Who is Russell Crowe?
Russell Crowe is a globally acclaimed actor who was born in New Zealand but has lived in Australia since he was a child, calling South Sydney home.
Russell joined business partner Peter Holmes à Court in taking over 75% of the South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club on 7 June 2006.
Who is Peter Holmes à Court?
Peter Holmes à Court is the Chairman of White Bull Holdings, a private investment company, the Executive Chairman of the South Sydney Rabbitohs, a director of Queensland Rail and a member of the Lord Mayor’s City of Sydney Business Forum.
In 1993 Mr Holmes à Court formed Back Row Productions, operating in New York, London and Sydney. Back Row produced over 20 live shows in 30 countries and 300 cities world wide. Live acts included the Australian show Tap Dogs, the UK’s Eddie Izzard and the US’s Jerry Seinfeld.
Peter returned to Australia in November 2000 and until January 2004 held the position as Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Agricultural Company and was responsible for re-listing AACo on the Australian Stock Exchange. Founded in 1824, AACo is Australia’s oldest continuously operating company and today is the largest cattle company in the world managing over 600,000 head of cattle over 15 million acres.
Peter read law at Oxford University and received his BA in economics and theatre from Middlebury College, Vermont. He lives in Sydney and is a proud husband of Divonne Holmes à Court (the founder of Smart Population Foundation) and father to their two sets of twins, George & Robert and Elsa & Madison.
Who is Jason Taylor?
Jason Taylor is the Head Coach of the South Sydney Rabbitohs, having taken up the position for the 2007 season in his first season as a Head Coach.
During his playing career, Taylor was a deadly accurate, around-the-corner goal-kicker with one of the best kicking games in the code. The St Gregory’s Campbelltown junior made his first grade debut with Western Suburbs in 1990 and played two games for NSW from the bench in 1993. Moving to North Sydney in 1994, where he guided the team in be regular semi-finalists on four occasions in 1994, ’96, ’97 and ’98.
In 1996, he became the final winner of the Rothmans Medal as best and fairest player in the Sydney competition.
Taylor was captain of North Sydney and established a number of club records including most points in a match, most points in a season and most points for the club before the club merged with Manly in 2000 to form the now defunct Northern Eagles.
Taylor played a record 194 consecutive first grade games before he was to play reserve grade again, signaling his early release from his contract to join Parramatta in 2001. At the Eels, he equaled Mick Cronin’s record for most goals in a match and set a new career goal-kicking record. In July of 2001, Taylor surpassed the career point-scoring record previously held by Daryl Halligan. He retired after Parramatta’s loss in the 2001 Grand Final, with his point scoring record standing until Andrew Johns surpassed the feat in 2006.
Taylor was appointed caretaker Head Coach of the Eels in 2006, taking them to the finals, the first caretaker coach to achieve the feat. Taylor joined the Rabbitohs in 2007 and is on track to take the team to the finals in his first year as Head Coach.
Taylor has also enjoyed a career in the media having worked on both subscription and free-to-air television, and also works in public speaking through speakers bureau Saxtons.
Western Suburbs 1990-93 - 78 first grade games plus 8 replacements. 6 tries, 225 goals, 12 field goals for 486 points.
North Sydney 1994-99 - 167 first grade games. 32 tries, 563 goals, 20 field goals for 1274 points.
Northern Eagles 2000 - 17 first grade games. 1 try, 38 goals, 2 field goals for 82 points.
Parramatta 2001 - 26 first grade games. 8 tries, 116 goals, 1 field goal for 265 points.
NSW 1993 – 2 replacements.
Who is Shane Richardson?
Shane is the Chief Executive Officer and Director of the South Sydney Rabbitohs and also serves on various NRL committees including the Collective Bargaining, Salary Cap and Draft Committees. He is the second longest serving CEO in the game.
In 1993 Shane moved from Queensland to take up his first role in the NRL with the Cronulla Sharks where he stayed for five years before accepting a position in the UK Super league as CEO with Hull FC. He also held a Board position whilst in this role. Shane is the only Australian to ever serve on a Super League Board.
Shane then returned to Australia as part of the team that took the Penrith Panthers to their second premiership in the history of the club. In 2004 he accepted his current role with the Rabbitohs and has successfully implemented business plans to ensure the club’s stability and security.
Mr Richardson is an experienced and well respected Public Speaker.
Shane completed his Commerce Degree at Queensland University and attended Ipswich Grammar School and Corinda High School.
Shane now lives in Coogee with his wife Kate.
Who is Craig Wing?
Craig Wing is one of the leading players in the NRL, and he will return to the Rabbitohs in 2008 on a four season deal.
Wing, 27, came up through the junior representative grades with the Rabbitohs and burst on to the NRL scene in 1998 and 1999 with South Sydney, playing 41 first grade games for the Rabbitohs prior to the Club being omitted from the NRL competition in 2000 and 2001.The NSW and Australian representative has played 228 NRL games in a glittering career which has featured four grand finals including a premiership win in 2002.
