He won 17 caps for Great Britain and finished his career at Workington Town, remarkably leading them to Rugby League Challenge Cup glory as player-coach at the age of 41 in 1952.

Gus Risman was one of the players who successfully toured in France with Salford in 1934, during which the Salford team earned the name "Les Diables Rouges", the seventeen players were; Joe Bradbury, Bob Brown, Aubrey Casewell, Paddy Dalton, Bert Day, Cliff Evans, Jack Feetham, George Harris, Barney Hudson, Emlyn Jenkins, Alf Middleton, Sammy Miller, Harold Osbaldestin, Les Pearson, Gus Risman, Billy Watkins and Billy Williams.

Only four rugby league footballers have played initially for Wales, and then subsequently for England, they are; Emlyn Jenkins, Gus Risman, Jim Sullivan and Les White.

Gus Risman played left centre in Salford's 3–15 defeat by Wigan in the Championship Final during the 1933–34 season at Wilderspool Stadium, Warrington on 28 April 1934.

[8] Gus Risman played right wing and scored two-goals in Salford's 7–4 victory over Barrow in the 1938 Challenge Cup Final at Wembley Stadium, London, in front of a crowd of 51,243.

In December 2020 Risman was named as one of three Welsh rugby league players to be honoured with a new statue in Cardiff Bay, the other two being Billy Boston and Clive Sullivan.