Keith Gittoes

One of the game's staunchest supporters had a long career in England before devoting much of his public life to the development of the code. An Easts junior, Gittoes signed with Hull in 1948, where he eventually appeared in 143 games for the English club before returning to spend the 1954 season with St George. Gittoes coached Barmedman in the Group 9 competition in 1955 before returning to Hull to finish his playing career and spending two years in Canada. A prime mover behind the re-introduction of University as a Second Division club, he began on the League's coaching panel in 1962 before taking over as Director of Coaching from 1967-74. In 1970 Gittoes was assistant secretary of the NSWRL and later went on to have a long career with Balmain as club secretary between 1973-84. From 1972-83 he was a member of the League's Executive Committee and was Manager of the Combined Sydney Tour of NZ in 1976 and the NSW State team in 1979.