Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Robert W. Batty | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1939-01-18)18 January 1939 Murwillumbah,New South Wales, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 9 June 2004(2004-06-09) (aged 65) Sydney,New South Wales, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Fullback, Wing | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Source:seaeagles.com.au | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Robert W. "Bob" Batty (18 January 1939 – 9 June 2004) was an Australianrugby league footballer who played in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. A prolific goal kickingFullback (though he started his career on theWing), Batty played his entire career with theManly-Warringah Sea Eagles in theNew South Wales Rugby Football League premiership.
A product ofMurwillumbah in far north-easternNew South Wales, Batty came to the Sea Eagles in 1958 and made his first grade debut for the club on 3 May1959 againstNewtown atBrookvale Oval. He kicked two goals on the day, though Manly were beaten 15-11.[1]
Playing behind representative fullback and club captainRon Willey, Batty played mostly inReserve Grade for Manly, winning the Reserves premiership in 1960 before getting his chance when Willey moved toParramatta in1963.
With Willey's departure, Batty moved permanently into the fullback role and also took on the goal kicking duties for the first grade side. He would be a fixture in the Manly side until his retirement after a trial game before the1972 season, making way for 18 year old goal kicking fullbackGraham Eadie to take over the role. After making his debut against Newtown at Brookvale in 1959, Batty's last regular premiership game for Manly-Warringah was also against Newtown at Brookvale Oval in the final round of the1971 season. As he did on debut, he kicked two goals on the day though this time around Manly would win the game 25-5.[2] He would then appear in two Finals games, the last being a 15-12 loss toSt George in the 1971 Preliminary Final at theSydney Cricket Ground.[3]
A reliable last line of defence for Manly-Warringah, Batty played in the club's losing Grand Final to powerhouse clubSouth Sydney in1968.[4][5] Manly-Warringah would again face Souths in1970, with again South Sydney emerging victorious.[6]
Batty became the first Manly-Warringah player to play over 200 games and score over 1,000 points for the club. He finished his career with a then club record 205 games and 1,158 points (40 tries, 502 goals and 19 field goals). As of the end of 2024, Batty's point scoring tally for Manly still sees him sitting fourth on the club's all-time list behindGraham Eadie,Jamie Lyon, andReuben Garrick.
Batty also played 52 reserve grade games for Manly, scoring 23 tries and 45 goals.[citation needed] He was the 127th player to play first grade for Manly-Warringah and was made a life member of the club in 1973.[7]
Bob Batty died on 9 June 2004 at the age of 65 after collapsing while working atBunnings in the Sydney suburb ofTerrey Hills.[8]
In his honor, the Manly-Warringah Sea EaglesNSW Cup (Reserve Grade) Best and Fairest award is named the "NSW Cup Bob Batty Best and Fairest".