 Ken Thornett also appeared in that Test match, making the brothers the first to play together in an Australian test side since Bill and Viv Farnsworth in 1912.Thornett's final two club seasons at Parramatta were affected by a bout of hepatitis and he saw out the final year of his career with a season at Easts.While playing rugby, Thornett also served in the New South Wales Police Force and in 2008, rugby league's centennial year in Australia, he was named as a reserve in a NSW Police team of the century.