Peter Wallace (rugby league)

Peter Wallace

Personal information
Full name	Peter James Wallace [1]
Born	(1985-10-16) 16 October 1985 (age 39) [2] Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Playing information
Height	178 cm (5 ft 10 in) [2]
Weight	87 kg (13 st 10 lb) [2]
Position	Halfback, Hooker
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 2005–07 Penrith Panthers 20 2 5 1 19 2008–13 Brisbane Broncos 139 20 66 4 216 2014–18 Penrith Panthers 81 12 11 3 73 Total 240 34 82 8 308 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 2008–09 City Origin 2 1 6 0 16 2008–09 New South Wales 4 0 0 0 0 2013 Scotland 4 0 0 0 0
Source: [3]

Peter James Wallace (born 16 October 1985) is a retired Australian footballer who played for the Penrith Panthers, the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL and represented Scotland in international rugby league.

A New South Wales State of Origin representative, Wallace began his career playing as a halfback but later moved to hooker. He announced his immediate retirement following a string of injuries on 12 June 2018. ^[4] He now works as an assistant coach for the Penrith Panthers.

Background

Wallace was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, ^[5] and raised in Blaxland, New South Wales by his mother Dianne. Wallace has never met his father, who reportedly remained in Melbourne. ^[1]

He attended Blaxland East Public School and Blaxland High School, and played his junior rugby league for Lower Mountains Eagles before moving to St Marys Saints at the age of 12. ^[6]

Wallace is of Scottish descent through his maternal grandmother. ^[7]

Playing career

Penrith Panthers

Wallace made his NRL début at Canberra Stadium against the Canberra Raiders in round 17 of the 2005 season. ^[8]

He did not feature throughout the entire 2006 NRL season for Penrith.

In round 3, 2007, against the Brisbane Broncos, Wallace kicked a 44-metre field goal in golden point, with Penrith winning 29–28. ^[9]

Wallace was the subject of controversy when he was dropped to NSWRL Premier League in round 15 of the NRL competition in 2007. Penrith coach Matthew Elliott moved Wallace to the premier league on what he claimed to be poor form. However Wallace had earned a man of the match award only two weeks before, but had a poor game the week later.

Wallace in action for Brisbane in 2008

The controversy came when claims were made that Wallace was dropped due to the fact that he had signed with the Broncos, but teammate Joel Clinton, who was also Brisbane bound, wasn't dropped. There were rumours from the media, that Wallace wanted out of the Penrith Panthers to go to Brisbane mid-season. Wallace denied these claims, and wanted to fulfill his contract with the Penrith club, even if it was in premier league. ^[10] It remains unclear how the move to the Brisbane club came about. ^[11]

Brisbane Broncos

Wallace's career at the Brisbane Broncos started in 2008. He guided his new club to a first round victory over his old club, the Penrith Panthers, before picking up consecutive "Man of The Match" awards in his next two matches, also wins for Brisbane. Wallace performed very strongly while Darren Lockyer was injured and provided much needed stability in Brisbane's halves and a good kicking game.

Wallace was selected for the City vs Country Origin match in 2008. In May, 2008, Wallace was selected as halfback for New South Wales for game I of State of Origin on 21 May at ANZ Stadium. With his first touch of the ball, he made a line break. He also had a hand in two tries and placed a pin point accurate kick for Anthony Quinn to score the second try of the night. He made only one error and took many hits from Queensland players, making 29 tackles.

Wallace was selected for the Blues again in Game II (playing on his normal home ground) before he ruptured a testicle and missed Game III. After State of Origin ended Wallace was reunited with halves partner Darren Lockyer at the Broncos. Wallace's great form from the start of the season had slightly been lost but he still remains to be a future star and a great prospect for the Brisbane Broncos. On 15 July 2008, Wallace extended his contract with the Brisbane Broncos until 2012.

On 20 October 2008, Wallace was arrested after a scuffle with security at a pub in Mooloolaba, Queensland, where it was believed he was celebrating his 23rd birthday. ^[12]

Wallace playing for the Broncos in 2009

He was selected for NSW City in the City vs Country match on 8 May 2009. ^[13] Later in the month he was named in the 17-man squad to represent New South Wales in the opening State of Origin match on 3 June 2009, in Melbourne. ^[14]

Wallace was injured at the time of Brisbane's 2009 post-Origin slump and upon his return the club enjoyed its best winning streak in five years, reaching the finals. However, in Brisbane's second play-off win Wallace broke his ankle, meaning he would miss the grand final qualifier.

