Garry Jack
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Garry Jack (born 14 March 1961, in Wollongong, New South Wales) is an Australian former rugby league player, a representative in the Australian national team and star player with the Balmain Tigers.
He was a fullback for the Balmain Tigers during the late 1980s and early 1990s, under the captaincy of Wayne Pearce and the coaching of Warren Ryan. Jack was a talented defender and represented the New South Wales State of Origin side, and also Australia.
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[edit] Club career
His junior football was played in Wollongong with Red Devils and in 1980 he was graded with Wests Wollongong. He trialled with the Western Suburbs Magpies in 1981 and debuted inn first grade in the latter part of that season aged 20.
He was sought out by Balmain Tigers club secretary Keith Barnes and persuaded to join Balmain who were putting together a side that featured young up & comers who would later star for the club, state and country such as Wayne Pearce, Ben Elias and Jack's fellow Wollongong junior Steve "Blocker" Roach.
His association with English rugby league began at the end of the 1986 Kangaroo Tour when he stayed on to play for Salford before returning to the Tigers. He was member of the consecutive Balmain sides which fell at the final hurdle to firstly Canterbury in the 1988 Grand Final and then to Canberra in 1989.
1991 saw the departure of Warren Ryan as Balmain coach and the arrival of former Wallaby coach, Alan Jones (radio broadcaster). The years playing under Jones at Balmain were unhappy ones for Jack and eventually after he had left the club in 1992 took the extraordinary step of writing a letter to Rugby league Week expressing anti-Jones sentiment and alleging favouritism played and the existence of a Jones 'inner circle' in the club.
His final Balmain game at Leichardt Oval in 1992 saw 18,000 Tiger fans come out to pay homage to him and other retirees Steve Roach and David Brooks. When his Australian club career ended having surpassed Keith Barnes' club record for first grade matches he returned to England to play his final season with the Sheffield Eagles in England.
After accepting a manager-coach position with Salford, Jack was relieved from the coaching duties before being sacked as club manager in early 1995. This saw him return to Australia that year to help out the struggling Sydney Tigers side. He was somehat slower and according to some critics, past his prime but unquestionably a Tigers man through and through, who aided the club in a difficult period.
[edit] Representative career
In 1984 Jack made his State of Origin debut and played in all three games of that year's series. He was thereafter New Souths Wales' first choice fullback for the next six years, aside from the 1987 fourth game exhibition match in Los Angeles when he made himself unavailable, and game I of 1988 when Cronulla's Jonathon Docking was preferred.
All up Jack made 17 appearances for New South Wales in State of Origins between 1984 and 1989. He was as safe as they come under the high ball and a tremendous last line of defence.
In 1984 he also made his international debut in the three match Ashes series against Great Britain. For the next four years, he reigned supreme as the number one fullback in the world. He played twenty successive Tests (nine versus Britain, seven against New Zealand and two each against France and Papua New Guinea) as well as the 1998 World Cup final against New Zealand and the Bicentenary International against a Rest of the World side.
On the 1986 Kangaroo tour Jack played in all six Tests and seven minor Tour matches. He became the first Australian fullback to score three tries in a Test in a brilliant performance against France in the second Test.
After Jack broke an arm in a 1989 pre-season match the door opened for his great State of Origin rival Queenslander Gary Belcher who from that point was the favoured Australian representative for the fullback position.
[edit] Accolades
In 1987 Jack was honoured with the Golden Boot Award as the finest rugby league player in the world at that time. This highly respected honour is awarded to the world's rugby league players by Rugby League World magazine.
In 2005 he was honoured by Rugby League Week one of the 25 greatest ever New South Wales State of Origin players.
Jack received another accolade at the Balmain Tigers inaugural Hall of Fame dinner in March 2005. Before a large gathering of Tigers greats and supporters Jack received his place in the club's history alongside Wayne Pearce, Keith Barnes, and Peter Provan.
[edit] Post playing
In 1999 Jack made the newspapers when he took Ian Roberts to court over an on-field brawl that occurred in 1991. He was in his view taking a stand against a cowardly, yet devastating beating he received by several Manly players. Jack attempted to sue Roberts for $100, 000 in damages alleging he suffered shock, traumatic injuries to his face and eyes, cuts, headaches and numbness and was embarrassed by scarring to his face. Jack and Roberts eventually settled the dispute outside the court with Roberts angrily handing over more than $50 000.
Jack ran his own sports store "Garry Jack's SportScene" in Burwood, Sydney selling sports clothing and equipment. In 2000 the Sun-Herald reported that Jack had sold his sports store but and operated a sporting memorabilia company "Blazed in Glory".
In 2005, Garry's son Kieren was drafted to the Australian Football League's Sydney Swans. [1]
[edit] Career matches played
| Team | Matches | Years | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wests Magpies | 4 | 1981 | 4 |
| Balmain Tigers | 241 | 1982-92, 95 | 228 |
| New South Wales | 17 | 1984-89 | 4 |
| Australia | 20 | 1984-88 | 44 |
[edit] External links & sources
- Big League's 25 Years of Origin Collectors' Edition , News Magazines, Surry Hills, Sydney
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