Terry Fearnley is an Australian former rugby league footballer and later coach. He was a long serving member of the NSWRFL's Eastern Suburbs team (1954–1955) & (1957–1964), playing 144 matches for them at a bleak period in that club's existence. Injury kept him out of the 1960 grand final, one of the few successful years the Roosters enjoyed in that period. The front rower however was selected to represent his state, New South Wales that season.[1]
Coaching career
Following his retirement from the game as a player, Fearnley enjoyed a successful coaching career, taking the Parramatta Eels to their first ever grand final in 1976 and again in 1977. He had also been successful coach of the New South Wales rugby league team but stood down at the start of the 1978 NSWRFL season to concentrate on club football.[2] Fearnley moved to coach Western Suburbs Magpies in 1982, Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks (1983–84) and Illawarra Steelers in 1985. Returning to representative coaching, he was the first successful New South Wales State of Origin coach and also coached Australia. It was during his tenure as Australian coach that four players, all of them Queensland representative players, were controversially sacked in favour of New South Wales representative players. In Game three of State of Origin that year, One of the sacked players aimed a tirade of abuse at Fearnley. It was because of his actions that the ARL instituted a new rule for National coaching: No National coach can be a current serving State of Origin coach.
Following his retirement as a coach, Fearnley wrote an article for Rugby League Week that was highly critical of Wally Lewis' captaincy. This gained him a rebuke from Australian Rugby League officials.[3]
[edit] References
- The Encyclopedia Of Rugby League players; Alan Whiticker & Glen Hudson
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Fearnley, Terry |
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Australian rugby league player and coach |
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