Is this rugby leage’s most successful family dynasty?

Rugby league is littered with family connections.

There are the Mortimer and Hughes clans who dominated the Bulldogs in the 1970s and 1980s; Steve Morris and his sons Brett and Josh, who all played for Australia and NSW; Reg Gasnier and his nephew Mark, who both won premierships with St George; Ken and Dick Thornett, who both represented Parramatta, NSW and Australia; and countless others.

But can any rugby league clan match the Bugden family?

We are talking about two brothers and two of their uncles, who between them played in 12 grand finals across 43 years, winning ten premierships between them for different clubs. Quite remarkable!

Let’s have a brief look at each of them, beginning at the end.

Geoff Bugden

146 first-grade games, three grand final appearances and two premierships with Parramatta in 1982 and 1986

Bugden was a Newtown junior, debuting with them as an 18-year-old in 1979, and soon established himself as one of the best front-row forwards in the game, winning the Rothmans Medal in 1980. A knee injury saw him miss most of the second half of the 1981 season for Newtown, but he made it back in time to play off the bench in their 20-11 loss to Parramatta in the grand final.

He switched to the star-studded Jack Gibson-coached Eels the following year and was part of the club’s second premiership-winning team, defeating Manly 21-8 in the decider.

He played Origin for NSW in 1983 but retired later that year due to injury, only to make a comeback in 1985 and then spend more time off the field after breaking his arm. He made it back on the field once again in 1986 and was part of the Eels’ grand final victory that year when they defeated Canterbury 4-2.

Packing down at hooker in the Bulldogs front row that day was younger brother Mark. Geoff Bugden battled on against injuries for the next three seasons before being let go by the club at the end of 1989.

Mark Bugden

118 first-grade games, two grand final appearances, one premiership with Canterbury in 1984)

The younger brother of Geoff, Mark Bugden was an excellent hooker back when hookers actually worked for a living, and he was as tough as they come. Like his brother, he was a Newtown junior, and he made his debut for the club as a 19-year-old in 1981. He made a timely switch to the Warren Ryan-coached Bulldogs in 1984 and scored the winning try in their 6-4 grand-final victory over Parramatta that year.

He copped a 14-week suspension for a high shot on Steve Rogers in 1985 and initially struggled to make it back into first grade. Come 1986 he was back in the run-on side and played against his brother, Geoff, in the grand final. The Eels won the day 4-2. He headed to Parramatta in 1989, finally packing down beside his big brother in a handful of games, and played his last game in first grade with the Eels in 1990.

Bob Bugden

209 first grade games, six grand final appearances and six premierships with St George between 1956 and 1961

Bob Bugden was the uncle of both Geoff and Mark Bugden. Originally from Murwillumbah in northern NSW, Bugden was a clever halfback with a great turn of pace who made his first-grade debut for St George at the age of 18 in a semi-final match in 1954. He became the Dragons’ first-choice halfback the following year and was wearing the No. 7 jersey in 1956 when they began their 11-year reign as NSWRL premiers, defeating Balmain in the grand final.

Five more premierships followed for Bugden in the next five years as the Dragons won deciders against Manly, Wests, Manly, Eastern Suburbs and Western Suburbs in succession. Surely no halfback will ever top his six from six record.

He followed St George captain-coach Ken Kearney to Parramatta in 1962, where he played for another four seasons. Bugden represented Australia on both the 1959-60 Kangaroos tour and in the 1960 World Cup, and he scored three tries in his test debut against France in 1960.

Paddy Bugden

56 first-grade games, one grand final appearance and one premiership with Newtown in 1943

Paddy Bugden was another uncle of both Geoff and Mark, and he made his first-grade debut for Newtown as five-eighth in 1942 at the age of 24. The following year he played halfback for the blue bags in their grand final victory over North Sydney.

The 1944 season saw him switch to Western Suburbs for a season before he rejoined Newtown for the rest of his career in the top grade, eventually retiring at the end of 1947.

So there they are, the fabulous Bugden boys: ten premierships between them, and each one victorious at a different club.