St George Dragons Immortal Johnny Raper has passed away, aged 82.
Raper has been battling dimentia for some years.
Raper was part of the Dragons' golden generation, playing in eight of the eleven straight premierships the club won during the 1950s and 60s.
The most successful team in the history of the game, Reg Gasnier, Graeme Langlands and Norm Provan were also named as Immortals from that team.
Raper is the last of the four to pass however, following the deaths of Langlands, Gasnier and Provan, who passed away at age 88 in October.
The lock forward, who was born in Revesby during 1939, originally played for Newtown in his first two years, before switching to the Dragons in 1959.
Winning a competition in his first season with the famous Red V, the club went on to win every year until 1966.
He remained with the Dragons until 1969, where he would captain-coach his final season. He then made the trip to play for Western Suburbs Rosellas in the Newcastle competition between 1970 and 1972, captain-coaching the club to the 1970 grand final. He finished his playing career with Kurri Kurri.
Raper then spent two seasons as coach of the Cronulla Sharks in 1975 and 1976.
His playing career, regarded as one of the best of all time, saw him play 185 games for the Dragons, 37 for Newcastle and 39 in the Newcastle competition, while he also played 24 matches for New South Wales between 1959 and 1970, as well as playing 39 Tests for Australia between 1959 and 1968. He also captained Australia during his final years in the national team, leading the team to a 1968 World Cup win.
Dragons chairman Craig Young told The Sydney Morning Herald that they thought he was "bulletproof."
โWe thought he was bulletproof,โ Young said.
โHe was a character on and off the field โ and one of the reasons why the club became the worldwide brand that it has.โ
