Geoff Gerard

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Geoff Gerard is a former rugby league footballer. From early 1989 to mid-1994 he held the record for for the most first grade games until overtaken by Terry Lamb.

[edit] Career

Gerard began his career as a centre three-quarter with Parramatta in 1974 and, in a disappointing side that only just avoided a third wooden spoon in five years, won the club's rookie of the year award. He was a local Parramatta junior graded from the Cabramatta club.

Gerard soon shifted to the forwards and his game developed rapdily as the Eels made a rapid advance to the finals in 1975 and the grand final in 1976. Gerard scored a try in that match but Eadie's wonderful goalkicking gave Manly a narrow win. The following year, Gerard played strongly throughout, and the Eels won the minor premiership for the first time. An aggressive and powerful St. George forward pack, however (aided by the failure of referee Gary Cooke to send Robert Stone off after he kneed Eels prop Graeme Olling), was far too much in the replay.

1978 saw Gerard begin the most productive period of his career, winning Rugby League Week's Player of the Year award and beging selected for the Kangaroo tour despite not having played for New South Wales. He played in all five Tests in the second row, but did not stay in representative rugby league on his return to Australia.

In 1981 Gerard shifted to Manly-Warringah and his move to the front row was widely criticised at the time, but he did so well in that role as to be selected for his second Kangaroo tour in 1982 despite a below-par performance in the grand final. He did not play any of the Tests, but did play one final Test against New Zealand the following year - besides playing in two grand final losses to his former club Parramatta.

In 1985 he shifted to Penrith and, often used as a "fresh reserve" after the NSWRL allowed them for the first time (previously all substitutes had to be players who had played reserve grade the same day), continued to play until 1989. During that year, he re-established himself as a regular member of Penrith's starting pack, and successively

surpassed Bob O'Reilly's record number of first grade games (284, against Newcastle in round four)
surpassed Max Krilich's record number of games in all grades (against Easts in round twelve)
became the first player ever to play 300 first grade games (against his former side Parramatta in round eighteen)

In 1990 Gerard took over as coach of Penrith's reserve grade side. despite taking them to the finals for two seasons, he moved to the Metropolitan Cup for 1992 and his time coaching Parramatta's reserves in 1994 and 1995 was disastrous. In 1998 he joined the NSW state selection panel.

Since 2002 the "Geoff Gerard Coach's Award" has been given to the Parramatta Eels' Premier League player of the year.