John Sparks (rugby league)

John Sparks is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s. Sparks was a foundation player for Illawarra playing in the club's first game.

John Sparks
Personal information
Full nameJohn Sparks
Born4 May 1962
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Playing information
PositionFive-eighth, Fullback, Centre
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1981 Balmain Tigers 6 1 0 0 3
1982–84 Illawarra Steelers 42 16 0 0 51
Total 48 17 0 0 54
As of 26 February 2019
Source: [1]

Playing career

Sparks made his first grade debut for Balmain in Round 4 1981 against Canterbury at Leichhardt Oval with the match finishing in a 52–13 loss.

Balmain went on to finish with the wooden spoon after coming last in 1981 and was one of only four times that the foundation club would ever come last in its entire history.

In 1982, Sparks joined newly admitted Illawarra and played in the club's first ever game which was against Penrith at WIN Stadium and ended in a 17–7 loss. Sparks finished as the club's joint top try scorer in its inaugural year with 13 tries.

Sparks played 2 more seasons with Illawarra before retiring at the end of 1984.[2][3][4]

gollark: I also have a xenowyrm with `LarA` in the code…?
gollark: https://dragcave.net/lineage/22w22
gollark: ... sure?
gollark: *sighs at inability to find rare things*
gollark: Done.

References
  1. "John Sparks - Career Stats & Summary - Rugby League Project". Rugbyleagueproject.org.
  2. "Illawarra Steelers kicked off 30 years ago". Illawarra Mercury.
  3. "No such thing as a free punch". Sydney Morning Herald.
  4. Alan Whiticker/Glen Hudson: The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players. (1995 edition) ISBN 1875169571


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.