Eric Grothe Jr.

Eric Grothe Jr.

Grothe playing for Parramatta in 2009
Personal information
Full name Eric Raymond Grothe
Nickname Guru[1]
Born (1980-03-15) 15 March 1980[2]
Sydney, New South Wales
Playing information
Height 194 cm (6 ft 4 in)[2]
Weight 105 kg (16 st 7 lb)[2]
Position Wing

Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1999–01 Parramatta Eels 15 7 0 0 28
2002–03 Sydney Roosters 11 2 0 0 8
2004–10 Parramatta Eels 116 58 0 0 232
Total 142 67 0 0 268
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2005 City Origin 1 0 0 0 0
2006 New South Wales 3 2 0 0 8
2005 Australia 1 1 0 0 4
Source: NRL Stats

Eric Raymond Grothe (born 15 March 1980) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer 2000s and 2010s. A New South Wales State of Origin and Australia national representative winger, he played in the National Rugby League, largely for Sydney club, Parramatta Eels, with whom his father, Eric Grothe Sr., achieved legendary status in the 1980s. Grothe Jr. also spent three seasons with the Sydney Roosters, and at the end of his career was contracted to the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.

Playing career

Grothe, who was born in Sydney, New South Wales, played for junior clubs Mt. Pritchard (Mounties) and Eagle Vale. In 1999 he made his NRL debut for the Parramatta Eels as a 19-year-old against the North Queensland Cowboys at Parramatta Stadium in round 19.

Grothe returned in 2002 with the Roosters but he signalled he was back when he rejoined Parramatta in 2004. Grothe starred that year and became a City representative in 2005. At the 2005 Dally M Awards he was named winger of the year. At the end of the season Grothe played his only Test for the Kangaroos, becoming, along with his father, Eric, Snr., the 8th father-son combination to represent Australia[3] when he played on the wing in a one-off match in France.

Grothe was selected to play for New South Wales on the wing in all three games of the 2006 State of Origin series, scoring two tries in Game 3.

After poor showings in the first half of the 2008 season, Grothe was dropped from first grade and replaced with teenager Tony Williams. At the end of the 2008 campaign coach Michael Hagan told Grothe that his services were not required for the 2009 season and he has permission to find a new club.

With the arrival of new coach Daniel Anderson in 2009, Grothe was returned to the Eels' starting lineup. Anderson has something of a history with Grothe, having coached him as a 14-year-old in the Harold Matthews Cup back in 1995. Parramatta reached the 2009 NRL Grand Final against the Melbourne Storm Grothe played on the wing, scoring a try in the Eels' loss.

On 13 December 2010 Grothe announced his retirement from football after failing to overcome an injury that kept him sidelined for most of the 2010 NRL season.[4]

On 25 October 2013, Eric Grothe announced his plans to return to rugby league after being out of the NRL for 3 years. On 5 November 2013, Eric Grothe signed a one year contract with the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks for the 2014 NRL season. His NRL return was hampered by injuries in 2014.[2]

Outside of football

Grothe continued to showcase his musical talents as a regular member of the band on Channel Nine's The NRL Footy Show.

He also plays in his band Shinobi with his brother Daniel and mates Darren Stapleton and Wayne Langfield. Eric writes the lyrics for their songs. Shinobi is registered on Triple J Unearthed with track "Enemy" at Number 13 in the Overall Unearthed Charts as at week ending 18 November 2007.[5] In November 2007, the band was snapped up by booking agent Te Harbour Agency.

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.