Geoff Connell

Geoff Connell (1945-2013) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s. He played for Canterbury-Bankstown and Balmain in the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) competition.

Geoff Connell
Personal information
Full nameGeoffrey Connell
Born2 October 1945
Gundagai, New South Wales, Australia
Died16 March 2013(2013-03-16) (aged 67)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Playing information
PositionSecond-row, Prop
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1965–71 Balmain 28 1 0 0 3
1972–75 Canterbury-Bankstown 62 1 2 0 7
Total 90 2 2 0 10
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1967 Australia 1 1 0 0 0
1967–69 Queensland 8 0 0 0 0
As of 17 April 2019
Source: [1]

Background

Connell was born in Gundagai, New South Wales but moved to Queensland at a young age. Connell represented the junior Queensland side before moving back to Sydney and was graded by Balmain.

Playing career

Connell made his first grade debut for Balmain in 1965. Connell briefly left Balmain in 1967 to complete his national service in Queensland and played for Easts in the Brisbane rugby league competition. Due to being away in Queensland, Connell missed out on playing in Balmain's 1969 premiership winning team. Between 1967 and 1969, Connell represented Queensland on 8 occasions and also represented Australia in 1967 against New Zealand.

Connell returned to Balmain in 1970 but was released at the end of the 1971 season due to recurring injuries. In 1972, Connell joined Canterbury and became a regular starter in the team and by 1973 was made captain. Connell captained the side in their 1973 semi final defeat against Newtown.

In 1974, Canterbury reached their first grade final since the 1967 grand final defeat against South Sydney. Connell played at second-row as Eastern Suburbs defeated Canterbury 19-4 at the Sydney Cricket Ground to win their first premiership since 1945. In 1975, Connell mainly played for the reserve grade side and his final game before retirement was in the reserve grade semi final against Cronulla-Sutherland. In total, Connell made 83 appearances for Canterbury across all grades including being captain of 20 matches in that time.[2][3][4][5]

Post playing

In 1976, Connell became Canterbury's Under 23 team coach. Connell then went on to coach the reserve grade team from 1977 to 1980 winning the reserve grade premiership in his final year. In 2004, Connell was nominated for the Berries to Bulldogs 70 Year Team of Champions. He died on 16 March 2013.[6]

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References
  1. "Geoff Connell- Career Stats & Summary - Rugby League Project". Rugbyleagueproject.org.
  2. "BULLDOGS RUGBY LEAGUE CLUB - OFFICIAL WEBSITE". thebulldogs.com.au.
  3. Alan Whiticker/Glen Hudson: The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players. (1995 edition) ISBN 1875169571
  4. "NRL Grand Final: South Sydney Rabbitohs looking to join rugby league's greatest drought breakers". www.abc.net.au.
  5. "PREMIERSHIP RECORDS". www.nrl.com.
  6. "Vale Geoff Connell". menofleague.com.
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