At the end of the 2013 NRL season, Wallace was selected to represent Scotland at the 2013 Rugby League World Cup held in Europe.^{[ citation needed ]}

Wallace playing for Scotland at the 2013 RLWC

Return to Penrith

Wallace played for the Penrith Panthers again from the 2014 NRL season. He sustained a season-ending ruptured anterior cruciate ligament on his left knee on 27 July 2014. ^[15] Wallace finished off the 2015 NRL season playing 13 games and scoring two tries In 2016, from round 2-8 Wallace had a temporary and successful shift from halfback to hooker. ^[16] In round 9 of the 2016 NRL season, Wallace kicked the match winning field goal in Penrith's 19-18 win against the Canberra Raiders. ^[17] Wallace would return to the hooker role after James Segeyaro was dropped to NSW Cup. Wallace played his 200th NRL career game in round 16, against the South Sydney Rabbitohs in Penrith's 28-26 win. ^[18] Playing well at his new found position, Wallace signed a two-year deal with the club on 25 July 2016, extending his contract with Penrith to the end of 2018. ^[19] Playing an instrumental part in helping Penrith reach the finals, he finished off the year as the Penrith club's most experienced player and their first-choice hooker. He played in all 26 games scoring five tries, kicking three goals, and one field goal. ^[20] He played 19 games in 2017 NRL season, scoring two tries. On 12 June 2018, Wallace announced his retirement from the NRL effective immediately. The Penrith club released a statement in which general manager Phil Gould praised the 32-year-old for his "incredibly selfless act". Gould also revealed Wallace had played the last two seasons with no anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after a failed knee reconstruction. Wallace joined Penrith's coaching staff immediately as he transitioned into life after playing. ^[4]

Scotland

Eligible through his maternal grandmother, ^[7] Wallace was unable to represent Scotland at the 2008 World Cup due to treatment for injuries. ^[21]

Wallace playing for Scotland at the 2013 World Cup

He made his international début at the 2013 World Cup, ^[7] playing at halfback in all four of Scotland's matches.

Wallace was unavailable for the 2016 Four Nations due to an elbow injury sustained at the end of the 2016 NRL season. ^[22]

The following year, Wallace was forced to withdraw from Scotland's 2017 World Cup squad to recover from numerous injuries obtained throughout the 2017 NRL season. ^[23]

Statistics

Season	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
2005	Penrith Panthers	1	-	-	-	-
2006		-	-	-	-	-
2007		19	2	5	1	19
2008	Brisbane Broncos	21	5	8	-	36
2009		23	2	6	1	21
2010		21	2	5	-	18
2011		27	5	10	2	42
2012		23	4	36	1	89
2013		24	2	1	-	10
2014	Penrith Panthers	14	1	6	1	17
2015		13	2	2	1	13
2016		26	5	8	1	33
2017		19	2	-	-	8
2018		9	2	-	-	8
	Totals	240	34	82	8	308

References

1. Hooper, James (18 May 2008). "Mum paved the way for Wallace". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
2. "Peter Wallace". penrithpanthers.com. Penrith Panthers. Archived from the original on 20 July 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2014.
3. "Peter Wallace". Rugby League Project.
4. "Peter Wallace announces retirement". Penrith Panthers. penrithpanthers.com.au. 12 June 2018. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
5. Player Profile: "WOW Brisbane Broncos". Archived from the original on 15 March 2009. Retrieved 30 March 2009., broncos.com.au
6. Cleggett, Michael (21 May 2008). "Nothing by halves". Blue Mountains Gazette. Archived from the original on 1 June 2008.
7. Desiatnik, Shane (16 October 2013). "Peter Wallace makes his Scottish World Cup début". Blue Mountains Gazette. Retrieved 12 February 2018.
8. Player Profile: Peter Wallace, Herald Sun .
9. Walter, Brad (31 March 2007). "Wallace's 44m wobbler". The Sydney Morning Herald . Archived from the original on 3 September 2007. Retrieved 25 August 2007.
10. "Panthers refuse Wallace early leave to Broncos". ABC News. 20 June 2007.
11. "Wallace forced to leave Panthers". Fox Sports. 16 March 2008. Retrieved 17 March 2008.
12. Broncos' Wallace charged over pub scuffle, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 20 October 2008.
13. Balym, Todd (3 May 2009). "Blues halfback duel in two as Mitchell Pearce misses selection". Fox Sports . Archived from the original on 5 December 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2009.
14. Fitzgibbon, Liam (25 May 2009). "NSW selectors go with form and not reputation for Origin opener". Fox Sports News (Australia). Archived from the original on 30 July 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
15. "NRL: huge blow for Penrith as Peter Wallace to miss rest of season". Guardian News and Media Limited. 28 July 2014.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
16. Peter Wallaces stint at Hooker may have helped prolong his career The Daily Telegraph ^{[ dead link ‍]}
17. "Wallace field goal beats Canberra". 30 April 2016.
18. "Panthers celebrate Wallace's 200th in style". 24 June 2016.
19. "Wallace signs new deal with Panthers". 25 July 2016.
20. "Peter Wallace - Penrith Panthers - NRL.com". www.nrl.com. Archived from the original on 11 March 2016.
21. Hadfield, Dave (10 September 2008). "Brough best in Super League but injury to Wallace severs Scotland partnership plan". The Independent. Archived from the original on 23 October 2011.
22. "Cowboys duo included in Scotland's Four Nations squad". news.com.au. 12 October 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2018.
23. Ferrie, Kevin (6 October 2017). "Withdrawal of Peter Wallace represents major blow for Scotland's Rugby League World Cup ambitions". The Herald (Scotland). Retrieved 12 June 2018.

External links

• Penrith Panthers profile
• (archived by web.archive.org) Peter Wallace at the Brisbane Broncos official website