A Coogee Randwick junior from the South Sydney Juniors stable, Wing has represented Australia in 16 Tests from 2002 to 2005 including a Kangaroo Tour in 2003 and Tri-nations tournaments in 2004 and 2005. He has also represented NSW on 10 occasions from 2003 to 2006, and City Origin in five matches in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006 and 2007. Craig was the 933rd first grade player for the Rabbitohs.
Who is Ray Chesterton?
Ray Chesterton is a respected Rugby League journalist who works for Sydney’s Daily Telegraph.
Chesterton has been one of Rugby League’s leading journalists for a number of decades, and is also a respected author and book reviewer.
Chesterton was part of an esteemed panel who selected the South Sydney Dream Team, the all-time greatest Rabbitohs team which was selected in 2004.
Chesterton has been vocal supporter of the ‘no’ vote against the privatisation of the Rabbitohs.
Who is David Peachey?
David Peachey was born in Dubbo in the Central West of NSW on 21 February 1974. ‘Peach’ stands 190cm tall and weighs in at 90kg, a footballer’s frame that can’t be mistaken for anyone other than the ‘Peach’.
David has earned himself legendary status in the game of Rugby League since graduating to the big time from the Dubbo Macquarie Club as a junior. Not only has played in over 250 NRL games for both the Cronulla Sharks and the Rabbitohs, he has also represented Country Origin, NSW on four occasions, and played for Australia in 1997.
David made his first grade debut with the Sharks against the Canberra Raiders at Canberra Stadium on 3 June 2006, and finished with the Sharks in 2005, before an ill-fated stint with the Widnes Vikings in the UK Super League. Mid-season in 2006, Peachey joined the Rabbitohs and instantly became not only a crowd favourite but a leader of men amongst the playing group.
Not only is he respected for his on-field achievements, he is highly respected for the work he does amongst the community, particularly Indigenous communities across Australia. David is the founder of the David Peachey Foundation, is involved with the Croc Festival and is broadly regarded as an Aboriginal leader across the nation.
David was schooled at South Dubbo High School and studied Horticulture before furthering his Rugby League career.
David announced he would retire from elite Rugby League at the conclusion of the 2007 season, choosing to move into a role with the Rabbitohs’ community initiative Souths Cares. However he has pledged to play senior Rugby League with his son Wyndham who is currently 11 years of age, just as David played with his three uncles, Marshall, Martin and Michael, when he was a teenager.
David is one of the most experienced players in the game and one of the best fullbacks to have ever played Rugby League. His ability to control the game from the back, make breaks at will, set up his support players and defend like a demon are all traits that aspiring fullbacks emulate from Peachey’s game.
Who is Paul Mellor?
Paul Mellor was born on 21 August, 1974 in Sydney, NSW. ‘Big Bird’ as he is known in Rugby League circles stands 190cm tall and weighs in at 108kg.
A South Sydney junior from the Matraville Tigers Club, Mellor is the youngest Rabbitoh in history having made his first grade debut at the age of 16 years and 10 months on 30 June 1991 against the Gold Coast Seagulls.
Mellor has played 17 seasons at the highest level spanning 221 NRL games scoring 90 tries. He has played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs (1991-96; 2006-07), Bulldogs (1997-98), Cronulla Sharks (1999-2002; 2005) and the Castleford Tigers in the UK (2003-04).
Mellor does a lot of work with South Sydney Juniors, helping to bring through the next generation of young player, and he also helps coach his sons’ teams in the Cronulla junior league.
Mellor was schooled at Marist Brothers in Pagewood, completing his Higher School Certificate before studying a Bachelor of Human Movement at the Australian Catholic University. He has also completed a level strength and conditioning course through the Rabbitohs.
Mellor is a powerful runner of the ball, safe under the high ball and solid defender.
Mellor played his final game of Rugby League in the 2007 Qualifying Final against the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles on 8 September 2007 at Brookvale Oval, electing to retire from the game at the conclusion of his 2007 season.
Who is Joe Williams?
Joe Williams was born on 4 September, 1983 in Cowra in Central West NSW. Nicknamed ‘Precious’, Williams stands 178cm tall and weighs in at 81kg.
Moving to the Southern inland city of Wagga Wagga as a child, he played with the Lakes Raiders before moving to Sydney when Roosters Recruitment Manager and former prominent Aboriginal footballer Arthur Beetson spotted him and brought him to Sydney.
Williams won the Jersey Flegg Grand Final for the Roosters in 2002, kicking the match-winning field goal, before shifting to the South Sydney Rabbitohs in 2004. Williams made his first grade debut in round 12 of the 2004 premiership when the Rabbitohs took on the Sharks at Toyota Park on 29 May.
