![]() |
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Born | October 1952 (age 70–71) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Halfback, Five-eighth | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
John Klein is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s who played for the Penrith Panthers.
John Klein was born in October 1952 in Blacktown. He played his junior football with Blacktown Workers Club before playing with Lalor Park in 1970 & 1971 as a member of that clubs winning under 19 and under 21 team in the Parramatta Junior Rugby League competition.
In 1972 he trialled and was graded with the Penrith Panthers in the Sydney competition player 17 games that season in the 3rd grade side coach by Tom Wilson.
In 1973 he was a member of Penrith's under 23's side which qualified for the play-offs side losing to Balmain Tigers in the eliminating semi final.
In 1974 Klein made his initial first grade appearance against North Sydney at Penrith Park, losing 28–23 in a close encounter. Over the next four seasons, he played a total of 30 games in the top side which was affected by injuries and a loss of form. [1]
At the end of the 1977 season, Klein signed an agreement to Captain-coach Bathurst St Patricks in the Group 10 CRL competition with limited success. He played with St Pats for 3 seasons (1978–81) scoring over 60 tries for the club. Retiring halfway through the 1981 seasons due to injuries.
In 1983, he was transferred in his employment (State Bank) to Quirindi where he came out of retirement and played with "Grasshoppers" for 3 seasons (1983–85). He was appointed Captain-coach for the 1985 season.
In 1986, following another transfer in his employment to Sydney at the end of the '85 season, Klein played for 2 seasons with the Brothers club in the North Sydney competition winning the "A" grade division in 1986. Appointed Captain-coach for the 1987 season he was forced to retired midway through the season due to further injuries.
Klein is the father of NRL referee Ashley Klein.
The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith that competes in the NRL. The team is based 55 km (34 mi) west of the centre of Sydney, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Penrith are the current reigning NRL Premiers, having won the title four times.
Gregory Peter Stephen Alexander, also known by the nickname of "Brandy" is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, who has since become a radio, television commentator and rugby league journalist. Originally a goal-kicking half-back, in his career he played for and captained the Penrith Panthers and the Auckland Warriors clubs and also represented his country and state on several occasions. Alexander's position for the majority of his career was at half-back, however early in his career – particularly in representative sides – he was moved to fullback. It was this ability to play different positions with great success that saw Alexander make both the 1986 and the 1990 Kangaroo Tours.
Phillip Ronald Gould, also nicknamed "Gus", is an Australian rugby league broadcaster, journalist, administrator and formerly a player and coach. He works as the General Manager of Football for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the NRL.
Royce Michael Simmons is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and coach. A one-club man, he played as a hooker for the Penrith Panthers in the NSWRL from 1980 to 1991, winning a premiership in his final season. He later coached the Panthers from 1994 to 2001, in between coaching English sides Hull F.C. (1992–94) and St Helens (2011–12).
Ivan Cleary is an Australian professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of the Penrith Panthers in the NRL and a former professional rugby league footballer who played as a fullback and centre in the 1990s and 2000s.
Brad Izzard is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played for the Penrith Panthers in the New South Wales Rugby League competition in Australia as well as playing four games for the New South Wales State of Origin side. His position of choice was at centre. He is the brother of Scott, Craig and Grant Izzard.
Luke Lewis is an Australian rugby league commentator and former professional rugby league footballer who played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and the Penrith Panthers in the National Rugby League (NRL) and Australia at international level.
John Lang is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, and coached in the 1980s through to the 2010s. A Queensland State of Origin and Australian international representative hooker, he played his club football in Brisbane with the Eastern Suburbs Tigers and in Sydney with the Eastern Suburbs Roosters. After playing, Lang became a first-grade coach in Brisbane with Easts, then in Sydney with the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, Penrith Panthers and South Sydney Rabbitohs. Lang also coached the Australian Super League test team in 1997.
Daniel "Danny" Galea is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played for the Penrith Panthers, the Wests Tigers and the Canberra Raiders in the National Rugby League, and for the Widnes Vikings in the Super League.
Wade Graham is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a second-rower for and captains the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in the NRL. He has played for Australia at international level.
The history of the Penrith Panthers stretches back to the 1960s when a team from Penrith entering Sydney's elite competition was first mooted. After admission to the NSWRFL premiership in 1967, the club struggled on-field until reaching the finals for the first time in the 1980s, and reaching the grand final in the 1990s. The Panthers were a part of 1997's Super League competition before continuing in the re-unified NRL competition. To date they have won four premierships: 1991, 2003 2021 and again in 2022.
Ross Gigg was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played with the Penrith Panthers in the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) competition. Gigg's playing career spanned 1974-1979 and 1982-84. He made 110 first grade appearances, scoring 31 tries and six goals for a career total of 113 points. Gigg spent most of his career playing in the Centre position.
Paul Stringer is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a prop in the 1990s and 2000s. He played his junior footy for the Berkeley vale panthers. He also went on to coach the Wyong Roos. And he returned to Berkeley vale panthers as a senior.
The Penrith District Junior Rugby League (PDJRL) is an amateur rugby league competition for senior and junior rugby league clubs in the Penrith, Blacktown, and Blue Mountains area.
The Blacktown Workers Rugby League Football Club, also known as Blacktown Workers Sea Eagles, are an Australian rugby league football club based in Blacktown, New South Wales formed in 1962. Since 2017 they have had a side in the NSW Cup, as the feeder team to the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.
George Jennings is a Tonga international rugby league footballer who plays as a winger for the Melbourne Storm in the NRL.
Nathan Cleary born is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a halfback the Penrith Panthers in the NRL and Australia at international level. He won both the 2021 and the 2022 NRL Grand Finals with Penrith.
Kevin George Dann was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He played his entire club football career with the Penrith Panthers, as a fullback.
Greg Clements is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played during the 1980s. He played his entire club football career with the Penrith Panthers. He played primarily at five-eighth, but also played the occasional game at halfback
The 2022 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2022 National Rugby League season in Australia. It was contested between the Penrith Panthers and the Parramatta Eels on Sunday the 2nd of October at Accor Stadium in Sydney. Penrith, who were both the defending premiers and minor premiers, won the match 28–12 to claim their fourth premiership title, and their first back-to-back premierships in the club's 56-year history. Panthers fullback Dylan Edwards was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal for being judged as the man of the match.