David Fairleigh
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | David Fairleigh | |
| Date of birth | September 1, 1970 | |
| Place of birth | Wyoming, NSW, Australia | |
| Height | 190 cm | |
| Weight | 103 kg | |
| School(s) | Gosford High School | |
| Youth representative teams | ||
| 1988 | Australian Schoolboys | |
| Senior clubs* | ||
| Years | Club | Apps (points) |
| 1989–1999 2000 2001 |
Norths Newcastle St. Helens |
193 (144) 26 (4) 27 (32) |
| Representative teams | ||
| 1991–1997 1994–1996 |
New South Wales Australia |
10 (0) 15 (8) |
|
* Professional club appearances and points |
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David Fairleigh (born 1 September 1970[1]) is an Australian former professional rugby league player for the North Sydney Bears, Newcastle Knights and St Helens. He was a state and national representative second rower.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Club career
He made his first grade debut for the Bears in round 17 of 1989 and for ten seasons from 1990 was a permanent first grade player and North Sydney stalwart. Following North's merger with Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles at the end of 1999 Fairleigh moved to Newcastle and was in 2000 named the club's Player of the Year. 2001 saw him finish his club career with a season for St Helens in England.
[edit] Representative career
In State of Origin game III of 1991, Fairleigh was selected for the New South Wales team on the interchange bench. He was not selected in 1992 but appeared again in 1993 off the interchange bench in games I & II and as a prop-forward in the run-on side of game III. His Origin (and national) representative careers benefitted from the fracas of the Super League war and he appeared in all three games of the 1995 and 1997 series for a career total of ten appearances for the Blues.
Although not selected for Origin in 1994, Fairleigh earned a place in the Australian Test side against France when Bradley Clyde withdrew. He was one of the first forwards selected for the 1994 Kangaroo Tour . He appeared in twelve minor tour matches and two Tests scoring five tries on tour. He had been selected as a reserve for the second Test but withdrew on the morning of the match with a virus. He played in the third Test against Great Britain and in the sole test against France, scoring a try in the 74-0 drubbing. He was also selected in the Australian team to play against Fiji and Papua New Guinea in 1996.
[edit] Post playing
Fairleigh won the Rothman's Medal in 1994 with a record tally of 33 votes. He was second in the award in 1996 behind teammate Jason Taylor. In 2006 an expert panel of judges selected a North Sydney team of the century in which Fairleigh was selected in the starting thirteen in the second-row.[3]
In 2006 Fairleigh was the Premier league coach at the Newcastle Knights but his contract was not renewed in the changes that occurred in early 2007 realating to the arrival of new head coach Brian Smith[4]
[edit] References
- ^ Rugby League in New Zealand. Retrieved on 2007-09-02.
- ^ State of Origin player details. Retrieved on 2007-08-30.
- ^ Norths Team of the Century.
- ^ SMH Fairleigh Dumped.
- Whiticker, Alan & Hudson, Glen (2006) The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players, Gavin Allen Publishing, Sydney
- Big League's 25 Years of Origin Collectors' Edition , News Magazines, Surry Hills, Sydney
[edit] External Links
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