View source for Johnny Mayes

{{Short description|Australia international rugby league player (born 1947)}}
{{Use Australian English|date=July 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox rugby league biography
|name          = Johnny Mayes
|fullname            =
|image               = 
|imagesize           = 
|caption             = 
|birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1947|4|29|df=yes}}
|birth_place         = [[New South Wales]], Australia
|death_date          = 
|height              = 
|weight              = 
|position            = {{rlp|HB}}
|club1               = [[Sydney Roosters|Eastern Suburbs]]
|year1start          = 1968
|year1end            = 72
|appearances1        = 47
|tries1              = 21
|goals1              = 0
|fieldgoals1         = 2
|points1             = 65
|club2               = [[Manly Sea Eagles|Manly-Warringah]]
|year2start          = 1973
|year2end            = 
|appearances2        = 24
|tries2              = 16
|goals2              = 0
|fieldgoals2         = 1
|points2             = 49
|club3               = [[Sydney Roosters|Eastern Suburbs]]
|year3start          = 1974
|year3end            = 77
|appearances3        = 63
|tries3              = 34
|goals3              = 0
|fieldgoals3         = 0
|points3             = 102
|teamA               = [[Australian Kangaroos|Australia]]
|yearAstart          = 1975
|yearAend            = 
|appearancesA        = 1
|triesA              = 0
|goalsA              = 0
|fieldgoalsA         = 0
|pointsA             = 0
|teamB               = [[Newcastle rugby league team|Newcastle]]
|yearBstart          = 1978
|yearBend            = 
|appearancesB        = 
|triesB              = 
|goalsB              = 
|fieldgoalsB         = 
|pointsB             = 
|retired             = yes
|updated             = 12 November 2010
|source              = <ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120909044138/http://www.yesterdayshero.com.au/PlayerProfile_Johnny-Mayes_5330.aspx Yesterday's Hero]</ref><ref>[http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/players/johnny-mayes/summary.html RLP]</ref>
}}

'''Johnny Mayes''' (born 29 April 1947) is an Australian former [[rugby league]] halfback who represented [[Australian Kangaroos|Australia]] in the [[1975 Rugby League World Cup|1975 World Cup]]. He also played in three consecutive premiership-winning teams from 1973 to 1975, the first for [[Manly Sea Eagles|Manly-Warringah]] and the latter two for [[Sydney Roosters|Eastern Suburbs]]. His feat of playing in three consecutive premiership sides for different clubs is comparable only with [[Glenn Lazarus]] in the early 1990s for [[Canberra Raiders|Canberra]] and the [[Brisbane Broncos]], who played in four premiership sides between 1989 and 1993 and with Cooper Cronk who won three premierships with the Melbourne Storm and the Sydney Roosters from 2017 to 2019.

==Club career==
===Eastern Suburbs (1968–1972)===
Mayes had a slow start to his career with Eastern Suburbs owing to competition from established [[1967–68 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France|1967–68 Kangaroo tour]] half [[Kevin Junee]]. He first played first grade in [[1968 NSWRFL season|1968]], but was still mostly in reserve grade for several years. When Junee was injured in the years after winning the [[Rothmans Medal]] in [[1970 NSWRFL season|1970]], Mayes spent a considerable amount of time in first grade and for part of [[1972 NSWRFL season|1972]] actually relegated Junee to the reserves - though by finals time Junee had displaced him again, playing in the club's 19–14 Grand Final loss to Manly-Warringah.

===Manly-Warringah (1973)===
Being a similar type of halfback to Junee, Mayes naturally sought another club to be sure of a first grade berth and Manly, with Dennis Ward dropping out, picked him up for the [[1973 NSWRFL season|1973 season]]. Mayes' growth as a player that year was remarkable. He scored sixteen tries - four in one match against [[Penrith Panthers|Penrith]] - and won ''[[Rugby League Week]]'''s ''Player of the Year'' award. He was freely tipped to go on the  [[1973 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France|1973]] [[Kangaroo tour]] but was not chosen, and was, remarkably, swapped for Junee so he could return to Easts the following year.

===Eastern Suburbs (1974–1977)===
This rather unusual swap was surprisingly beneficial for Mayes. Junee was the [[1974 NSWRFL season|1974]] season's leading try-scorer, whilst Mayes' courageous defence and frequent darting runs helped Easts develop a powerful attack and solid defence that ensured the team dropped only seven games under coach [[Jack Gibson (rugby league)|Jack Gibson]] in 1974 and [[1975 NSWRFL season|1975]]. In the 1975 Grand Final Mayes scored a brilliant try after an arcing run cross-field by winger [[Bruce Pickett]] and another one after running through a gaping hole, whilst he scored four tries for the second time against [[Canterbury Bulldogs|Canterbury-Bankstown]].

However, with Junee's return to Easts and the unexpected emergence of the relatively unknown [[Kevin Hastings]], Mayes spent much of [[1976 NSWRFL season|1976]] in reserve grade again despite actually being the incumbent Australian test halfback. During the 1976 season, Mayes played in Easts victory in their unofficial [[1976 World Club Challenge]] match against reigning [[1974–75 Northern Rugby Football League season|British champions]] [[St Helens R.F.C.|St. Helens]] at the [[Sydney Cricket Ground]]. With Junee gone for good, he fought with Hastings for a first grade spot in 1977 before returning to Newcastle where he captained the [[Newcastle rugby league team|Newcastle representative team]] to a win over [[New Zealand national rugby league team|New Zealand]] in 1978.

In all Mayes played 134 first grade games for 71 tries and three field goals (two two-point and one one-point). In 1975 he was the season's leading try-scorer with sixteen.<ref>[http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/seasons/nswrfl-1975/summary.html Johnny Mayes - 1975 NSWRFL season]</ref>

==International career==
At the end of the 1975 season, Mayes was selected to represent Australia in that year's [[Rugby League World Cup]], playing in the 24–8 win over [[New Zealand national rugby league team|New Zealand]] at [[Carlaw Park]] in [[Auckland]] and the 18–6 win over [[Wales national rugby league team|Wales]] at the [[St. Helen's Rugby and Cricket Ground|St Helens Ground]] in [[Swansea]]. His final game for Australia came in a 16–13 loss to [[England national rugby league team|England]] at [[Central Park (Wigan)|Central Park]] in [[Wigan]].<ref>[http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/matches/Custom/NDctLTctLS0tLS02MTA4LS0tLS0tLS0tLS0tLQ== Johnny Mayes - 1975 Rugby League World Cup]</ref>

==See also==
* Whiticker, Alan and Hudson, Glen; ''The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players''. {{ISBN|1-875169-76-8}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles squad 1973 NSWRFL premiership}}
{{Eastern Suburbs Roosters squad 1974 NSWRFL premiership}}
{{Eastern Suburbs Roosters squad 1975 NSWRFL premiership}}
{{Eastern Suburbs - 1976 World Club Challenge Winners}}
{{Australia squad 1975 Rugby League World Cup}}
{{National Rugby League top try scorers}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayes, John}}
[[Category:1947 births]]
[[Category:Australian rugby league players]]
[[Category:Sydney Roosters players]]
[[Category:Manly Warringah Sea Eagles players]]
[[Category:Australia national rugby league team players]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Rugby league halfbacks]]
[[Category:Newcastle rugby league team players]]
[[Category:Rugby league players from New South Wales]]
[[Category:20th-century Australian sportsmen]]