Ian Freeman (rugby league)

Last updated

Ian Freeman
Personal information
Born (1957-08-31) 31 August 1957 (age 64)
Playing information
Position Prop
Club
YearsTeamPldTGFGP
1983–89 Western Suburbs 6530012
1989–90 Barrow
Total6530012
Source: [1]

Ian Freeman (born 31 August 1957), also known by the nickname of "Herbie", is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played for the Western Suburbs Magpies. He played 65 first grade games in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership with the Magpies, and then spent a season playing with Barrow in England. He was described as a "hard man" known for his "rugged play". [2] He was also known for being bald and bearded. [3]

Contents

Club career

A Cooma junior, Freeman made his first-grade debut with the Western Suburbs Magpies in the first game of the 1983 season. He was a regular in the side that year, playing at either prop or second row. The next year he made just 4 appearances, all losses.

With the threat of Wests being kicked out of the competition, Freeman spent the 1985 season playing with Cooma in the country Group 16 league. [4] Returning to Wests, he was often the starting prop in 1986, and again in 1987 when he made 22 appearances for the season. In 1986 he captained the Magpies when they had a surprise 30-20 victory over Manly [5]

Freeman missed the first 4 games of the 1988 season due to a suspension imposed after a head-high tackle in a pre-season National-Panasonic Cup match. Freeman denied the charge, saying, "He went down fairly easily and when I slung him to the ground his head hit hard. I thought my tackle was hard but it was fair." On-ground officials disagreed, saying the opposing player had been unconscious before he hit the ground. Freeman received a reduced sentence because of his previously clean record. [6]

Freeman spent two more years with Wests, before playing for Barrow in the 1989/90 English season.

After retiring, Freeman spent a season coaching Junee. [7]

Freeman was honoured as a bench player in the Western Suburbs Magpies' Team of the Eighties. [8]

Related Research Articles

Tommy Bishop is an English former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s and 1970s, and coached in the 1970s and 1980s. He played for Blackpool Borough, Barrow and St Helens in the English Championship, and the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the New South Wales Rugby League competition in Australia. He also represented Great Britain on several occasions during his career, captaining them on two occasions, his position of choice was as a scrum-half.

Leichhardt Oval

Leichhardt Oval is a rugby league and soccer stadium in Lilyfield, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently one of three home grounds for the Wests Tigers National Rugby League (NRL) team, along with Campbelltown Stadium and Western Sydney Stadium. Prior to its merger with the Western Suburbs Magpies, it was the longtime home of the Balmain Tigers, who used the ground from 1934–1994 and 1997–1999.

Jason Taylor (rugby league) Australian rugby league footballer and coach

Jason Taylor is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and a former professional rugby league footballer who played as a halfback in the 1990s and 2000s.

Graeme Wynn Australia international rugby league footballer

Graeme Wynn is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played for the St. George Dragons and the Western Suburbs Magpies in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership. His position of choice was at second-row forward, where his height and strong build made him among the most powerful runners in the game during the 1980s.

Paul Langmack Australian RL coach and former rugby league footballer

Paul Langmack is an Australian former rugby league coach and representative and premiership-winning player. Langmack won three premierships with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the mid-eighties. He later joined the Western Suburbs Magpies to become just the fifth player to play 100 games with two different teams.

Ross Conlon is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s. He played for the Western Suburbs Magpies, Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs and Balmain Tigers in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership (NSWRL) as well as representative football for New South Wales and the Australia. He was a renowned goalkicker and described as "One of the fastest players in the game."

Garry William Dowling was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s.

Alan Ridley (1910–1993) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s and 1930s. An Australian international and New South Wales interstate representative winger, he played club football for Sydney's Western Suburbs, with whom he won the 1934 NSWRFL Premiership.

