Dave Brown (rugby league, born 1957)

Last updated

Dave Brown
Personal information
Born (1957-12-05) 5 December 1957 (age 65)
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Playing information
Position Prop
Club
YearsTeamPldTGFGP
 ??–1980 Souths (Brisbane)
1981–82 Eastern Suburbs 502006
1983–84 Manly Sea Eagles 342006
1985–86 Eastern Suburbs 130000
1986–87 Hull F.C. 1004
Total9750016
Representative
YearsTeamPldTGFGP
1979–86 Queensland 121004
1979 Brisbane Firsts 10000
1983 City NSW 10000
1983–84 Australia 50000
Source: [1] [2]
As of 18 June 2013

Dave Brown, (born 5 December 1957) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s. An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative forward, he played his club football in the Brisbane Rugby League for the Souths Logan Magpies under the coaching of Wayne Bennett. He also played in the NSWRL for Eastern Suburbs and Manly-Warringah.

Contents

Background

Brown was born in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

Career

Club career

Dave Brown started his club career in the Brisbane Rugby League competition with the Souths Magpies.

In 1981, Brown signed with Sydney club Eastern Suburbs. Under the coaching of Bob Fulton, Brown played 41 games for the Roosters in 1981 and 1982 (and was considered unlucky not to be selected for the 1982 Kangaroo tour), before following Fulton to Manly in 1983 where he would win the 1983 Dally M Prop of the year award, though injury kept him out of the Sea Eagles Grand Final team that lost 18–6 to Parramatta. Brown stayed at Manly for the 1984 season, before once again joining Easts for what would be his last two years of top grade football in Australia.

After finishing his career with Easts at the end of the 1986 NSWRL season (after having only played 12 games over the course of 1985 and 1986), Brown ventured to England where he joined Hull F.C. in the 1986–87 season. Dave Brown played Left-Prop, i.e. number 8, in Hull FC's 24–31 defeat by Castleford in the 1986 Yorkshire County Cup Final during the 1986–87 season at Headingley Rugby Stadium, Leeds on Saturday 11 October 1986. Hull finished the season in 11th place and only two places away from being relegated to the Second Division. Following the season, Brown returned home to Brisbane.

After returning to Australia, Brown played in the Western Australian Rugby League in Perth as Captain-coach of the Belmont Steelers in 1988–90.

Representative career

Dave Brown made his first representative appearance when he was selected Queensland in a 30–5 loss to New South wales in 1979. Later that year he was chosen for the Brisbane Firsts team that played in an Amco Cup game at Sydney's Leichhardt Oval in 1979 against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, a game Cronulla won 22–5. Brown's teammates at Leichhardt that night included Centre pairing Mal Meninga and Chris Close, Halfback Ross Strudwick, Test Hooker John Lang, while on the interchange bench was a young Lock forward named Wally Lewis.

Brown played two State of Residence and ten State of Origin matches for Queensland between 1979 and 1986, scoring his only try for the Maroons in Game 3 of the 1983 State of Origin series at Lang Park after coming on as a replacement for Darryl Brohman who had his jaw broken after a sickening elbow from New South Wales' forward Les Boyd, a Manly teammate of Brown. Brohman had been widely tipped to make his test debut for Australia in the first Trans-Tasman Test against New Zealand at Carlaw Park in Auckland just three days later, but ironically the spot in the test team went to Brown instead. He played his last game for Queensland in Game 1 of the 1986 State of Origin series at Lang Park, but was dropped after NSW defeated Qld 22–16 in front of 33,066 fans.

His standout performances for Queensland in 1983 saw him make the first of 5 test appearances for Australia in the opening test of the 1983 Trans-Tasman series against New Zealand, and would retain his spot for the second game at Lang Park. He then went on to play in the front row in the first two games of The Ashes series against Great Britain in 1984, before being relegated to the bench for what would be his final test as Australia defeated Great Britain 20–7 in the final test at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Australia retained The Ashes with a 3–0 series win over the Lions.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wally Lewis</span> Australian rugby league footballer and coach

Walter James Lewis AM is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 1980s and 1990s. He became a commentator for television coverage of the sport. A highly decorated Australian national captain, Lewis is widely regarded as one of the greatest ever players of rugby league. His time as a player and coach was followed by a career as a sports presenter for the Nine Network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mal Meninga</span> Australian rugby league footballer and coach

Malcolm Norman Meninga is an Australian professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of the Australian national team and a former professional rugby league footballer. Meninga is widely regarded as one of the finest players in the game's history. He enjoyed a long career in both Australia and England, playing mainly as a goal-kicking centre, but also on the wing. After retiring, Meninga has enjoyed success as a coach, and is currently the head coach of Australia.

Andrew "ET" Ettingshausen is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s. He played his first grade Australian club football for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, retiring at the end of the 2000 NRL season having played 328 first grade games for the club, the NSWRL/ARL/SL/NRL record for most games at a single club. This record stood for ten years, before ultimately being broken by Darren Lockyer for the Broncos in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darryl Brohman</span> Australian rugby league footballer

Darryl Gregory Brohman, also known by the nickname of "The Big Marn", is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s, and coached in the 1980s, now best known as a commentator and media personality. Brohman played professional league for the Penrith Panthers, Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and the Queensland rugby league team. At present, he is working for 2GB on its Continuous Call Team broadcasts, on The Footy Show and makes guest appearances on the Australian version of the ESPN show Pardon the Interruption. In the summer, he plays a small role in the nationally syndicated radio program entitled Summer Weekend Detention which broadcasts from the Sydney studios of 2GB on weekends during the summer months.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Vautin</span> Australia international rugby league footballer and sports pundit/broadcaster

Paul Vautin nicknamed Fatty, is an Australian football commentator and formerly a professional rugby league footballer, captain and coach. He has provided commentary for the Nine Network's coverage of rugby league since joining the network in 1992 and also hosted The Footy Show from its beginnings in 1994 opposite co-host Peter Sterling, until 2017. An Australian Kangaroos test and Queensland State of Origin representative lock or second-row forward, Vautin played club football in Brisbane with Wests, before moving to Sydney in 1979 to play with Manly-Warringah, whom he would captain to the 1987 NSWRL premiership. He also played for Sydney's Eastern Suburbs, and in England for St Helens.

