Greg Pierce

For those of a similar name, seeGreg Pearce (disambiguation).

Gregory Stuart Pierce(4 March 1950 – 24 June 2016) was an Australianrugby leagueplayer, coach and administrator. He played as alockfor theCronulla-Sutherland Sharksin theNational Rugby Leaguecompetition and forAustralia.He captained his country on one occasion.

Greg Pierce

Personal information
Full name	Gregory Stuart Pierce
Born	(1950-03-04)4 March 1950 Sydney,New South Wales, Australia
Died	24 June 2016(2016-06-24)(aged 66) Central Coast, New South Wales
Playing information
Position	Lock
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1969–80 Cronulla-Sutherland 210 35 0 0 105 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1973–78 Australia 8 1 0 0 3 1976–78 City NSW 2 0 0 0 0 1976–79 New South Wales 6 1 0 0 3
Coaching information
Club Years Team Gms W D L W% 1981–82 Cronulla-Sutherland 49 26 2 21 53
Source:

Junior football

Pierce grew up inMarrickvillea suburb of Sydney and played his junior football forSydenhamin theNewtown Juniorsas well as for the Belmore Old Boys in theCanterburyjunior league. He was recommended to join Gymea in the fledglingCronulla Sharksjunior league after Sydenham were unable to field a team in his age group.

Pierce was at university studying civil engineering when he was graded by Cronulla in 1969.

Club career

Tommy Bishopalso arrived at Cronulla in 1969 and after the departure ofKen Kearneyas coach in 1970, Bishop took over as captain and coach. The first half of Pierce's top grade career was played under the tutelage of Bishop.

Pierce was in the Cronulla side which made it to thegrand finalin 1973 to be beaten 10–7 byManlyin a game still regarded as one of the most brutal grand finals ever fought out.

Pierce became Cronulla captain in 1975, a role he would hold till his retirement in 1980. In Cronulla's successful 1978 finals campaign Pierce was sent-off in the major semi-final win overWestsand given a four-match suspension.Along withDane Sorensenwho had been suspended in the final premiership round, Pierce missed the 11-all Grand Final draw against Manly and the midweek replay three days later. Cronulla missed their presence and as a result the club again failed to win the premiership. Pierce led the Sharks to victory in the final of the midweekAmco Cupin 1979. He retired at the end of the 1980 season to take on the full-time coaching responsibility of the club.

In total Pierce made 210 first grade appearances between 1969 and 1980 for the Sharks. This tally currently stands in sixth place on the Sharks all-time list for most appearances. In 2005 Pierce was made a Sharks "Immortal".

Open Rugby inaugural World XIII

TheOpen Rugbyinaugural World XIII was revealed in June 1978, it was;Graham Eadie,John Atkinson,Steve Rogers,Jean-Marc Bourret[1],Green Vigo,Roger Millward,Steve Nash,Jim Mills,Keith Elwell,Steve Pitchford,Terry Randall,George Nicholls,and Greg Pierce.

Representative career

On the night of Cronulla'sGrand Finalloss to Manly the 1973Kangaroo Touristswere announced and Pierce leapfrogged the usual City and NSW selection ladder to be named in the squad. He made his representative debut in the first Test against France inPerpignanin the process becoming Cronulla's first national representative player. He played one Test and seven minor matches on the tour.

Pierce played in the 1975 and 1977 World Series for a total of fiveWorld Cupappearances.

In 1978 Pierce captained both the City representative side andNew South Walesbefore being announced captain for the trans-Tasman series againstNew Zealand.His captaincy was a surprise to the critics and to himself sinceBob Fultonwas also in the side with over ten Test appearances under his belt to that stage and ten years club captaincy experience.

Pierce captained Australia to a 24–2 victory in the first Test of that series becoming the first Cronulla player to do so.Steve Rogersis the only other Shark to have done so since.

Pierce was replaced by QueenslanderLew Platzfor the second Test. The Whiticker source suggests this was so that the captaincy could be easily handed to Fulton since the selectors were then thinking about the upcoming year endKangaroo Tour.

Pierce was back as vice-captain in the third Test of that 1978 series against New Zealand and was also announced as vice-captain for the1978 Kangaroo tour.He appeared in four matches before a knee injury cut short his tour and prevented any further Test appearances.

Representative matches

Team	Matches	Years
New South Wales	6	1976–1979
Australia (Test & World Cup)	8	1973–78

Post playing

Pierce followedTommy Bishopas coach of the Sharks in 1981. They made the semi-finals that year but finished eighth in 1982 and Pierce left the club. He coached junior football on theCentral Coast, New South Walesfor a time, including coaching a Country Under 17s side. He moved toLord Howe Islandfor a periodwhere he was the island's operations manager.He returned to an active involvement with the Cronulla club in 1994 and was named one of the club's "Immortals" in 2003.

His grandfather,Arthur Folwell,was a 1933–34 Kangaroo Tourist who played two rugby league Tests for Australia. His father Richie Pierce was a successful referee and touch judge in the Newtown Juniors, and also for theNew South Wales Rugby League.

Pierce was diagnosed with cancer in 2003, and died on 24 June 2016, aged 66.

Sources

• Whiticker, Alan(2004)Captaining the Kangaroos,New Holland, Sydney
• Andrews, Malcolm (2006)The ABC of Rugby LeagueAustn Broadcasting Corpn, Sydney

External links

• Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks Official Site