Tallon Smith

The Hay rugby league community is mourning another legend of the club’s golden era after the passing of premiership coach and Magpies Team of the Century member Geoff Snowdon last week at the age of 81.

Coach of the club’s 1967 side that defeated Coleambally 17-9 to claim the Group 17 crown, Snowdon led the Magpies to three straight grand finals from 1966 to 1968, adding to previous titles in 1959, 1960 and 1961 in one of the club’s most successful periods.

After completing his schooling in Bega, Mr Snowdon attended the University of Sydney, where he played rugby league, before embarking on the journey out to the plains after taking a job as a teacher at the Hay War Memorial High School in 1965.

After arriving in town, he took the role of interim captain-coach at the Magpies late in the 1965 season after an injury to coach Fred Hobbs, a year in which the club made the semi finals.

He then took on the role permanently in 1966, leading the Magpies on an undefeated charge through the season, only to fall agonisingly short in a 5-3 Grand Final loss in tough conditions at the Hay Park Oval.

The Hay side were forced to finish the game with 11 men after injuries to centre Tony Crossing and lone tryscorer Phil Carver, with Goolgowi stealing the match from the jaws of defeat close to full time courtesy of a try to winger Neville Myott.

Emboldened by their strong showing the year before, the Magpies bounced back in 1967, again qualifying for the Grand Final before taking the title with a 17-9 victory over Coleambally at the Park Oval.

Mr Snowdon led from the front in a strong performance, highlighted by a booming field goal in the second half which helped to seal the premiership.

His performance throughout the year was rewarded at season’s end with selection in the Riverina team, which almost pulled off a huge upset in a 23-19 loss to a touring New Zealand side at West Wyalong.

Mr Snowdon again coached the Magpies in their title defence in 1968, with the team again making the Grand Final, before falling 32-12 to the champion Darlington Point team which later went on to win the Clayton Cup as best team in the state with victory over Euabalong.

It was also in April 1968 that Mr Snowdon married his wife Sue, an employee at the Lands Department, who he would remain with until his passing.

It should also be noted that he had success in other sporting arenas during his time in the district, including the thriving local basketball scene, and in cricket, where he represented Hay in the Creet Cup inter-town competition.

After five years in town, he left Hay after the 1969 season, going on to continue his rugby league journey in the ACT.

In 1982, when the newly-formed Canberra Raiders were admitted into the NSWRFL Premiership, Mr Snowdon took on the role of Jersey Flegg coach at the club, working alongside legendary coaches such as Don Furner Sr., Wayne Bennett, and Craig Bellamy.

In addition to this, he also held the role of Australian Schoolboys coach, mentoring players such as dual Clive Churchill Medallist and Australian International Bradley Clyde and Queensland State of Origin representative Andrew Gee among many others.

One local player whose career he had a profound effect upon was that of former Magpie Lee Hutchinson, who first met Mr Snowdon when he was his science teacher at high school in Hay in 1965, before going on to debut under the legendary coach in 1969.

Mr Hutchinson shared many memories and paid tribute to his great mate in an interview with The Riverine Grazier.

“He was a terrific coach [and] player, a great goalkicker, he got the respect of all his players, everyone loved him, [and] he led by example as all front rowers do,” he said.

“He was well respected [by] the town, school and the Hay Magpies, right through even to Group 17, the opposition players, they all respected him.

“He had great players under him, the likes of Derek Moriarty, Philip Carver and Freddy Hobbs and all these older fellas, I was only a kid.

“He brought everyone together, and on the field, his pep talks were constructive, ‘take it up, look after your mate’, and so on.

“He was not only a coach and my school teacher, he was a great friend.”

Like many members of the fabled Hay teams of the 1960s, Mr Hutchinson said that he and Mr Snowdon maintained a great friendship even after they both moved away from the town, something that he, along with so many others, will greatly miss.

“I left [after] 1969, I went to Wollongong, and I came back to Hay in 1974, but Geoff was gone then, he ended up going back to Canberra,” he said.

“We kept in touch, he’d come to Wagga, he’d give me a call, he’d have his caravan, and I’d go and pick him up and go to the club and have a few beers and have tea.

“He was an unbelievable mate, he’s going to be sadly missed.”

The passing of Mr Snowdon comes after the loss of fellow 1967 Premiership player, long time administrator and former Grazier Sports Editor Peter “Parra” Montgomery in October.

In one of his trademark ‘Parra’s Piece’ stories from 2020, ‘Geoff Snowdon – Teaching the lessons of life’, upon which sections of this obituary are based, the late Mr Montgomery offered this summation of his impact on the town’s sporting landscape.

“Hay is a much better place thanks to the sporting and education example set by Geoff,” he said.

“He went from coach of Hay War Memorial High School Rugby League team to the top of the tree as coach of the Australian Schoolboys Rugby League team on the international stage.

“Not a bad journey eh?

“Shows that living and working in Hay, and becoming part of the sporting community has advantages. 

“We just need to know how – and when – to take the opportunities when they arrive.”

Geoff Snowdon is sadly missed by Sue, Michelle, Pete and Fiona, Lisa, and by his grandchildren Arliah, Mas, Imi, Alexia, Elsa and Lilah.