Norm Provan

Norman "Sticks" Douglass Somerville Provan (born 18 December 1932) is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. A giant of a man, he was a second-row forward with the St. George Dragons during their 11-year consecutive premiership-winning run from 1956 to 1966. Named amongst the nation's finest footballers of the 20th century, he was a representative in the Australian national team from 1954 to 1960 earning 14 Test and 2 World Cup cups.

His first junior football was played for North Sydney but after his family relocated to the St George/Sutherland region, Provan played with the Sutherland Woronora Juniors and the Sutherland Gravediggers. He was graded by St George in 1950 after being turned down by Easts the prior year. Having won the premiership in 1949, St George slipped to a fifth-place finish in 1950 but things were falling into place that year with the move to Jubilee Oval, Frank Facer's move from player to club selector and committeeman and Provan's arrival.

Provan featured in their 1951 campaign - a loss in the final against Manly for 3rd place; a 2nd place in the minor premiership in 1952 and a semi-final exit to North Sydney; and then the 1953 Dragons side that lost the 1953 final to South Sydney. St George and Souths would battle head-to-head on many more occasions in Provan's illustrious career.

Provan's strength at second row in attack and in defence, in partnership with Harry Melville, Harry Bath and Monty Porter laid the foundations in those first years of their glory run. After the retirement of Ken Kearney in 1962 from the playing arena, and given the Dragons administrators' preference for a player-coach, Provan took over as captain-coach and the club's dominant run continued.