John Ribot, also known by the nickname of "Reebs", is an Australian sports administrator, former rugby league footballer of the 1970s and 1980s. Once a Queensland State of Origin and Australian international representative, Ribot was the 1980 NSWRFL season's equal top try-scorer. Also a member of the 1982 "Invincibles" Kangaroo touring squad, he played club football in Brisbane for Fortitude Valley, Wests and Redcliffe, and in Sydney for Newtown, Wests and Manly-Warringah.

Dale Shearer, also known by the nickname of "Rowdy", is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. A Queensland State of Origin and Australian international representative of Aboriginal heritage, he played club football in Queensland, New South Wales and England. His playing career included a NSWRL Premiership win with Manly-Warringah in 1987 and a Rugby League World Cup Final win in 1988. Ten years after his retirement, Shearer was still the all-time top try-scorer in State of Origin and he was named on the wing of the Indigenous Australian team of the century.

Stephen John Ella is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He was a utility back for the Parramatta Eels, New South Wales and Australia, playing in 4 Tests for Australia between 1983 and 1985. He is a cousin of the Ella brothers who were prominent in Australian rugby union in the 1980s.

Michael David O'Connor is an Australian former rugby league and rugby union footballer who represented Australia in both codes. He played for the Wallabies in 13 Tests from 1979 to 1982 and then the Kangaroos in 17 Tests from 1985 to 1990. O'Connor played club football in the NSWRL Premiership for the St. George Dragons from 1983 until 1986, and later the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles from 1987 until his retirement at the end of 1992, becoming captain of Manly in 1990, as well as winning the 1987 Winfield Cup with the Sea Eagles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Belcher</span> Australia international rugby league footballer & broadcaster

Gary Belcher is an Australian rugby league football commentator and former player. An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative, he played club football in the Brisbane Rugby League premiership for the Souths Magpies and in the NSWRL Premiership for the Canberra Raiders. He also played in England for Castleford. Belcher's position of choice was fullback.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noel Cleal</span> Australian rugby league footballer and coach

Noel Harvey "Crusher" Cleal is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and coach. A destructive second-row for the Manly Sea Eagles, he also represented New South Wales in the State of Origin Series and the Australian national rugby league team.

Steve Walters, also known by the nickname of "Boxhead", is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s who at the peak of his career was considered the best hooker in the game. An Australian Kangaroos and Queensland Maroons representative, he played in the Canberra Raiders' 1st, 2nd and 3rd NSWRL grand final victories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Hancock (rugby league)</span> Australia international rugby league footballer

Michael John "Mick" Hancock is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative wing, he played in the Brisbane Broncos' first five Grand Final victories in 1992, 1993, 1997 Super League, 1998 and 2000. At the time of his retirement from football in Australia in 2000 he held the Broncos' club records for most career appearances. He played out the rest of his career in England with the Salford City Reds and retired in 2002.

Peter Jackson was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. Nicknamed 'Jacko', he was an Australia national and Queensland State of Origin representative centre or five-eighth. Jackson played club football in the Brisbane Rugby League for the Souths Magpies, before moving to the New South Wales Rugby League and playing for the Canberra Raiders, Brisbane Broncos and North Sydney Bears. He also played in the Rugby Football League for English club Leeds. Jackson worked in the media following his retirement in 1993, and died as the result of a drug overdose in 1997.

Chris Johns is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played in the centres, achieving representative honors for Australia and New South Wales. His club football career was spent with the St. George Dragons and Brisbane Broncos, as well as two spells in England, first with Castleford in 1986-87 and then Barrow in 1989–90. After retiring from the playing field, Johns worked in the administration of the Brisbane Broncos and Melbourne Storm clubs.

Bob Lindner is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 1990s. An Australia national and Queensland State of Origin representative forward, he is one of a handful of players to be named man-of-the-match in State of Origin football more than once. Fifteen years after his retirement from football in Australia, he had made the most appearances and scored the most tries of any forward in State of Origin history.

Colin Scott is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. Primarily a fullback, he was an inaugural player for the Queensland State of Origin team and the Brisbane Broncos.

Les Boyd is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He played representative football for the Australian national side in international matches as well as the New South Wales side in the State of Origin. Boyd played club football in both Australia and England and his usual position was in the second-row.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cabramatta Two Blues</span> Australian rugby league club, based in Cabramatta, NSW

Cabramatta Two Blues, colloquially known as Cabra, is an Australian rugby league football club that was originally formed in 1919 and then later completely formed as the Two Blues in 1939. They have always based from the Parramatta Junior Leagues, and their junior teams compete in the Parramatta District Junior Rugby League Association. They compete in the Ron Massey Cup and Sydney Shield however both sides did not field a side for the 2022 season in either competition. They play out of the Cabramatta, New South Wales, Sports Ground Complex which can fit up to 5,000 spectators. The Two Blues have won numerous A-Grade Titles with their last Premiership received in 2002.

References