Joe’s form has see-sawed since making his debut, moving in and out of the first grade side over the past four seasons at the Rabbitohs. A noted goalkicker, Williams has all the ball-handling skills of the top halfbacks in the competition, largely due to his touch football background, a game in which he has played at representative levels.
Joe is the father of two children, son Brodi and daughter Phoenix, and is passionate about his family, children and music. Joe is a talented singer and guitarist and has performed on television a number of times.
Joe is also passionate about his Aboriginal heritage, helping his communities of South Sydney, Wagga Wagga and Cowra on countless occasions. Joe also travelled to Central Australia as part of NASCA’s ARM Tour in late 2006.
Joe was schooled at Marcellin College in Randwick, St Michael’s in Wagga Wagga and Trinity Senior High School in Wagga Wagga. He has also completed a level one Strength and Conditioning course during his time at the Rabbitohs.
Williams signed with the Toulouse Club in the French Rugby League for the French 2007-8 season, but a late offer from the Penrith Panthers will see Joe remain in the NRL for the 2008 season.
Who is Joe Galuvao?
Joe Galuvao was born on 8 July 1978 in Auckland, New Zealand, his country which he would go on to represent on four occasions.
Standing 180cm tall and weighing 105kg, ‘Smokin’ Joe’ as he is known to his team mates was once part of the world’s best second-row combination with Kiwi team mate Tony Puletua.
Joe made his first grade debut on 2 May 1998 with the Auckland Warriors against the Roosters, staying with the Warriors until 2000 when he left for Penrith. Galuvao and Puletua became a formidable unit during the 2003 season playing with the premiership-winning Penrith Panthers, before joining the Rabbitohs for the 2006 season.
Galuvao played four tests for New Zealand at the peak of his powers in 2003 and 2004.
Galuvao has amassed 128 NRL games to date in his career, playing only a handful of games with the Rabbitohs in 2007. Galuvao spent most of the season in Premier League with the North Sydney Bears before shifting to Queensland Cup feeder Club Easts Tigers, helping them to a semi finals berth.
A deeply religious man, Galuvao is involved heavily in SEEC helping islander children in the western suburbs of Sydney. He finished high school at James Cook High in Manurewa in New Zealand and is currently studying a diploma in Youth Recreation. He has also completed small business and physical education courses at TAFE.
Who is Mark Courtney?
Mark Courtney is a 46 year old IT Manager who, despite growing up in Lane Cove, has been a Souths tragic since the age of eight. He began attending matches regularly in 1976 but was no more than a passionate fan until Souths were excluded from the NRL in October, 1999. His search to understand the gaping hole this left in his life led to him writing Moving The Goalposts, which was published by Halstead Press in 2000 and it has become the definitive story of a Souths fan's life.
Mark was actively involved in the campaign to have the Rabbitohs reinstated to the NRL and, since the Club's return in 2002, he has resumed his life as a fanatical supporter. He has continued a minor involvement with the Club, writing occasional articles for various publications.
Mark lives at Coogee with his wife Cindy and three daughters Anya, Bronte and Freya. He counts among his life's ambitions the wish to see Souths win their 21st Premiership. The girls are exhibiting worrying signs of following in his red and green footsteps.
Who is Sean Garlick?
Sean Garlick is a South Sydney junior, captaining the Rabbitohs in his final season with the Club in 1999.
Garlick represented South Sydney from 1990 to 1993 before shifting to arch-rivals, the Eastern Suburbs Roosters, from 1994 to 1996. He returned to the Rabbitohs for three seasons from 1997 to 1999.
Garlick was Rabbitohs’ captain in 1999 when the Club was excluded from the National Rugby League and was a leading figure in the Club’s efforts to return the Rabbitohs to the elite level of the game.
When South Sydney returned to the fold 2002, Garlick was made the Club’s Football Operations Manager. He also owns a successful pie and pastry business called Garlo’s Pies with stores open right across Sydney.
South Sydney 1990-93 and 1997-99 - 91 first grade games plus 5 replacements. 14 tries for 56 points.
Eastern Suburbs 1994-96 - 59 first grade games plus 5 replacements. 3 tries for 12 points.
Who is John Sattler?
John Sattler is widely regarded as one of the toughest players to have ever played the game of Rugby League and proved himself to be one of the greatest captains in the history of the South Sydney club.
The fiery frontrower came to Sydney from Kurri Kurri in the Hunter Valley, representing Newcastle against Great Britain in 1962 before joining South Sydney.
He played in the young Rabbitohs side that lost to St George in the 1965 grand final and he was selected as captain in 1967.