Trevor Cogger is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played for the Western Suburbs Magpies. He played 160 first grade games in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership with the Magpies, the fifth most capped player for the club. Cogger also holds the club record for most appearances in all grades (308) and has scored the most tries for the club in all grades, 88, eclipsing Peter Dimond's previous record.

John Elford is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s and 1970s. He played his entire first grade Australian club football for Western Suburbs and also played for both the New South Wales and Australia representative sides. He was described as, "A great defender and a confident ball player."

Lidcombe Oval

Lidcombe Oval is a playing field and velodrome in the Western Sydney suburb of Lidcombe. It is part of Wyatt Park. It is situated in the Western side of Church Street, on the northern side of the railway line. The outfield has a capacity of more than 20,000 spectators. The infield is used mainly for football matches of various codes. The velodrome hosts track cycling events and has been the home of Lidcombe-Auburn Cycle Club since 1947, and Neo Cycling Club since 2015.

John "Dallas" Donnelly was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. An Australian Kangaroos and New South Wales Blues representative, he played for Western Suburbs between 1975 and 1984 in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership.

Ted Goodwin is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer in the NSWRL competition. Goodwin played for the St George Dragons, Newtown Jets and Western Suburbs Magpies as well as representing for Country and New South Wales and Australia.

Graeme O'Grady is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer in the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) competition. He played for the Western Suburbs Magpies, Newtown Jets and St. George Dragons and one state representative appearance. O'Grady primarily played at lock.

Noel Kelly (rugby league) Australia international rugby league footballer

Noel Raymond Kelly was an Australian professional rugby league footballer and coach, who played at club, state and national levels. He was named among the country's finest footballers of the 20th century. Kelly played as a hooker, prop forward or lock for much of his top-grade career with the Western Suburbs Magpies, whom he played for in three consecutive NSWRFL grand finals from 1961 to 1963. Kelly was named at hooker of the Western Suburbs Magpies, Queensland and Australian teams of the 20th century.

Bill Keato Australian rugby league footballer and administrator

William Keato was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership for Sydney' Western Suburbs from 1938 till 1950. A goal-kicking fullback he played over one hundred first grade games for the Magpies. He scored over 770 points to become Wests' all-time top point-scorer and goal-kicker. Roy Masters said of Keato, "A prodigious goalkicker, Keato booted what were called "flag waggers" from the sideline and halfway, often in the mud and against the wind, in the 1938-to-1950 era, when goals, rather than tries, decided games." He also said Keato, "won more matches for the Magpies than any other player."

Laurie Freier is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and coach. He played in Sydney's NSWRFL Premiership for the Eastern Suburbs and Manly-Warringah clubs during the 1970s, later coaching Easts as well as the Western Suburbs Magpies during the 1980s. He is also the father of former rugby union international Adam Freier.

Ian Thomson is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. An Australian international and New South Wales interstate representative front row forward, he played club football for Manly-Warringah, with whom he won the 1978 NSWRFL Premiership, as well as Balmain.

Allan Fallah Australian rugby league footballer

Alan Fallah is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played for the Western Suburbs Magpies and was also an NRL touch judge.

Edward Burnicle (1890–1931) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1910s and 1920s.

References

  1. ↑ Rugby League Project
  2. ↑ Paul Tait (26 February 1986). "Injuries force Wests totrial new pack". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  3. ↑ Elias, John; Josh Massoud (2010). Sin Bin: The Untold Story of a True Footy Bad Boy. Australia: Pan Macmillan. p. 131. ISBN   978-1-4050-4021-1 . Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  4. ↑ Alan Clarkson (1 January 1986). "The shape of League to come". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  5. ↑ Jason Dasey (21 April 1986). "Silvertail effort gives Wests the KISS of life". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  6. ↑ Alan Clarkson (1 March 1988). "Freeman's 4-week ban mystifies the Magpies". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  7. ↑ "Centenary Heroes". sporting pulse. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
  8. ↑ "Team of the Eighties". weststigers.com.au. Archived from the original on 27 February 2011. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.