John Campbell

Who was John Campbell?

John Dennison 'Dinny' Campbell was a national representative for Australia in rugby union before switching codes and playing rugby league for the Eastern Suburbs club during the 1910-12 and 1921 seasons. Campbell was born in Penrith, New South Wales. He played in the centre position in rugby union, claiming a total of 3 international rugby caps for Australia. He switched to the professional code of rugby league football, playing for Eastern Suburbs. He played centre, or five-eight for Eastern Suburbs. Campbell played alongside Dally Messenger in Easts first premiership winning sides. He was also a representative of New South Wales in matches against Queensland and New Zealand in the 1911 and '12 seasons. At the end of the 1912 season he moved to England, where he enjoyed 9 very successful seasons - scoring 136 tries. In 1921 Campbell returned to Australia, where he linked with his former club, Eastern Suburbs, for one final season. Campbell later went on to become a talent scout for the Eastern suburbs. Campbell made his début for Leeds against Keighley at Headingley Stadium on Saturday 14 September 1912. Campbell played Centre, i.e. number 4 in Leeds' 2-35 defeat to Huddersfield in the 1914-15 Rugby Football League Championship final.