William "Greg" Conescu (born 24 May 1960[1]) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. An Australia national and Queensland State of Origin representative hooker, he played all of his club football in Queensland with Norths Devils (with whom he won the BRL premiership in 1980) Gladstone Brothers, Redcliffe and the Brisbane Broncos.
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| Born | 24 May 1960 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position | Hooker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Playing career
editBorn to Romanian parents, Conescu achieved Brisbane Rugby League premiership success with the Norths Devils in 1980 and also played for Gladstone Brothers and Redcliffe Dolphins. While playing for Norths, Conescu made his debut for both the Australian Kangaroos and Queensland.[2] In 1987 he played for Redcliffe in the BRL grand final.
In 1988, Conescu entered the New South Wales Rugby League premiership with the Brisbane Broncos, playing in the club's first ever match in 1988.[3] He continued to represent Queensland in the State of Origin series that year, and was again selected in the Australian Kangaroos side. On 20 July 1988 Conescu played for Australia in their record 62-point win over Papua New Guinea, scoring a try.[4] Despite being the incumbent Australian and Queensland hooker, he was surprisingly dropped to reserve grade by coach Wayne Bennett in favour of a young Kerrod Walters.[5]
Accolades
editIn 2000, Conescu was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his contribution to Australia's international standing in the sport of rugby league.[citation needed]
As part of State of Origin's 25th anniversary in 2005, the Australian Rugby League announced the 25 greatest players for both Queensland and New South Wales, with Conescu named for the Queenslanders.[6]
Conescu was named as a reserve in an all-time greatest Norths Devils team announced in 2008.[7]
References
edit- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20090126083231/http://qrl.com.au/qrl_history/qld_rep_c.php Queensland Representatives at qrl.com.au
- ^ Gary Lester, ed. (1983). The Sun Book of Rugby League – 1983. Sydney, New South Wales: John Fairfax Marketing. p. 102. ISBN 0-909558-83-3.
- ^ "Factbox on inaugural Brisbane, Melbourne and Gold Coast teams" (fee required). AAP Sports News (Australia). 25 August 2006. Retrieved 4 October 2008.[dead link]
- ^ "O'Connor helps set Test records". The Age. 21 July 1988. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
- ^ Gallaway, Jack (2002). The Brisbane Broncos: the team to beat. University of Queensland Press. pp. 57, 58, 64 & 70. ISBN 0-7022-3342-0.
- ^ "Origin's greatest named" (fee required). AAP Sports News (Australia). 30 March 2005. Retrieved 4 October 2008.[dead link]
- ^ Pramberg, Bernie (17 August 2008). "Cameron Smith and Greg Inglis in Norths Devis 'greatest' team". The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 17 August 2008.
Sources
edit- Alan Whiticker & Glen Hudson (2007). The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players. Wetherill Park, New South Wales: Gary Allen Pty Ltd. pp. 96–97. ISBN 978-1-877082-93-1.