Wally Lewis

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**Wally Lewis**
Personal information

Full name	Walter James Lewis
Date of birth	December 1, 1959
Place of birth	Brisbane, Australia
Nickname	The King
Position	Five-Eighth
Professional clubs*
Years	Club	Apps (points)
1978-83 1984-87 1988-90 1991-92	Brisbane Valleys Wynnum-Manly Brisbane Broncos Gold Coast	46 (102) 34 (30)
Representative teams
1980-91 1981-91	Queensland Maroons Australian Kangaroos	31 (30) 33 (45)
Professional clubs coached
1992-93	Gold Coast
Representative teams coached
1993-93	Queensland Maroons
* Professional club appearances and points counted for domestic first grade only.

Walter James Lewis AM (born December 1, 1959 in Brisbane, Queensland) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who was one of the most pre-eminent five-eighths of the 1980s.^{[citation needed]} He has since become a newsreader for the Australian Nine Network.

Nicknamed The King and also The Emperor of Lang Park, he represented Queensland in 31 games from 1980 to 1991 and was captain from 1981 to 1991. He also represented Australia in 33 international matches from 1981 to 1991 and was national team captain from 1984 to 1989. Wally played for English First Division side Wakefield Trinity for a short spell in 1983/84 and is still considered a hero in West Yorkshire today.

Lewis is perhaps best known for his State of Origin performances, spearheading Queensland's dominance in that competition throughout the 80s. He has a record 8 man of the match awards in Origin football and captained the side a record 30 times. "King Lewis" has since been inducted into the Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame and in 1999 he became the 6th member of 'The Immortals'.^{[citation needed]} In 2000 he was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his contribution to Australia's international standing in the sport of rugby league.

1 Football Career
2 Post-football career
3 References
4 External Links

[edit] Football Career

In his school days, Wally Lewis played representantive rugby union. After switching to league he played with Brisbane Valleys from 1978-83 before moving

to Wynnum-Manly (1984-87). Several Sydney rugby league clubs attempted to lure him south during the 1980s but he signed with the Brisbane Broncos as captain of the side on their inception in 1988. Lewis was the Broncos' top try-scorer in their first season.

Australian national rugby league team captain

Two seasons later, in order to increase the Broncos' success in the Winfield Cup, Wayne Bennett controversially sacked Lewis as club captain and gave the role to centre Gene Miles. Miles had retired from representative football, and Bennett hoped he could remove the team's reliance on Lewis. In another blow for the King, Lewis was moved to lock to make way for Ipswich product Kevin Walters. Controversy reared in the 1990 semi-final victory over Manly-Warringah when Bennett left Lewis on the bench, even though Lewis was desperate to prove his fitness before the upcoming Kangaroo Tour, which he was eventually ruled out of.^{[citation needed]}

In 1991 Lewis joined the Gold Coast Seagulls. He played both his last test match and his last State of Origin match that year. He captained and coached Gold Coast for two seasons in the 1990s. Lewis later coached the State of Origin side in 1993 and 1994 but never won a series.

Lewis is remembered for his creative, playmaking football and great confrontations during State of Origin, particularly with Mark Geyer. A bronze statue of Wally was raised at the entrance to Lang Park. The statue text reads:

WALLY LEWIS
The Emperor of Lang Park

This honour was bestowed upon Wally Lewis by the former Chairman of the Queensland Rugby League, Senator and acclaimed father of state of Origin, the late Ron McAullife, in recognition of the impact Wally had on matches played at this ground across three decades.

Lewis is arguably the greatest rugby league player of all time. He is one of only a handful of players to be named a Rugby League Immortal and was one of the six inaugural members of the Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame.

He achieved the greatest honour in Rugby League: the captaincy of his country, but it was his feats as Queensland skipper and playmaker in State of Origin that he achieved legendary status. He played 31 Origin games (30 as captain) and a record 8 Man of the Match awards over a 12-year period.

The name Wally Lewis is synonymous with State of Origin and Queensland Rugby League and continues to be an inspiration to future generations of footballers.

The Wally Lewis Medal has been awarded to the Queensland player of the series in State of Origin from 1992 to 2003. Since 2004 it has been awarded to the player of the series from either side.

[edit] Post-football career

Following his retirement from sport, Lewis became a sports presenter for Channel Nine news in his home town, taking over the nightly presentation slot following Chris Bombolas' move into state politics.

During the November 16 2006 broadcast of the news, Lewis previewed the sports segment but was not onscreen when the program returned from an ad break, with newsreader Bruce Paige instead presenting the sports segment. A similar event occurred two weeks later, on November 30, when Lewis appeared onscreen and began to read the autocue, saying "Good evening" before seeming distressed. A scheduled report was then played, with Paige delivering the rest of the bulletin. Following these events, Lewis was given medical leave for the rest of the year. ^[1] On December 1, 2006, Lewis revealed that he suffered from epilepsy. It is as yet unknown whether his on-air disorientation was caused by the condition. ^[2]

However, it is still not known when Lewis will return as sports presenter, as he is due to have tests and treatment for epilepsy after years of hiding his condition from his family. ^[3]

Lewis was not expected to make a return as a TV reporter until January 29 but delivered a flawless report alongside new sports presenter Steve Haddan. ^[4]

"People come and ask me now about things (from his rugby league career) and I just don't remember them at all – that's absolutely frightening," he said. ^[5]

Lewis said he wanted to work with epilepsy organisations and raise awareness about the condition. ^[6] He has become a high-profile supporter of the Hear And Say Centre, as his daughter was born profoundly deaf.

On Wednesday 21st February 2007, Lewis underwent brain surgery to help his epilepsy at Austin Hospital, Melbourne, Australia. The surgery was reported as a success by Gavin Fabinyi, Director of Neurosurgery. ^[7]

Preceded by Mal Clift	Coach Gold Coast Seagulls 1992-1993	Succeeded by John Harvey 1994-1995

Preceded by Graham Lowe 1991-1992	Coach Queensland State of Origin 1993-1994	Succeeded by Paul Vautin 1995-1997

[edit] References

[edit] External Links

Brisbane Broncos
The Club Representatives • History • Records • Honours • Players • Venues
Seasons 1988 • 1989 • 1990 • 1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 1998 • 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007
Stadiums Lang Park/Suncorp Stadium • ANZ Stadium
Captains Wally Lewis (1988-1989) • Gene Miles (1990-1991) • Allan Langer (1992-1999) Kevin Walters (1999-2000) • Gorden Tallis (2001-2004) • Darren Lockyer (2005-present)
Coaches Wayne Bennett (1988-present)

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Wally Lewis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Contents

[edit] Football Career

[edit] Post-football career

[edit] References

[edit] External Links

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