Holman and Barnes

Keith Holman and Keith Barnes represented the best in their sport and in the game. We pay homage to these two sporting greats and their ability to bring people together. It’s our desire to harness that same spirit and forge a partnership that will acknowledge them now and for a long time into the future.

Keith Victor Holman MBE

Keith Victor Holman, MBE (11 September 1927 – 11 October 2011) was an Australian Rugby League footballer, a national and state representative Halfback whose club career was played with Western Suburbs from 1948 to 1961. He has been named as one of the nation’s finest footballers of the 20th Century. After retiring as player, Holman was coach of Wests and later became one of the game’s top-level referees.

He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1977. He had the rare honour of being made a Life Member of Western Suburbs while still playing and was awarded Life Membership of the New South Wales Rugby League in 1983. He was later selected in the Wests Tigers Team of the Century and the Western Suburbs Magpies Team of the Century.

In 2003 he was admitted into the Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame and in 2007 he was selected by a panel of experts as the halfback in the Australian ‘Team of the 50s’. In February 2008, Holman was named in the list of Australia’s 100 Greatest Players (1908–2007), which was commissioned by the NRL and ARL to celebrate the code’s centenary year in Australia. In 2008 the Western Suburbs Magpies celebrated their centenary by inducting six inaugural members into the club’s Hall of Fame. These six included Holman.

Keith Barnes AM

William Keith Barnes AM (30 October 1934 – 8 April 2024), also known by the nickname of “Golden Boots”, was a Welsh-born Australian Rugby League footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s, and coached in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. He was a fullback for the Australian national team and for the Balmain Tigers. He played in 14 Tests between 1959 and 1966, as national captain on 12 occasions. After his playing days, Barnes became an outstanding administrator with the Balmain Club, as well as co-commentating on the Amco Cup on Network Ten with Ray Warren in the 1970s.

An excellent goal kicker, he was considered one of the nation’s finest footballers of the 20th Century. At the turn of the century Barnes was honoured with selection in the Balmain’s Team of the Century and in the Wests Tigers’ Team of the Century. The Wests Tigers annual Best Player Award is the Kelly-Barnes Award. In 2007 he was inducted into the Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame.

In February 2008, Barnes was named in the list of Australia’s 100 Greatest Players (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the NRL and ARL to celebrate the code’s centenary year in Australia. On 26 January 1996, he was named a Member of the Order of Australia in “recognition service to rugby league as a player and administrator”. On 24 October 2000, he was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his rugby league achievements.