Ian Schubert

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Ian 'Shoey' Schubert (born 1957, Wauhope, NSW) was an Australian rugby league player.

He had a long career which began with a sensational opening season for the Eastern Suburbs club, before fading out and re-inventing himself with Manly and Western Suburbs so well that he regained his Australian jumper after having a year ago been in reserve grade. By the time his career closed Schubert had played 269 first grade games, which stood as the third highest in the history of the NSWRL.

Originally from the timber town of Wauchope, the Australian schoolboy was first recommended to Eastern Suburbs coach Jack Gibson in 1974. Although not out of school at the time, Schubert instantly became a regular first grader on the wing - in the process relegating the previous season's leading try scorer Bill Mullins to reserve grade! When Easts rugby union convert fullback Russell Fairfax was injured, Schubert was shifted to fullback with devastating effect. He scored fourteen tries that year and set up many others. In the grand final against St George the youngster, was named as 'Man Of The Match' for his outanding performance. Schubert's performance in that match earned him a place in the Australian team for that seasons 'World Series'.

In the tournament he did extremely well, twice scoring three tries in one match against Wales and briefly moving to lock forward - a move that foreshadowed his post-Eastern Suburbs career.

The following years saw Schubert fail to maintain his form of his wonderful debut season. However, his pace out wide was still good enough for him to be selected for the 1978 Kangaroo tour, on which he played ten matches but could not displace the incomparable Eadie from his Test place, nor even Chris Anderson from his wing berth. His return to Australia in 1979, however, saw such a decline that by the time Easts had returned to the top under the coaching of Bob Fulton, Schubert had been relegated to reserve grade and he was not seen in the club's 1980 grand final loss to Canterbury-Bankstown. Easts did not have him in their plans for 1981, but Schubert signed with Western Suburbs and, despite not being consistent, played in the club's reserve grade grand final win.

However, it was a surprise when Schubert, returning to Easts after having put on quite a bit of weight, re-invented himself as a skilful ball-playing forward to such effect that, despite injuries preventing him playing in a second grand final, was chosen for his second Kangaroo tour in 1982. He was not as effective as on his previous tour and signed with the big-spending Manly club for 1983, playing a significant part in a most impressive season that faltered only at the last hurdle. Schubert was also Player of the Series in the 1983 KB Cup, but the following year he declined to yet again lose his first grade berth.

Believing himself still with something to offer, Ian Schubert returned to Western Suburbs - who in the previous two years had been exceedingly lucky to remain in the NSWRL competition after losing almost all of their best players - to regain a first grade spot and offer experience to a youthful side. In the period 1986 to 1988, Schubert's experience was very valuable to Western Suburbs and undoubtedly helped develop many of the young players who moved the club off the bottom in the early 1990s. He was their leading pointscorer for the three years from 1986 to 1988 - remarkable for someone who was previously not a regular goalkicker. In fact, in his fifth-last appearance in first grade, Schubert kicked a field goal for the first time in his fourteen-year career.

Even before he retired as a player in 1989, Schubert had been coaching Western Suburbs' reserve grade side. He showed his talent as a lower grade coach with Canterbury-Bankstown in the early 1990s but with the Super League split and Chris Anderson's tight grip could never get to coach first grade. In recent years Schubert has been back in the headlines in his new role as auditor for the National Rugby League's salary cap and a number of unsavoury comments concerning breaches of the regulations.

[edit] External reference

• Whiticker, Alan and Hudson, Glen; The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players (3rd edition); published 1998 by Gary Allen Pty. Ltd.; 9 Cooper Street, Smithfield, New South Wales, 2164.