Former Greats - Jack Arnold /

Jack Arnold

Jack Arnold played first grade at age 16 for Western Suburbs (the second youngest first grader ever) before joining the Roosters as an 18-year-old in 1938. He played the 1938 season in the second row (however, he played prop in that 1938 Final against Canterbury-Bankstown) and by 1939 he had replaced Club stalwart Max Nixon as Ray Stehr’s front row partner. He played twelve straight seasons of first grade at Easts but his fiery play and reputation meant the rugged prop did not enjoy premiership success in 1940 with his team mates, having been sent off in the semi-final (and suspended) played a week before the 1940 Final. He was sent off again in the 1941 Final against St George but was there in 1945 when the Roosters defeated Balmain 22-18 in the Decider, under captain Ray Stehr and Coach Arthur ‘Pony’ Halloway, scoring a try in the big one.

Arnold took over the Roosters captaincy in 1948 when Wally O’Connell left to play in Wollongong. Arnold’s 92 first grade games for the Roosters in the 1940s was the most of any player of that decade for the Club. In the first 70 years of the Roosters only Hall of Famers Ray Stehr, Sandy Pearce and Joe Pearce had played as many seasons of first grade at Easts as Jack Arnold.