Preston Campbell

Preston Campbell

Training with the Aboriginal Dreamtime Team, 2008
Personal information
Height	165 cm (5 ft 5 in)
Weight	73 kg (11 st 7 lb)
Playing information
Position	Five-eighth, Fullback
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1998 Gold Coast 14 4 0 0 16 1999–2002 Cronulla 54 24 24 0 144 2003–2006 Penrith 96 43 220 1 613 2007– Gold Coast Titans 83 14 24 0 104 Total 247 85 268 1 877 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 2005–2007 NSW Country 3 0 0 0 0 2008 Dreamtime Team
Source: NRL Stats, RLP, Yesterday's Hero

Preston Campbell, (born 7 June 1977 in Inverell, New South Wales) is an Indigenous Australian professional rugby league footballer for the Gold Coast Titans of the National Rugby League. A New South Wales Country and Indigenous Dreamtime team representative five-eighth or fullback, he previously played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks before moving to the Penrith Panthers with whom he won the 2003 NRL Premiership.

Playing career

Early career

Campbell started his rugby league career with the Inverell Hawks junior club and made his NRL debut with the Gold Coast Chargers in 1998 as a fullback. Unfortunately, the Chargers were disbanded at the end of the season.

Cronulla Sharks

Preston moved on to play for the Cronulla Sharks in 1999. He spent the first two seasons biding his time in reserve grade and occasionally filling in for injuries in first grade. It was in 2001 that he showed what he was capable of with his feats as a replacement fullback for the injured David Peachey. His electrifying speed and side-step combined with his diminutive stature and humility quickly endeared him to Cronulla fans.

It was expected by some that he would eventually return to the lower grades until he was needed again but coach John Lang had other ideas. Clearly Campbell was too talented to be wasted playing in reserve grade. With the return of David Peachey, he was no longer needed at fullback and Cronulla was struggling without a recognised halfback. Finding the solution to two problems Lang pencilled in Campbell for the halfback role. Combining with David Peachey and pivot Adam Dykes, the trio formed a devastating combination on the field as Cronulla pushed forward and made a serious bid for its 2001 finals campaign including one memorable game when Premiership favourites the Newcastle Knights were soundly beaten by the Sharks.

At the end of 2001, Preston Campbell was awarded the Dally M Player of the Year, beating Andrew Johns, the Newcastle Knights captain, by one point and became Cronulla's third Dally M medallist.

In 2002, with the arrival of new coach Chris Anderson and former Test halfback Brett Kimmorley at the club, he was overlooked for his preferred halfback role in place of Kimmorley. He was instead moved to the unfamiliar position of hooker. After several disastrous games and seemingly very little interest in playing, he was dropped to reserve grade and, stating his desire to return to the position he had made his own, requested a release from Cronulla which was eventually granted in early August, 2002.

Penrith Panthers

On August 7, 2002, it was announced that Campbell had agreed to terms with the Penrith Panthers (then under the guidance of his former mentor, John Lang) for a three year term. Although Campbell had been given no guarantees on which position he would play, he said that he was looking forward to playing under John Lang once more.

In his first season with the Penrith Panthers in 2003, and back in his more familiar role at halfback/five-eighth, he proved to be a great asset to the team, playing every minute of every match for the entire season.

Campbell was a member of the 2003 grand final winning Panthers team, kicking two goals.

Gold Coast Titans

In 2005, with two seasons still to play with the Panthers, Campbell was the inaugural signing for the newly admitted NRL club, Gold Coast Titans. Campbell signed a three-year contract which commenced in 2007. Due to injury to other players such as Chris Walker, Campbell spent much of the 2007 season at fullback.

Campbell had been playing well during the 2007 season and started the 2008 form in good form. He extended his contract with the Titans. He was named the 2008 Gold Coast Titans player of the year for his consistent and inspiring performances throughout the year. In 2009, played halfback, five-eighth and fullback due to the injuries to players such as Scott Prince and Mat Rogers.

Accolades

In November, 2008, Campbell was awarded the Ken Stephen Medal by the NRL at the One Community Awards for his tireless work with Indigenous communities. The award is given for outstanding service to the game, on and off the field.

External links

• Profile at Gold Coast Titans