Trevor Gillmeister

Trevor Gillmeister

Personal information
Nickname	The Axe
Born	13 March 1964 (1964-03-13) Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Height	178 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	92 kg (14 st 7 lb)
Playing information
Position	Second-row
Club
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
	Norths (Brisbane)
1986–90	Easts (Sydney)	98	9	0	0	36
1991–93	Brisbane Broncos	72	8	0	0	32
1994	Penrith Panthers	22	1	0	0	4
1995–96	South Queensland	41	3	0	0	12
	Total	233	21	0	0	84
Representative
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
1987–96	Queensland	22	0	0	0	0
1995	Australia	3	0	0	0	0
Source: NRL Stats, RLP,Yesterday's Hero and Players card details

Trevor Gillmeister (born 13 March 1964 in Brisbane, Queensland) is an Australian former rugby league player who is currently signed on as an assistant coach at the Gold Coast Titans. During his playing days Gillmeister played for the Sydney Roosters, Brisbane Broncos, Penrith Panthers and the South Queensland Crushers as well as representing Queensland and Australia. He played at Second Row and was known as The Axe because of his punishing tackles. This was also the name of the column he wrote for The Sunday Mail.

Early life and childhood

Growing up, Gillmeister played with the Gladstone club in Queensland when he lived in gladstone with his mother,father, sister and brotherand made his first grade debut playing for North Brisbane at eighteen years of age. His rugby league childhood heroes were Arthur Beetson and Rod Reddy.

Playing career

Sydney Roosters

In 1986, Gillmeister moved to Sydney, joining the Arthur Beetson-coached, Sydney Roosters. Early on in his career, he forged a reputation for being a fearless and tough tackler, earning him the nickname 'The Axe'.

Brisbane Broncos

After spending 5 years at the Roosters, Gillmeister switched clubs, signing with his hometown club, the Brisbane Broncos. In 1991 he won the Broncos' player of the year award. Gillmeister put in an impressive defensive display in the club's 28 points to 8 Grand Final victory over the St. George Dragons in 1992. In the weeks following the grand final the Axe travelled with the Broncos to England, where he played at second-row forward in the 1992 World Club Challenge against British champions Wigan, helping Brisbane become the first NSWRL club to win the match in Britain.

In 1993, Gillmeister again helped the Broncos to another Grand Final win against the same opponents from the previous year, the St. George Dragons. Prior to the 1993 Grand Final victory, the club announced that they couldn't re-sign Gillmeister due to salary cap restrictions. He moved on to the Penrith Panthers after playing 72 games for the club and scoring 8 tries which is a total of 32 points.

Penrith Panthers

Penrith signed Gillmeister after he was not re-signed by the Broncos. His stay however was a brief one, only making 22 appearances for the club and scoring 1 try in his time at the club. He was released from the second year of his contract and he signed for the South Queensland Crushers.

South Queensland Crushers

Gillmeister had the honour of scoring the club's first ever try in the 24–6 season opening loss at Suncorp Stadium against the Canberra Raiders. In 1995, he became the first and only ever South Queensland Crushers player to be selected for Australia. At the end of 1996, Gillmeister decided to retire from playing rugby league. In his time as a player, Gillmeister named his most respected opponents as David Gillespie and Les Davidson

Representative career

Queensland

Gillmeister made his Queensland State of Origin debut in 1987. He made 22 State of Origin appearances for Queensland between 1987 and 1996. Gillmeister captained the Queensland team to a 3–0 series victory in 1995 under the guidance of friend and coach Paul Vautin. Gillmeister battled against a blood disorder prior to the third and final match of the series in Melbourne. After Queensland's victory Gillmeister was rushed back to hospital to be treated again. In 1996 he captained Queensland in the first State of Origin match but he did not play at all in the remainder of the two games.

At the State of Origin level Gillmeister defied his stature by hurting the Blues with stinging defence. He is remembered for his ongoing fiery attacking and defensive clashes with NSW hardman Paul Harragon.

Australia

In 1995, Gillmeister made his Australian debut when he was selected as a reserve for the first test match against New Zealand. At 31 years of age, he became the oldest ever forward to make his international debut at Test level.

In 2000 Gillmeister was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his contribution to Australia's international standing in the sport of rugby league.

Coaching career

Gillmeister has worked as assistant coach for the Queensland State of Origin team. In 2006 it was announced that he had been signed as an assistant coach by the newly formed Gold Coast Titans, who were to enter the NRL competition at the start of the 2007 season. Upon his signing at the club, Gillmeister commented, "It's a thrill and honour to be part of a brand new organisation. It's also a huge challenge but something I'm looking forward to."

In 2008, Gillmeister was named at second-row in an all-time greatest Norths Devils team.

External links

• Trevor Gillmeister at the State of Origin official website.
• Official Coaching Profile at titans.com.au
• Queensland representatives at qrl.com.au