Tom Bourke

One of the great club captains progressed through Balmain's junior ranks before being graded in 1938. Bourke formed an effective centre partnership with Frank Hyde and scored two tries in the 33-4 thrashing of Souths in the 1939 final. The advent of World War II limited his representative career to just one match for NSW but there is no doubt Bourke would have been a Test player in his prime had conditions allowed. He played in Balmain's 1944 grand final win over Newtown and the loss to Easts the following year before captaining the Tigers to premierships in 1946-47. Bourke kicked two goals in the narrow 13-12 win over St George in 1946 and the following year, successfully moved to lock in the club's win over C’bury. In his last match for the club, his try and goal could not stave off an 8-5 defeat against Wests in the 1948 decider. In 1949 he took on a position as captain-coach of Griffith. After his retirement, Bourke retained his association with the club as both coach and selector. He passed away in 2001, aged 83.