Souths played in five straight grand finals under his leadership, winning four of them in 1967, ‘68, ’70 and ‘71). Sattler toured with the 1967-68 Kangaroos, captained NSW and led Australia to NZ in 1969, captained Australia in the against Great Britain in 1970. Sattler’s most memorable moment was playing out the majority of the 1970 grand final against Manly-Warringah with a badly broken jaw. The image of Sattler being carried on the shoulders of his team mates from the field with his jaw hanging limp is an enduring image of the toughness of the game of Rugby league.
In 1972, Sattler moved to Brisbane and captained QLD in 1973.
Sattler was named captain of the South Sydney Dream Team in 2004, and has been integral in getting the Gold Coast NRL franchise on its feet.
South Sydney 1963-72 - 197 first grade games. 12 tries for 36 points.
NSW 1969 - 4 games.
QLD 1973 - 3 games.
Australia 1967-71 - 4 tests.
Who is George Piggins?
George Piggins will be remembered by many as not only the tough little hooker from the Rabbitohs, but also as the man that lead the fight for re-instatement into the National Rugby League.
Piggins played for a number of seasons before being called into Souths’ grand final side in 1971, which was regarded as one of Piggins’ best games for the Club. While Souths lost many stars to other clubs in the 1970’s, Piggins stuck with the Rabbitohs until he retired in 1978.
He represented NSW in 1974 and 1976 but received his highest representative honour whe he was selected to play for Australia in the world series match against NZ in 1975.
Piggins won the Dally M Coach of the Year Award in both 1986 and 1989.
When Piggins resigned as coach he became Club President during the 1990’s, until the Club was excluded at the end of the 1999 season. The newly formed NRL excluded the Rabbitohs from the 2000 and 2001 seasons, during which time Piggins led a two-year campaign to have the Club reinstated in the competition. Souths won a high court appeal in July 2001 and the Rabbitohs were re-instated for the 2002 premiership. In 2002, Piggins penned an autobiography titled Never Say Die.
George was also the Chairman of South Sydney Leagues Club until 2006. Piggins was one of the most vocal opponents of the Holmes à Court /Crowe takeover of 75% of the South Sydney Football Club.
South Sydney 1967-78 - 115 first grade games plus 5 replacements. 8 tries for 24 points.
NSW 1974 and 1976 - 2 games.
Who is Alan Jones?
Alan Jones is a respected and highly influential member of the Australian media.
Alan is a graduate of Queensland and Oxford Universities, with majors in English and French language and literature, politics and education. He has University Blues from both Queensland and Oxford in tennis.
For three years, Alan was speech writer and senior adviser to the then Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Malcolm Fraser, and was elected Australian Rugby Union Coach in 1984, coaching Australia until early 1988, winning 102 matches including the Grand Slam in 1984 and a Bledisloe Cup victory in 1986. In December 1989, Alan Jones was elected to the Confederation of Australian Sports' Hall of Fame in recognition of his contribution to Australian Sport as the Australian Rugby Coach.
From August 1990 to August 1993, Alan Jones coached the Balmain Tigers Rugby League side, before he was appointed as Director of Football for the South Sydney Rugby League Football Club. He performed both roles without payment.
In March 1985, Alan Jones was recruited to join Radio 2UE as their morning radio host and quickly established himself in the competitive world of Sydney radio. In March 1988, he moved to the breakfast shift and achieved the largest breakfast audience and also the largest radio audience in Australia. In 2002, Alan Jones joined 2GB as Breakfast announcer, along with his 2GB commitments, Alan Jones appears daily making editorial comment on the Channel 9 Today Show.
In 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1995, 1996 and 1997 Alan was awarded by the radio industry, the prestigious award of Australian Radio Talk Personality of the Year.
Who is Roy Asotasi?
Roy Asotasi was born on 6 January 1982 in Auckland, New Zealand, the country which he now captains in the test arena.
Standing 184cm tall and 103kg, Asotasi is rated as the best prop-forward on the planet, intimidating his opposition with his destructive running-style, powerful defence and fearsome attitude towards the game.
Asotasi played five seasons with the Bulldogs from 2002 to 2006, making his first grade debut against the Raiders at Canberra Stadium on 25 August 2002, going on to win the 2004 premiership with the ‘Dogs against the Roosters.
Asotasi was one of the Rabbitohs marquee signings for 2007 and he paid the Club back in spades with his performances throughout the season.
Aostasi is also setting himself for life after football, completing a small business management course at TAFE and working one day a week with one of Australia’s leading commercial real estate agents.
Asotasi was appointed to the position of captain of the New Zealand Kiwis prior to the Anzac Test in May 2007, and was named co-captain of the Rabbitohs in 2007 as well.
Judged by experts as the premier front-row forward in the game, he has developed into a world-class prop, leading the New Zealand Test side over the past two seasons. He carries defenders on his back when taking the ball ahead and hands out big hits in defence on numerous occasions in each game he plays, with the footwork of a back. Roy signed with the Rabbitohs until the end of 2011.