Garry Jack

Infobox rugby league biography
playername = Garry Jack


imagesize =
caption =
fullname = Garry Jack
nickname =
living = yes
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1961|03|14|df=yes
placeofbirth =
countryofbirth =
dateofdeath =
placeofdeath =
countryofdeath =
height = convert|178|cm|ftin|abbr=on
weight = convert|76|kg|stlb|abbr=on
position = rlp|FB
club1 = Western Suburbs Magpies
year1start = 1981
year1end =
appearances1 = 5
tries1 = 1
goals1 = 0
fieldgoals1 = 0
points1 = 3
club2 = Balmain Tigers
year2start = 1982
year2end = 1995
appearances2 = 244
tries2 = 59
goals2 = 0
fieldgoals2 = 1
points2 = 232
teamA = New South Wales
yearAstart = 1984
yearAend = 1989
appearancesA = 17
triesA = 1
goalsA = 0
fieldgoalsA = 0
pointsA = 4
teamB = Australia
yearBstart = 1984
yearBend = 1988
appearancesB = 20
triesB = 11
goalsB = 0
fieldgoalsB = 0
pointsB = 44
source = [http://203.166.101.37/NRL08/playercareer.asp?lplayer=4249 NRL Stats] , [http://rugbyleagueproject.com/players/Garry_Jack.html RLP]

Garry Jack (born 14 March 1961, in Wollongong, New South Wales) is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He was a representative in the Australian national team and star player with the Balmain Tigers. Jack was a fullback for the Tigers during the late 1980s and early 1990s, under the captaincy of Wayne Pearce and the coaching of Warren Ryan. A talented defender, he also represented the New South Wales State of Origin side.

Club career

His junior football was played in Wollongong with the Red Devils and in 1980 he was graded with Wests Wollongong. He trialled with the Western Suburbs Magpies in 1981 and debuted in first grade in the latter part of that season aged 20.

He was sought out by Balmain Tigers club secretary Keith Barnes and persuaded to join Balmain who were putting together a side that featured young up and comers who would later star for the club, state and country such as Wayne Pearce, Ben Elias and Jack's fellow Wollongong junior Steve "Blocker" Roach.fact|date=October 2008

His association with English rugby league began at the end of the 1986 Kangaroo Tour when he stayed on to play for Salford before returning to the Tigers. He was member of the consecutive Balmain sides which fell at the final hurdle to firstly Canterbury in the 1988 Grand Final and then to Canberra in 1989.

1991 saw the departure of Warren Ryan as Balmain coach and the arrival of former Wallaby coach, Alan Jones (radio broadcaster). The years playing under Jones at Balmain were unhappy ones for Jack and eventually after he had left the club in 1992 took the extraordinary step of writing a letter to "Rugby league Week" expressing anti-Jones sentiment and alleging favouritism played and the existence of a Jones 'inner circle' in the club.

His final Balmain game at Leichardt Oval in 1992 saw 18,000 Tiger fans come out to pay homage to him and other retirees Steve Roach and David Brooks. When his Australian club career ended having surpassed Keith Barnes' club record for first grade matches he returned to England to play his final season with the Sheffield Eagles in England.

After accepting a manager-coach position with Salford, Jack was relieved from the coaching dutiesbefore being sacked as club manager in early 1995. This saw him return to Australia that year to help out the struggling Sydney Tigers side. He was somehat slower and according to some critics who, past his prime but unquestionably a Tigers man through and through, who aided the club in a difficult period.

Representative career

In 1984 Jack made his State of Origin debut and played in all three games of that year's series. He was thereafter New Souths Wales' first choice fullback for the next six years, aside from the 1987 fourth game exhibition match in Los Angeles when he made himself unavailable, and game I of 1988 when Cronulla's Jonathon Docking was preferred.

All up Jack made 17 appearances for New South Wales in State of Origins between 1984 and 1989. He was as safe as they come under the high ball and a tremendous last line of defence.

In 1984 he also made his international debut in the three match Ashes series against Great Britain. For the next four years, he reigned supreme as the number one fullback in the world. He played twenty successive Tests (nine versus Britain, seven against New Zealand and two each against France and Papua New Guinea) as well as the 1998 World Cup final against New Zealand and the Bicentenary International against a Rest of the World side.

On the 1986 Kangaroo tour Jack played in all six Tests and seven minor Tour matches. He became the first Australian fullback to score three tries in a Test in a brilliant performance against France in the second Test.

After Jack broke an arm in a 1989 pre-season match the door opened for his great State of Origin rival Queenslander Gary Belcher who from that point was the favoured Australian representative for the fullback position.

Accolades

In 1987 Jack was honoured with the Golden Boot Award as the finest rugby league player in the world at that time. This highly respected honour is awarded to the world's rugby league players by Rugby League World magazine.

In 2005 he was honoured by "Rugby League Week" one of the 25 greatest ever New South Wales State of Origin players.

Jack received another accolade at the Balmain Tigers inaugural Hall of Fame dinner in March 2005. Before a large gathering of Tigers greats and supporters Jack received his place in the club's history alongside Wayne Pearce, Keith Barnes, and Peter Provan.

Post playing

Garry Jack was appointed coach of English club Salford in July '93 but departed following their relegation from the top flight at the end of the 1994-95 Rugby Football League season. In 2005, Jack's son Kieren was drafted to the Australian Football League's Sydney Swans. [cite news|author=Richard Hinds|publisher="The Sydney Morning Herald"|title=Jack of a new trade joins Swans |url=http://www.smh.com.au/news/afl/jack-of-a-new-trade-joins-swans/2005/12/13/1134236063114.html |accessdate=2008-10-04|date=2005-12-14] Another son, Rhys Jack, played in the Bulldogs Toyota Cup side.

Footnotes

ources

* "Big League's 25 Years of Origin Collectors' Edition" , News Magazines, Surry Hills, Sydney
* cite book | author=Alan Whiticker & Glen Hudson |title=The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players |year=2007
publisher="Gary Allen Pty Ltd" |location=Wetherill Park, New South Wales |isbn=9781877082931 |pages=page 261
* cite book | author=Gary Lester (editor) |title=The Sun Book of Rugby League - 1983 |year=1983
publisher="John Fairfax Marketing" |location=Sydney, New South Wales |isbn=0909558833 |pages=page 12

External links

[http://www.geocities.com/colosseum/dugout/1058/ The Garry Jack Tribute Stand]