John Peard

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John Peard

Personal information
Full name	John Peard
Date of birth	15 January 1945 (1945-01-15) (age 63)
Place of birth	Atherton, Queensland, Australia
Height	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)[1]
Weight	12 st 0 lb (76 kg)[1]
Nickname(s)	Bomber
Youth clubs
Years	Club
	Bondi United
Senior clubs*
Years	Club	Apps (points)
1966–1971 1972–1973 1974–1975 1976–1979	Eastern Suburbs St. George Dragons Eastern Suburbs Parramatta Eels	59 (53) 17 (10)[2] 45 (70) 58 (172)
Representative teams
1976–1977 1975–1977	New South Wales Australia	4 (2) 11 (12)
Professional clubs coached
1980 1982–1983 1988 1988	Parramatta Eels Penrith Panthers City Origin New South Wales
* Professional club appearances and points counted for domestic first grade only.

John "Bomber" Peard (born 15 January 1945) is a former Australian rugby league player for the Eastern Suburbs, St. George and Parramatta NSWRL clubs in the 1960s and 70s. Peard's nickname, 'Bomber', came from his revolutionary towering punt kick, popularly referred to as a bomb, which terrorised opposition players. It has now became a common feature of the modern game.

[edit] Playing career

Peard played in Eastern Suburbs lower gades before making his 1st grade debut in 1966. That year the Roosters failed to win a game but the five-eight enjoyed more success over the next few years, semi finalist in 1967, '68 and winning the club championship before joinning former coach Jack Gibson at St George in 1972. In 1974 Peard, along with coach Jack Gibson, rejoined the Roosters for one of the most successful periods in the club's history. The five-eight was a key figure for the Roosters, winning back to back premierships in 1974 and 1975 and was a winner of mid-week and pre-season cups. In Easts 38-0, 1975 premiership victory over St George, Peard kicked 7 goals. At the end of the 1975 season Peard was selected to represent Australia in that year's world series.

Peard joined the Parramatta club the following year and was named 'player of the year' that season. He was unsuccessful in two further premiership deciders in 1976 and 1977 but once again gained selection for Australia. Injuries brought about an end to Peard's playing career at the end of the 1978 season.

[edit] Post-playing career

Peard moved on to coach Parramatta, Penrith Panthers and NSW as well as working for the ABC as a rugby league commentator.

Peard is a life member of the Eastern Suburbs club. The John Peard Cup, which commenced in 2004, was named in his honour.^[3]

Peard suffered a life-threatening stroke in 2002 and he documents his rehabilitation in his autobiography Fine Thanks Mate: John 'The Bomber' Peard on Football, Life and Second Chances, released in April, 2007.^[4] As part of the book promotion he appeared on The NRL Sunday Footy Show on 1 April 2007.

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] References

• Peard, John and Writer, Larry (2007). Fine Thanks Mate: John 'The Bomber' Peard on Football, Life and Second Chances. Sydney, New South Wales: ABC Books, 269. ISBN 978 0 7333 2103 0.