John Cartwright (rugby league)

Last updated

John Cartwright
John Cartwright.jpg
Personal information
Born (1965-08-09) 9 August 1965 (age 58)
Penrith, New South Wales, Australia
Playing information
Height188 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight108 kg (17 st 0 lb)
Position Second-row
Club
YearsTeamPldTGFGP
1985–96 Penrith Panthers 184140056
1997 Salford Reds 1630012
Total200170068
Representative
YearsTeamPldTGFGP
1989–92 New South Wales 81004
1990–92 Australia 180000
Coaching information
Club
YearsTeamGmsWDLW%
200714 Gold Coast Titans 18686010046
Representative
YearsTeamGmsWDLW%
200911 City Origin 310233
2004 USA 10010
Source: [1] [2] [3]

John Cartwright (born 9 August 1965) is the assistant coach of the Brisbane Broncos in the National Rugby League (NRL) and an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and former head coach. He was the head coach for the Gold Coast Titans. A "strong running and skilful passing" [4] Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative second-row forward, Cartwright played his club football with the Penrith Panthers, winning the 1991 premiership with them.

Contents

Playing career

Cartwright began with Penrith in 1985 and was a regular first-grade player by 1987.

In 1988, under the guidance of Ron Willey, Penrith developed a heavyweight, aggressive forward pack of which Cartwright and second row partner Mark Geyer were the cornerstones.

Cartwright had a sudden rise through representative ranks in 1989. Initially not chosen for the City Origin team, he took his place in the firsts team after a spate of injuries. John was the named on the bench for New South Wales for the first State of Origin match. Unfortunately, a late injury to Ian Roberts forced him to play in the front row, [4] to which John was ill-suited, and John was dropped after one match. At the end of the year, John was sent off against Balmain and suspended for four matches. Penrith were thrashed 33-6 and could not win either of their two finals without John Cartwright. On returning from suspension, John Cartwright found form very quickly and at the end of the 1990 NSWRL season, John went on the 1990 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France but was dropped after one Test.

Injury affected Cartwright in 1991, and Cartwright was used as a reserve in two of the three Tests against New Zealand. Following the 1991 grand final victory, Cartwright travelled with the Penrith club to England for the 1991 World Club Challenge which was lost to Wigan.

Cartwright had his finest season of all in 1992. During the 1992 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand, Cartwright helped Australia retain The Ashes. John played in all three games for New South Wales (scoring a rare try in the third) and took over the Penrith captaincy when Greg Alexander was injured.

At the end of 1996, Cartwright left Penrith to play in England.

Coaching career

After he finally retired as a player, John Cartwright became an assistant coach at the Penrith club and the Sydney Roosters. In 2000 he was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his contribution to Australia's international standing in rugby league. [ citation needed ]

Cartwright began coaching at Penrith as the reserve coach in 2001. After a period as assistant to Ricky Stuart at the Sydney Roosters, as well as coaching the United States national rugby league team against the Kangaroos in 2004, [5] Cartwright was appointed the inaugural coach of the Gold Coast Titans after their admission to the National Rugby League.

He became involved in a feud with Melbourne Storm winger Steve Turner over contractual obligations. "We flew him up, showed him around for two or three days and he agreed to me that he would come here, we shook hands. He looked me in the eye. The deal was done. He even started looking for accommodation. I only coached him in a couple of games at Penrith and my reaction has been the same as it would be for any player in this situation. But to do what he has done . . . I'm not happy. I'm extremely disappointed, to say the least." [6]

In 2009, he was selected to coach the NSW Country Origin side. He later guided to the Gold Coast to consecutive finals appearances in the 2009 NRL season and the 2010 NRL season, the latter of which saw the Gold Coast reach the preliminary final. In 2011, the Gold Coast claimed their first Wooden Spoon under Cartwright's coaching. [7]

After four years without making the finals, on 5 August 2014 he announced that he would stand down as head coach of the Gold Coast, with immediate effect. He would coach the club one last time against the Sydney Roosters in Round 22 before Neil Henry taking over on an interim basis. [8]

In February 2015, Cartwright joined the North Queensland Cowboys as an assistant to head coach Paul Green.

On 4 October 2015, John Cartwright was a member of North Queensland's coaching staff in the side's 17-16 Grand Final victory over the Brisbane Broncos.

In the weeks following the Grand Final win, Cartwright quit the North Queensland club and returned to Sydney as an assistant coach of the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles. [9]

Following the 2020 NRL season, Cartwright was announced as an assistant coach for the Brisbane Broncos, working under their new head coach Kevin Walters.

Personal life

Cartwright is the uncle of former Gold Coast Titans and Penrith Panthers Bryce Cartwright. [10] Cartwright's son is Jed Cartwright who plays for South Sydney.

