Ben Alexander (rugby league)
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Born | Penrith, New South Wales, Australia | 13 September 1971|||||||||||||||||||||
Died | 21 June 1992 Colyton, New South Wales, Australia | (aged 20)|||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Halfback, Hooker | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: Yesterday's Hero |
Ben Alexander (13 September 1971 – 21 June 1992) was an Australian rugby league footballer for the Penrith Panthers in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership. He was the younger brother of Australian Rugby League international Greg Alexander. His position of choice was at hooker, or as a five-eighth, or halfback.
Football
Ben Alexander made his first grade debut in the 1990 season and was a non-playing reserve in the Panthers inaugural Grand Final winning team in 1991 (the Panthers were captained by his brother Greg).
Career playing statistics
Point scoring summary
Games | Tries | Goals | F/G | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|
36 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 35 |
Matches played
Team | Matches | Years |
---|---|---|
Penrith Panthers | 36 | 1990 - 1992 |
Death
On 21 June 1992, at the age of 20, Alexander was killed in a car crash in Colyton, a suburb in western Sydney. It was later reported that his blood alcohol level was 0.148, almost three times the legal limit of 0.05.[1][2] The tragic event occurred on a night that was meant to be one of celebration for the Panthers, as it was the night they had been presented with premiership blazers for their 1991 success.[3]
Alexander's death had a profound effect on not only his family, but also the Penrith Panthers. While the Panthers form in their premiership defence was inconsistent prior to 21 June, the Panthers then failed to reach the 1992 Finals series, finishing in 9th place with an 11–11 record. For Ben's older brother, Greg, his death had a longer term effect. Greg missed most of the second half of the season, and endured (by his lofty standards) run of the mill 1993 and 1994 seasons. He then decided he needed time away from Sydney and joined a new club, the New Zealand-based Auckland Warriors for both 1995 and 1996, before returning to the Panthers for the inaugural Super League season in 1997. Ben and Greg's brother-in-law, Panthers international second-rower Mark Geyer (who is married to their sister), also decided he needed a change and left the Panthers after 1992 to join the Balmain Tigers in 1993.
References
- ^ Allison, Col (9 July 1992). "Death of innocence: The truth about Ben's crash". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 1.
In an unusual step, the Westmead Coroner, Mr John Hiatt, released details yesterday of the post-mortem examination on the 20-year-old Penrith rugby league player. It showed that he had a blood alcohol reading of 0.148 - nearly three times the legal limit of 0.05 - when his Honda collided with another car and then hit a power pole in Colyton on the night of June 21.
- ^ Allison, Col (26 June 1992). "Penrith weeps for a kid called Bood". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 1.
- ^ Dodds, Troy (25 June 2017). "25 years since Panthers lost Ben". The Western Weekender. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
External links
- Use dmy dates from July 2013
- 1971 births
- 1992 deaths
- Alcohol-related deaths in Australia
- Australian rugby league players
- Penrith Panthers players
- Road incident deaths in New South Wales
- Rugby league halfbacks
- Rugby league hookers
- Rugby league players from Penrith, New South Wales
- Australian rugby league biography, 1970s birth stubs