Greg Alexander
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gregory Alexander | |
| Date of birth | March 6, 1965 | |
| Place of birth | Penrith, NSW, Australia | |
| Height | 1.73 m | |
| Nickname(s) | Brandy | |
| School(s) | Patrician Brothers, Fairfield | |
| Youth representative teams | ||
| 1983 | Australian Schoolboys | |
| Senior clubs* | ||
| Years | Club | Apps (points) |
| 1984-94 1995-96 1997-99 |
Penrith Auckland Penrith |
?? (1053) 37 (60) ?? (51) |
| Representative teams** | ||
| 1989-97 1986-90 |
New South Wales Australia |
6 (8) 6 (36) |
|
* Professional club appearances and points |
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Greg Alexander (born in Penrith, New South Wales) is an Australian former rugby league footballer. In his career he played for and captained the Penrith Panthers and the Auckland Warriors in the National Rugby League competition in Australia; he has also represented his country and state on several occasions. His position of choice for the majority of his career was at half-back.
Contents |
[edit] Playing career
He began his rugby career at schoolboy level where he quickly established himself as a star player for his side and was consequently picked to represent the Australian schoolboys side. He was later signed on as a junior to his local club side the Penrith Panthers.
[edit] Penrith Panthers
Alexander made his first grade debut for the Panthers in the 1984 season as an elusive and quick thinking half-back. His talent quickly became clear and by the end of the season he took out the Rookie of the Year award. The following year Greg continued his good form throughout the season tallying up 194 points (a club record at the time) and earning himself the 1985 Dally M. player of the year award.
Greg continued playing with the Panthers for the next several years and become known for his unique ability to score and set up tries, his excellent attacking kicking and his solid defence. 1989 saw him rise to Test selection in New Zealand, but he was regarded as a disappointment after his exceptional form for Penrith earlier in the year: his pace and skill had made Penrith the second most dangerous attacking team in the competition (after Canberra) and Alexander was the leading try-scorer for much of the year - scoring ten tries in eight games at one point. He captained the Panthers in 1991 to a premiership title and was also rewarded by being called up to both his state and national side.
After a dream 1991 season the following was a somewhat sombre one for Alexander as in June of 1992 his younger brother and fellow Panthers team-mate Ben Alexander was tragically killed in a car accident[1]. He missed the majority of fixtures that year and continually fell beyond his usual playing weight and ended the season ten kilograms lighter.[2]
[edit] Auckland Warriors
At the end of the 1994 season, Alexander left his hometown club of Penrith to venture across the Tasman and join up with the New Zealand side the Auckland Warriors. Many rumoured his leaving stemmed back to his brother's death and his wish to get away from the pain that had stalled his career in the years before. However, he could not secure the halfback spot due to the rise of Stacey Jones and ended up playing most of his two years at five-eighth and fullback.
[edit] Return to the Panthers
Alexander eventually returned to Penrith in 1997 after his stint in New Zealand and stayed on till his retirement in 1999. In total, Alexander played 220 games for the Panthers and scored over one hundred tries, tallying over a thousand career points for the club. To date, he is only the second player ever to accomplish this in Australian rugby league.
[edit] Career playing statistics
[edit] Point scoring summary
| Games | Tries | Goals | F/G | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 257 | 112 | 351 | 14 | 1164 |
[edit] Matches played
| Team | Matches | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Penrith Panthers | 220 | 1984 - 1994, 1997 - 1999 |
| Auckland Warriors | 37 | 1995 - 1996 |
| New South Wales (state of origin) | 5 | 1989 - 1991, 1997 |
| Australia (Tests) | 6 | 1986 - 1990 |
[edit] Life after football
After his retirement from football in 1999 Alexander embarked on a media career in both radio and television. He currently works as a host and commentator with Warren Smith and Laurie Daley for Foxtel's Fox Sports station.
Alexander is a member of the Penrith Panthers board of directors. He also had a small coaching role for the Panthers in 2003 when they won the premiership title.
[edit] Private Life
Greg is also the brother-in-law of fellow former Penrith, NSW and Australian Rugby League player Mark Geyer and the brother-in-law of former Penrith, Perth Reds and Newcastle Second Rower, Peter Shiels.
Greg's sister Megan is married to Mark Geyer, and his sister Linda married to Peter Shiels.
[edit] Sources
- Australian Associated Press (January 29, 2006) "Mourning Mat's biggest battle", Sydney Morning Herald.
- Fox Sports NRL team profiles
[edit] External links
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