Peter Sterling
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Peter Maxwell John Sterling | |
| Date of birth | June 16, 1960 | |
| Place of birth | Toowoomba, Australia | |
| Nickname | Sterlo | |
| Position | Halfback | |
| Professional clubs* | ||
| Years | Club | Apps (points) |
| 1978-1992 | Parramatta | 229 (190) |
| Representative teams | ||
| 1981-1988 1982-1988 |
New South Wales Australia |
13 (0) 19 |
|
* Professional club appearances and points |
||
Peter Maxwell John Sterling (born June 16, 1960 in Toowoomba, Queensland), nicknamed Sterlo, was one of the greatest Australian rugby league players and a major contributor to Parramatta's dominance of the New South Wales Rugby League premiership between 1981 and 1986. He gained his experience and insight by playing at Patrician Brothers' College Fairfield, which he attended. Many rate him the best halfback ever to play rugby league in company with Duncan Thompson, Alex Murphy and Andrew Johns.
He played 19 Tests for the Australian national team between 1982 and 1988. He played in 13 State of Origins for NSW, winning man of the match on 4 occasions. He played in 4 premierships winning sides with Parramatta in 1981-1983 and 1986.
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[edit] Rugby league career
Sterling compensated for a lack of size and pace with control and organisational skills that allowed Parramatta's all-star back line of Brett Kenny, Mick Cronin, Steve Ella and Eric Grothe a great deal of ball. His kicking, backed up by Kenny and Ray Price's superb chasing, often gave Parramatta an advantage in territory. His fast mind meant, as opponents testified, "Sterling would never make a wrong decision". He was an effective defender rare to miss a tackle, and if a ball was loose, Sterling would very often be in position to secure it.
Sterling commenced his playing career at the age of 14 when he joined the Wagga Wagga Kangaroo Panthers in 1974. As a teenager he spent several years living at RAAF Base Wagga, where his his father was serving as a dental technician.
He joined Parramatta Eels in 1978 where he made his first appearance as a stand-in fullback during the 1978 finals series. After a few games at five-eighth in 1979, Sterling shifted to halfback and established himself in 1980. 1981 saw Parramatta win their initial first grade title with Sterling's superb skill and control one of the decisive factors. He played for New South Wales that year without living up to his club form, but in 1982 Parramatta could do no wrong, apart from a 0-20 thrashing at the hands of Manly in the semi final and Sterling was chosen for the Kangaroo Tour despite having not played in the State of Origin series. He played in every Test in that unbeaten tour side.
Sterling played in Australia's shock 12-19 Test loss to New Zealand in 1983 and helped Parramatta to a third successive title that year. After playing for Hull FC over the Australian summer, Sterling vacated his Test spot despite winning the Rugby League Week Player of the Year award in 1984 for the first time. In the 1984 grand final, Sterling had few opportunities due to the power of the Canterbury Bulldogs forwards, and he did not play for Parramatta in the first half of 1985 as he was with Hull FC. His superb skills translated to Hull and he made a prominent impact in English club rugby league. Though he was relatively quiet upon his return to Parramatta, at the end of the season Sterling's skill allowed Parramatta to crush Balmain (twice) and Penrith to move from doubtful finalists to the preliminary final - where a ruthless Canterbury side crushed them by 26 points to nil.
1986 saw Sterling almost carry a clean sweep of the major awards - except the Rothmans Medal - and win the inaugural Clive Churchill Medal in Parramatta's fourth grand final victory. He again played every Test on an unbeaten Kangaroo tour of England that year. Despite Parramatta declining from premiers to seventh with Cronin and Price retiring and Grothe and Ella playing very little due to injuries, 1987 was undoubtedly Sterling's finest year. He swept all major player of the year awards - winning the Rothmans Medal by five points, the Dally M player of the year award, and the Rugby League Week player of the year award.
1988 saw Sterling produce quality displays for Parramatta despite the team having a disappointing year. In the last Test against Great Britain he suffered a serious shoulder injury and did not play again that year. In 1989 Sterling retired from representative rugby league but performed for Parramatta till an ankle injury ended his season and plans to play out his career in England. 1990 saw Sterling play a full season at the top of his form and lead a young Parramatta side to an excellent placing. He won a second Rothmans Medal, but in the last match against Manly a shoulder injury recurred such that despite Parramatta signing him for two more seasons, Sterling was only able to play four games before his career ended.
Sterling played 229 games for Parramatta, scoring 48 tries, one goal, and 15 field goals.
[edit] Post-playing career
His sharp intelligence marked Sterling as an erudite analyst of the game and he took to commentating on Channel Nine after an initial media stint with Western Sydney radio station 2WS. He left the Channel Nine position during the Super League crisis in 1995 when Illawarra offerred him an assistant coach role, which he held briefly till Illawarra merged with St George. Since then, Sterling has returned to Nine hosting The Rugby League Footy Show with Paul Vautin, which he has done since 1994 and playing a key commentary role in Nine's game coverage.
In 1995, Sterling was picked at halfback in a poll to judge the best Australian team since the introduction of the limited-tackle rule in 1967. He won eight of fourteen votes, with the remainder going to Billy Smith, Ricky Stuart and Allan Langer.
In 2006, Sterling was one of six past players to be inducted into the Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame at the Dally M. Awards 2006 award ceremony.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- Whiticker, Alan and Hudson, Glen; The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players (3rd edition); published 1998 by Gary Allen Pty. Ltd.; 9 Cooper Street, Smithfield, New South Wales, 2164.
- Middleton, David (editor); Rugby League 1987-88, published 1988 by Lester Townsend Publishing Pty Ltd; 5 Glenmore Road, Paddington, 2021, NSW
- Middleton, David (editor); Rugby League 1996; published 1996 by HarperCollins Publishers, 25 ryde Roads, Pymble, Sydney, NSW 2073
