–74 Australia 11 6 0 0 18
1970–74 New South Wales 3 1 0 0 3
1971 City NSW 1 0 0 0 0
Source: [1]

Born in Innisfail, Queensland, Williamson[4] played a season with Halifax in 1964–65,[5] also playing in the Queensland side from 1964 to 1967.[6]

Gaining selection in Australia's 1968 World Cup squad, he scored two tries in the Final against France. He moved to Sydney to play with Newtown from 1969 and played 6 continuous seasons with the club.[7] During this time he also played for Innisfail in North Queensland.[8]

He played in the 1970 World Cup, again scoring in the final to help Australia to victory. Williamson continued representing Australia until 1974 which was also his final year playing for Newtown.[9]

In 2008, the centenary year of rugby league in Australia, Williamson was named in the Newtown Jets 18-man team of the century.

Williamson is the brother of former Queensland and Newtown winger Henry Williamson, the grandfather of Sydney Roosters Lindsay Collins and the uncle of former Adelaide Rams, Canberra Raiders, Northern Eagles and Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles goal kicking utility player Luke Williamson.

References

edit
  1. ^ Rugby League Project
  2. ^ Lionel Williamson at nrlstats.com Archived 9 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Queensland representatives at qrl.com.au Archived 1 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Lionel Williamson at nqsports.com.au
  5. ^ Lionel Williamson at rugbyleagueproject.com
  6. ^ Lionel Williamson at stats.rleague.com Archived 25 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ QRL Northern Division at sportingpulse.com
  8. ^ "History: Golden Eras for Representative Success 1950-70s (Part 2)". cowboys.com.au. North Queensland Cowboys. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  9. ^ Lionel Williamson at yesterdayshero.com Archived 27 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine