Ron Lord

Born in Sydney in 1929, Ron Lord was recognised as one of the finest goalkeepers produced in Australia.

He initially started as a left-back, but an ankle injury forced him onto the sidelines. When one day at Drummoyne Oval their second grade goalkeeper did not show up, Lord filled in and was given the number one shirt, and did not look back.  

Brave, athletic, cool under pressure and a fitness fanatic, Lord made his debut at age 17 with Rozelle, making his senior debut the following year with Drummoyne and eventually retired at the age of 35 in 1965.

His first representative honour was in 1950 when he was chosen for NSW against Queensland and followed with matches against clubs from Austria, China and the United Kingdom, as well as against England in 1951 and the Melbourne Olympic Games in 1956.

Lord recorded 339 first grade appearances with Drummoyne, Auburn and Prague and played 10 times for the national team when Australia had few international matches whilst under a three year FIFA ban.

After retiring, Lord became an established specialist goalkeeping coach, mostly with National Soccer League clubs.

Two of his protégés, Greg Woodhouse and Gary Meier, went on to gain national team selection.