In 2020, Cartwright was a special guest on the Andy Raymond #UNFILTERED podcast!.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brisbane Broncos</span> Australian rugby league football club

The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos currently compete in the National Rugby League (NRL). The club has won seven premierships, including two New South Wales Rugby League premierships, a Super League premiership and four NRL premierships. The Broncos have won two World Club Challenges, and four minor premierships in multiple competitions. Prior to 2015, Brisbane had never been defeated in a grand final, and since 1991, the club has failed to qualify for the finals five times. The club is one of the most successful clubs in the National Rugby League since it began in 1998, winning three premierships. The club is one of the most successful clubs in the history of rugby league, having won 59.9% of games played since its induction in 1988, second only to Melbourne Storm with 67.3%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wayne Bennett (rugby league)</span> Australian rugby league coach and former footballer

Wayne James Bennett, also known by the nickname "Benny", is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of the Dolphins in the National Rugby League (NRL), and has previously coached the South Sydney Rabbitohs, the Brisbane Broncos, the Newcastle Knights, the St George Illawarra Dragons, the Canberra Raiders, the Queensland Maroons State of Origin team, the NRL All Stars and the Australian Kangaroos national team as well as the England and Great Britain national teams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gold Coast Titans</span> Australian Rugby League Football club, based at Gold Coast, Queensland

The Gold Coast Titans are a professional rugby league football club, based on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership, Australia's elite rugby league competition. Since 2008, the Titans have played their home games at Cbus Super Stadium in Robina, Queensland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trevor Gillmeister</span> Australia international rugby league footballer

Trevor Gillmeister is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who is employed as a rugby league analyst at Channel 7 Brisbane. During his playing days, Gillmeister played for the Eastern Suburbs Roosters, Brisbane Broncos, Penrith Panthers and the South Queensland Crushers, as well as representing Queensland and Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Walker (rugby league)</span> Australian rugby league footballer

Chris Walker is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played mostly in the 2000s. A Queensland State of Origin representative winger, he played his club football in the National Rugby League for the Brisbane Broncos, South Sydney, Sydney Roosters, Melbourne Storm, Gold Coast Titans and Parramatta. Walker also had a stint in the Super League for French club Catalans Dragons. He is the younger brother of fellow professional NRL players Shane Walker and Ben Walker. At one point in the late 1990s, all three brothers were playing together for the Brisbane Broncos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 NRL season</span> Rugby league competition

The 2007 NRL season was the one hundredth season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the tenth run by the National Rugby League. Sixteen teams contested the NRL's 2007 Telstra Premiership, and with the inclusion of a new team, the Gold Coast Titans, the competition was the largest run since the 1999 NRL season.

The history of the National Rugby League (NRL), the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia, goes back to December 1997, when it was formed in the aftermath of the Super League war of the mid-1990s. The NRL has, in its relatively brief history, enjoyed growth and record attendance figures.

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

James Maloney is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and current assistant coach for the North Queensland Cowboys.

Paul Gregory Green was an Australian professional rugby league football coach, best known for taking the North Queensland Cowboys to the NRL premiership in 2015, and a professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s.

The 2008 National Rugby League season consisted of 26 weekly regular season rounds, starting on 14 March, followed by four weeks of play-offs, culminating in a Grand Final on 5 October.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthony Seibold</span> Germany international rugby league footballer and coach

Anthony Seibold is an Australian rugby union and rugby league coach, and former rugby league player. He is currently defence coach with the England national rugby union team, and head coach for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles of the National Rugby League (NRL).

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

Dale Copley is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who last played as a centre or winger for the Sydney Roosters in the NRL.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Roberts (rugby league)</span> Indigenous Australian professional rugby league footballer

James Roberts is an Indigenous Australian former professional rugby league footballer who last played as a centre for the Wests Tigers in the National Rugby League (NRL).

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

Corey Oates is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as winger for the Brisbane Broncos in the National Rugby League (NRL).

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

Jai Arrow is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a second-rower, lock and prop for the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the NRL

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

Corey Allan is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who last played as a wing, fullback and centre for the Sydney Roosters in the National Rugby League (NRL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keenan Palasia</span> Samoa international rugby league footballer

Keenan Palasia is a Samoa international rugby league footballer who plays as a prop and lock for the Gold Coast Titans in the National Rugby League (NRL).

The 2020 NRL season was the 113th of professional rugby league in Australia and the 23rd season run by the National Rugby League.

The 2021 NRL season was the 114th of professional rugby league in Australia and the 24th season run by the National Rugby League.

References

Footnotes

  1. Rugby League Project
  2. Yesterday's Hero
  3. RLP
  4. 1 2 John Macdonald (16 May 1989). "Cartwright gets his big chance". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
  5. "Buy, buy American Pie". The Sydney Morning Herald. 28 November 2004.
  6. Daly, Mick (9 December 2006). "Coach riled by Turner backflip". Fox Sports News (Australia). Retrieved 18 January 2008.
  7. "Parramatta Eels defeat the Gold Coast Titans to avoid wooden spoon for 2011". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney.
  8. Cartwright quits as Titans coach, NRL.com official website, 5 August 2014
  9. Manly Coaching Department Unveiled
  10. "Motorsport Video |Motorsport Highlights, Replays, News, Clips".