ARTHUR Beetson went walkabout when named in rugby league's Team of the Century last week, but he made sure he attended Jack Gibson's funeral on Wednesday hobbling down from the Gold Coast, where he is coaching.

Standing like a colossus behind Jack's widow Judy and youngest son John at the back of the packed St Aloysius Church, Cronulla, big "Artie'' summed up the feelings of many in the crowd of 1200 people.

"To many of us Jack was like a godfather ... for me he was my mate,'' Beetson said of the game's super coach.

Gibson, who has died aged 79, brought Beetson to the Roosters where they won two premierships, before switching to Parramatta, where he coached another three successive premiership winning sides.

Gibson, who cut his teeth with the Roosters as a tough prop in the 1950s, would have been thrilled with the guard of honour provided by the entire Roosters first grade squad and coach Brad Fittler, and by the boys' choir from his old school St Gregory's at Campbelltown and by soloist Mark Vincent.

He would have been proud of his wife and extended family, but embarrassed by all the fuss the praise from John Quayle, the former league boss whom Gibson coached at the Roosters; the number of priests (10) who conducted the service; the big screen outside, and the number of people who wept.

Past and present league and sporting officials mixed with the well-heeled, some rough nuts, schoolchildren (at least one girl fainted), and the elderly, on walking sticks and in wheelchairs, all of whom had been touched by Jack Gibson.

Wayne Bennett cut short his Broncos side's preparations for Saturday's match against the Sharks to attend, and Sharks' Test coach Ricky Stuart cut short his side's camp on the South Coast to be there.

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