 A man renowned for being on hand at some of the biggest moments in Rugby League, and one of the proudest supporters of the St George Dragons, John Fleming, has died at the age of 70.
A funeral was held for John in Beaudesert, Queensland, in December, followed by a memorial service at St James Anglican Church in Carlton.
Many people associated with the Dragons, including CEO Peter Doust, Director Peter Black, and former players Craig Young, Brian Johnstone, Paul Osbourne, Ricky Walford and Craig Quinn attended the service.
"It just goes to show that at St George, he was red and white through and through," says John's son, Graeme.
John leaves a strong record of service to the club and to the game of Rugby League.
He was involved with the football club for many years, although arguably his happiest moment was nearly 30 years ago, back in 1979.
That was the year St George won their last premiership – holding on to defeat Canterbury Bankstown 17-13 after looking comfortable at 17-2 at one stage – and those who knew John Fleming, who was club secretary at the time, said he was pretty chuffed at the time.
Sadly for John and the club’s many fans, while St George and St George Illawarra have competed in five more grand finals since 1979, they have not been able to win another title.
It was always a great source of pride for John that two of his sons, Darrin and David, were ballboys in the historic tied grand final of 1977 against Parramatta, which St George easily won in the replay.
His other son, Graeme, was a willing scoreboard attendant at Kogarah Oval during the 1970s and '80s.
In 1980, John Fleming was awarded the historic appointment of being the first manager of the NSW State of Origin rugby league team.
At the time, no-one had any idea of how big State of Origin would become.
As time wore on and the annual showdown developed into the showpiece of the game, John and his family and friends came to realize what a special honour he had been given for that very first game at Lang Park back in 1980.
Six years later, he was appointed manager of the 1986 Kangaroos team to tour England and France.
This team faced the almost impossible task of matching the efforts of the 1982 Invincibles, who didn't lose a match on tour.
John Fleming (pictured front row, far left) with the 1986 Unbeatables Kangaroos Team
But with John helping to run the tour behind the scenes, the 1986 team became known as the Unbeatables after they won three tests against Great Britain and two against France to leave Australia with the remarkable record of going through two Kangaroo tours without a loss.
John stayed on as a director of the club until the late 1990s.
In retirement, he enjoyed playing bowls at Ramsgate RSL and catching up with friends at Rockdale Tennis Club.
He loved watching grandchildren Naomi and Matthew play hockey at St George Hockey Centre at Kyeemagh, and he often took the opportunity to see Matthew play cricket for Ramsgate RSL and St George junior representative sides.
With wife Shirley, John lived at Blakehurst until moving up to Queensland eight months ago.
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