Greg Alexander

This article is about the rugby league player. For the songwriter, producer and former New Radicals front man, see Gregg Alexander.

Greg Alexander

Personal information
Full name	Gregory Peter Stephen Alexander
Nickname	Brandy
Born	(1965-03-04) 4 March 1965 Penrith, New South Wales
Playing information
Height	180 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	84 kg (13 st 3 lb)
Position	Halfback, Fullback
Club
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
1984–1994	Penrith Panthers	196	93	335	11	1053
1995–1996	Auckland Warriors	37	11	8	0	60
1997–1999	Penrith Panthers	31	8	8	3	51
	Total	264	112	351	14	1164
Representative
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
1989–1991	New South Wales	6	0	2	0	4
1986–1990	Australia	6	4	10	0	36
1997	New South Wales (SL)	1	1	0	0	4
Source: NRL Stats, RLP

Gregory Peter Stephen "Greg" Alexander (born 4 March 1965) is a former professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s and 90s who has since become a commentator. A goal-kicking half-back, in his career he played for and captained the Penrith Panthers and the Auckland Warriors clubs and also represented his country and state on several occasions. Alexander's position for the majority of his career was at half-back, however early in his career – particularly in representative sides – he was moved to fullback. It was this ability to play different positions with great success that saw Alexander make both the 1986 and the 1990 Kangaroo Tours. Other than being one of the games best halfbacks and good enough for rep football at fullback, Brandy actually played a test on the 1990 Tour against France on the wing. This was also his last test appearance.

Playing career

Alexander began his career at schoolboy level where he quickly established himself as a star player for his side. He attended Patrician Brothers' College, Fairfield he played for the Australian schoolboys team in 1983. He was later signed on as a junior to his local club side the Penrith Panthers.

Penrith Panthers

Alexander made his first grade debut for the Panthers in the 1984 season as an elusive and quick thinking half-back. His talent quickly became clear and by the end of the season he took out the Rookie of the Year award. The following year Greg continued his good form throughout the season tallying up 194 points (a club record at the time) and earning himself the 1985 Dally M. player of the year award. Greg continued playing with the Panthers for the next several years and become known for his unique ability to score and set up tries, his excellent attacking kicking and his solid defence.

At the end of the 1986 NSWRL season, he went on the 1986 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France. 1989 saw him rise to Test selection in New Zealand, but he was regarded as a disappointment after his exceptional form for Penrith earlier in the year: his pace and skill had made Penrith the second most dangerous attacking team in the competition (after Canberra) and Alexander was the leading try-scorer for much of the year – scoring ten tries in eight games at one point. At the end of the 1990 NSWRL season, he went on the 1990 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France.

He captained the Panthers in 1991 to a premiership title and was also rewarded by being called up to both his state and national side. Following the grand final victory he travelled with the Panthers to England for the 1991 World Club Challenge which was lost to Wigan.

In June 1992 his younger brother and fellow Panthers team-mate Ben Alexander was killed in a car accident. Alexander missed the majority of fixtures that year and continually fell beyond his usual playing weight and ended the season ten kilograms lighter.

Auckland Warriors

At the end of the 1994 season, Alexander joined the New Zealand side the Auckland Warriors. He spent most of the first half of his first season for the Warriors at halfback, and began to recapture some of his previous form. In the latter half of the season he moved between fullback, halfback and five-eighth due the depth the Warriors had in the halves - with Gene Ngamu, Stacey Jones, Phil Blake and Frano Botica all spending some time at halfback or five-eighth. In his second season with the club, he was awarded the captaincy after Dean Bell retired, and again began the season at halfback. However, after he was injured in Round 10, New Zealand halfback Stacey Jones regained the half back role, and upon returning to the side Alexander was moved to the fullback position - where he would remain for most of the remaining season.

Return to the Panthers

Alexander eventually returned to Penrith in 1997 after his stint in New Zealand and stayed on till his retirement in 1999. In total, Alexander played 220 games for the Panthers and scored over one hundred tries, tallying over a thousand career points for the club. To date, he is only the second player ever to accomplish this in Australian rugby league.

Life after football

After his retirement from football in 1999, Alexander embarked on a media career in both radio and television. He currently works as a host and commentator for Foxtel's Fox Sports station. He also hosts the nightly Sports Today program with John Gibbs on Sydney radio station 2UE.

Alexander is a member of the Penrith Panthers board of directors. He also had a small coaching role for the Panthers in 2003 when they won the premiership title.

On 24 October 2000, he was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his rugby league achievements.

Personal life

Alexander is the brother-in-law of fellow former Penrith, NSW and Australian Rugby League player, Mark Geyer, the brother-in-law of former Penrith, Perth Reds and Newcastle Second Rower, Peter Shiels and the uncle of St. George Illawarra Dragons hooker Cameron King.

Further reading

• Larry Writer (1991). Five star brandy: the story of Greg Alexander & the rise of the Penrith Panthers. Ironbark Press. ISBN 1875471030, 9781875471034. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=A5QCPQAACAAJ&source=gbs_navlinks_s. 

External links

• Australian Associated Press (29 January 2006) "Mourning Mat's biggest battle", Sydney Morning Herald.
• Fox Sports NRL team profiles
• Penrith Panthers Board of Directors
• State of Origin Official website Rugby League Player Stats