His earliest games were in 1965-66, when shortly after his 10th birthday he played in the under 15 grand final with his brother Bill.

Then followed two years in under 12s, and after taking 4/7 and 5/9 in one match against Presbyterians, his 1966-67 analysis was 17 wickets at 7.59 runs apiece.

Although his team was beaten outright by Bomaderry in the last game of 1967-68, Gordon produced a club record for the age group - top score in each innings with 24 and 71, along with figures of 5/12.

He led the team's batting averages with 222 runs at 15.86, and also took 17 wickets at 9.18.

His sole junior premiership came with the 14s in 1969-70 when there was a half-century against Trojans, and 29 against St Michael's which contributed to a 104-run partnership with Malcolm Henry.

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To complete his junior career he top-scored in the second innings of the semi-final against St Michael's with 35, and followed that up with 53 in the grand final victory over Nowra.

That season also saw him feature in the third grade side, top-scoring in each innings (34 and 27) of the semi-final loss to Berry.

Although not playing continuously, Gordon became a regular in the Valley's third grade side during the second half of the 1976-77 season.

A brilliant 102 set up an innings victory over Ex-Servicemen in round 12, and he hit 64 in the next match against Nowra.

He went on to share that summer's premiership with his brother Phillip, but showed his versatility by starring with the ball - 4/10 against Ulladulla United in the semi-final, and 5/34 against Berry in the grand final.

After starting the next season in thirds, he was promoted to second grade where he top-scored with 45 in the semi-final against Tomerong, although his side went down in the grand final.

His best bowling analysis of 5/7 came against Tomerong thirds in 1978-79, but with other interests and commitments, he made few appearances after that.

After more than 20 years out of the sport, he made a comeback to play with his son Ben for Nowra fourths in 2001-02 when there were several handy scores from his bat.

Gordon's funeral service will be conducted at Shoalhaven Memorial Gardens, Worrigee on Tuesday, March 30 at 11am; details from Murphy Family Funerals.

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