Ray Price (rugby)

Infobox Rugby Union biography
playername = Ray Price


fullname = Raymond Alan Price
dateofbirth = Birth date and age|1953|3|4|df=yes
cityofbirth = Sydney
countryofbirth = Australia
dateofdeath =
cityofdeath =
countryofdeath =
height =
weight =
nickname = Mr Perpetual Motion
position = Lock Forward
youthyears =
youthclubs = Dundas Valley RUFC
years = ?–1975
1976–1986
1989–1990
clubs = Parramatta Two Blues
Parramatta Eels
Wakefield Trinity
caps(points) = ?
229 (190)
25 (6 tries)
repyears = 1975–1976
1977–1985
1978–1984
repteam = Australia (RU)
New South Wales
Australia
repcaps(points) = 10
13 (0)
22 (31)

Raymond Alan Price OAM, (born 4 March, 1953 in Sydney, New South Wales) is an Australian former dual-International (rugby union and rugby league) footballer. He was nicknamed 'Mr Perpetual Motion' for his hard, intimidating style of play in league at lock forward. He is a bowel cancer survivor.

Playing career

He began his career playing rugby union for Junior Club Dundas Valley, played senior rugby union for the Parramatta Two Blues and toured with the Wallabies in 1975–1976 playing 10 Tests.

After this, Price moved to play rugby league for the Parramatta Eels and was an instant sensation with his courage and high workrate. Although Parramatta lost the grand final that year, Price played consistently well throughout, and he only improved in the following three seasons, maintaining his form even in the fiery and successful assault of the St. George pack in the 1977 Grand Final Replay (which Parramatta lost 0–22). Despite being controversially sent off in the 1978 minor semi-final, it was no surprise when Price was chosen to tour with the Kangaroos.

In July of that year his international rugby league debut in the 2nd Test against New Zealand in Brisbane saw him become Australia's 36th dual code rugby international following Geoff Richardson and preceding Michael O'Connor.

1979 proved to be Price's finest year, for he won the Rothmans Medal and the "Rugby League Week" Player of the Year awards and was established as the premier lock in Australia, a place he was to hold until the middle 1980s. Although his form at club level never reached quite the same standard of his first four seasons, his high workrate and chasing of Peter Sterling's kicks made Price an integral part of Parramatta's hat-trick of premierships in 1981-1982-1983. Though he had been superseded by Wayne Pearce (who had been moved into the second row in test teams since 1982) as Australia's premier lock, Price was still at his best in 1985, winning the Dally M "Lock of the Year" for the fourth successive year and the Rugby League Week "Player of the Year" award for the second time. That same year, Price became the first rugby league player to win the Order of Australia Medal (OAM).

1986 was planned to be (and was) his last season with the Eels and he celebrated with an unprecedented fifth straight win of the Dally M "Lock of the Year" and a premiership win in the grand final.

After moving into the media with 2UE for two years, Price made a comeback at age thirty-six with English club Wakefield Trinity. He stayed for one season (1989-90) and played 25 games, scoring 6 tries. However, after one season, he sought and obtained election to the Parramatta board, but his comments about the club's decline in the early 1990s were widely criticised and he lost his place in 1994.

On 12th December 2006, Price revealed he was suffering from bowel cancer. He appeared on the The Footy Show on the 16th June 2007 and declared that he had beaten the aforesaid cancer.

Price married into the Kellett family.

Rugby League career statistics

*Parramatta (1976 - 1986)Games 258Points 258 (78 tries - 24 after the value increased from 3 points to 4 in 1983)
*Australia (1978 - 1984)Tests 22 (including Kangaroo Tours in 1978 and 1982)Points 31 (10 tries - one after value increased from 3 points to 4)
*New South Wales (1978 - 1984)Games 15 (3 as Captain)Points 18 (6 tries)
*Wakefield Trinity (UK) (1989-90)Games 25Points 24 (6 tries)

Achievements

Awards

*Rothmans Medal in 1979
*Harry Sunderland Medal in 1979
*Dally M. Medal in 1982
*Order of Australia in 1985
*Inductee, Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1992
*Australian Sports Medal on 24th October 2000
* Named in Parramatta Legends Team (Greatest Lock Forward) in 2002
* Named in Feb 2008 in the list of Australia's "100 Greatest Players" (1908-2007) commissioned by the NRL and ARL to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia. [cite news|author=Peter Cassidy |publisher="Macquarie National News"|title=Controversy reigns as NRL releases top 100 players |url=http://www.livenews.com.au/Articles/2008/02/22/Controversy_reigns_as_NRL_releases_top_100_players |accessdate=2008-02-23|date=2008-02-23] [cite web|publisher="NRL & ARL"|title=Centenary of Rugby League - The Players |url=http://www.centenaryofrugbyleague.com.au/site/the-players.aspx?cat=3&list=true |accessdate=2008-02-23|date=2008-02-23]

External links

* [http://www.sahof.org.au/hallOfFame/memberProfile/index.php?memberID=185&memberType=athlete Raymond Price biography at Sport Australia Hall of Fame]
* [http://www.stateoforigin.com.au/SOOgame/PlayerDetails.aspx?Pid=229 Ray Price at stateoforigin.com.au]
* [http://www.eraofthebiff.com/p74a.html Ray Price at eraofthebiff.com]

References

* cite book | last=Whiticker, Alan and Hudson, Glen |title=The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players |year=2007
publisher="Gary Allen Pty Ltd" |location=Wetherill Park, New South Wales |isbn=9781877082931 |pages=609

Footnotes