Arthur "Artie" Beetson

ARTHUR Beetson had a presence about which made people stop in their tracks.

It wasn't just his size, although that played a part.

The affable giant from Roma oozed charisma and charm, possessing a smile and manner which immediately won friends and admirers even if they knew nothing about rugby league.

But the 13-man code was his passion, whether playing, coaching, searching for talent on behalf of his beloved Sydney Roosters, or Easts as he would prefer to say, or just talking about the game itself.

"I was a disciple of the Jack Gibson style of football where there would be no biff,'' Beetson told me back in the 90s. "Whilst I coached teams to be aggressive I didn't coach them to go out there and use back alley tactics.''

When the going got tough Beetson could hold his own, as he showed in the infamous 'battle of Brisbane' at Lang Park in 1970 when a massive all-in-brawl resulted in shocking facial injuries to his co-forward, Jim Morgan who came off second best in a head butting duel with Cliff Watson.

Beetson was in the thick of things and was still regarded as something of a loose cannon after several dismissals in Sydney club football with Balmain.

But he settled down and for the rest of the 1970s and into the early 1980s was known for his sublime skills, especially the ability to unload the football under pressure from the defence.

His first-grade career began with Redcliffe in the Brisbane competition and he won a premiership with the Dolphins in 1965, with his performance attracting the attention of the Balmain talent scouts.

He won Sydney titles with the Roosters in 1974-75 and looked set for a fairytale return to club football with Redcliffe in 1981 when the Dolphins made the grand final only to be beaten by Souths on the bell when winger, Mick Reardon scored in the corner.

The previous year "Big Artie'' ensured he would be part of Queensland sporting folklore when he captained Queensland to victory over New South Wales in the inaugural State of Origin match at Lang Park.

From 1966 to to the late '70s he had been a regular in New South Wales sides, and to wear the Maroon jersey for the first time was the proudest moment of his life, and an unexpected honour given he was 35 and was playing reserve grade for Parramatta.

"It was a fairytale sort of game,'' Beetson recalled some years later. "There were doubting Thomases, particularly from New South Wales. It was a tough game for me because I played with a dislocated thumb. But the hardest thing was trying to come down from an almighty high two days later.''

Beetson became Queensland coach the following year and guided the Maroons to another one-off win over the Blues before Origin became a best of three series.

Under Beetson's coaching Queensland won three series in a row, and then the big man returned to the role in 1989, taking Queensland to two more series wins.

Queensland captain, Wally Lewis loved "Artie'' and there's no doubt all the players lifted to another level under his guidance.
I was "selector'' for the Australian Team of the Century in 2008 and there was never any doubt Beetson would be in the side.

In fact he was part of an all Queensland front row with the late Duncan Hall the other prop and Noel Kelly the hooker.

Arthur was a long serving Queensland and Australian selector, a man who instinctively knew what made a good footballer, just as his own instincts on the field set him apart from others.
--Steve Ricketts