Dennis Lutge

Denis Lutge

Personal information
Nickname	Dinny
Born	(1879-11-26)26 November 1879 Sydney, New South Wales
Died	18 February 1953(1953-02-18) (aged 73) Mosman, New South Wales
Playing information
Rugby union
Position	Lock
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1901–07 Northern Suburbs Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P New South Wales 1903–04 Australia 4 0 0 0 0
Rugby league
Position	Forward
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1908 North Sydney 4 1 0 0 3 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1908 New South Wales 1 0 0 0 0 1908 Australia 3 2 0 0 6
Coaching information
Club Years Team Gms W D L W% 1915–16 North Sydney 28 7 0 21 25 Representative Years Team Gms W D L W% 1909 New Zealand Māori

Denis "Dinny" Lutge (26 November 1879 – 18 February 1953) was a pioneer Australian rugby league and rugby union player, a dual-code international. He was the second ever captain of the Australian national rugby league team and the first to lead the side to victory.

A Mosman, New South Wales stevedore, Lutge commenced his rugby career with the Mosman Juniors in 1893, before playing for Sydney's Northern Suburbs club from 1901 until 1907. He made his international début as a lock-forward in the first ever rugby union test match played between the Australian team and the All Blacks in Sydney, on 15 August 1903. He went on to appear in all three of Australia's Test losses in 1904 against the visiting British Lions.

Lutge was named foundation captain of the North Sydney District Rugby League Football Club in 1908. Lutge represented New South Wales that year and in May, along with two other of the five inaugural selectors (Hennessy & Dore), Lutge picked himself for the first international rugby league matches against the visiting New Zealand team, drawing some press criticism in the process.

Along with Dally Messenger, Micky Dore, Doug McLean snr and Johnny Rosewell, Lutge was one of the inaugural five Australian dual code rugby internationals who débuted in international rugby league in Sydney on 9 May 1908 in the first Australian league Test against New Zealand.