Willie Carne

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Willie Carne is a former Australian rugby league player who played for the Brisbane Broncos from 1989 to 1996. An attacking player with dangerous speed, his position of choice was wing.

1 Background
2 Broncos
3 Representative career
4 Representative Honours
5 Brisbane Broncos Club Honours
6 Brisbane Broncos Club Scoring Statistics

[edit] Background

Born in Roma, he attended Ipswich Grammar School, of which former Brisbane Broncos Kevin Walters, Kerrod Walters and Allan Langer are also Alumni.

[edit] Broncos

Carne played 151 first-grade games for the Brisbane Broncos, helping the team to their back-to-back Premiership wins in 1992 and 1993. From 1990-4, he was considered the best rugby league winger in the world. In his final season for the Broncos, Carne assumed the position of goal kicker, as Julian O'Neal, the previous goal kicker, had been sacked in 1995 for being arrested in England for drink driving. After another failure by the Broncos in the 1996 season, Carne was one of four players asked by coach Wayne Bennett to leave the club, since he could no longer guarantee the four players places in the Broncos' first grade team. Carne subsequently defected to rugby union, making his debut in a Queensland Reds trial match. Although his opening performance was described by coach John Conolly as 'a pass', Carne was unable to secure a place in the Reds's regular line-up. Later that season he retired from professional sport altogether.

[edit] Representative career

Carne made his Rugby League State of Origin debut in 1990 for the Queensland Maroons. He also played at the sports highest level, representing Australia, and playing in their 1992 World Cup win. Carne was made man of the match of the opening game of the State of Origin Series in 1994 after a strong performance, which included his scoring a try, successfully diffusing a NSW bomb and having an important hand in the last-minute try which resulted in a spectacular Queensland victory. In 1995, Carne was one of a number of players who were not considered for selection for the Origin series as a result of having signed contracts with Super League. In 1996, Carne made an Origin comeback in the third and final game after the policy of excluding Super League players was lifted. Carne played an attacking game, looking dangerous at various moments of the match with impressive runs and occasional breaks.

[edit] Representative Honours

Queensland (12 Games, 1990-1996)
- Man of the Match, Game 1 1994
Australia (1990-1993)

[edit] Brisbane Broncos Club Honours

Rookie of the Year: 1990
Best Back: 1993
Record for Most Tries in Consecutive Games: 8 (Cronulla, Seagulls, Souths, Illawarra, St George, Canberra, Canterbury, Wests) May 18 to July 13, 1990
6th Highest All-Time Tryscorer: 76 (All Games), 72 (Premiership Games)