David Fairleigh

Add links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

David Fairleigh
Personal information
Born (1970-09-01) 1 September 1970 (age 53)
Wyoming, New South Wales
Playing information
Height190 cm (6 ft 3 in)
Weight107 kg (16 st 12 lb)
PositionSecond-row, Prop
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1989–99 North Sydney Bears 193 36 0 0 144
2000 Newcastle Knights 26 1 0 0 4
2001 St Helens 32 8 0 0 32
Total 251 45 0 0 180
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1992–96 NSW City 5 0 0 0 0
1991–97 New South Wales 10 0 0 0 0
1994–96 Australia 15 2 0 0 8
Coaching information
Representative
Years Team Gms W D L W%
2009–14 Cook Islands 7 4 0 3 57
Source: [1]

David Fairleigh (born 1 September 1970 in Wyoming, New South Wales) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and current assistant coach for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League (NRL). An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative forward,[2] he played the majority of his club football in Australia for the North Sydney Bears, winning 1994's Rothmans Medal. This was followed by a season at the Newcastle Knights, and another in England at St. Helens, with whom he won the 2001 Challenge Cup Final before retiring. Since retiring in 2001 he has spent the last 19 years coaching in the NRL mainly as an Assistant Coach. Teams he has worked at include the Newcastle Knights, Parramatta Eels, New Zealand Warriors, Penrith Panthers and the Nth Queensland Cowboys.

Playing career

While attending Gosford High School, Fairleigh played for the

State of Origin
début in game III of 1991. He was not selected in 1992 but appeared again in 1993 playing in all 3 games for NSW and winning the series.

He played State of Origin from 1991 to 1997, playing in 10 games. Although not selected for Origin in 1994, Fairleigh won the

Blues. He was also selected in the Australian team to play against Fiji and Papua New Guinea in 1996. In 1996 he was named in the World Team and was named Dally M Second Row of the Year. He was second in the Rothmans Medal in 1996 behind teammate Jason Taylor
.

Fairleigh played a total of 193 games for Norths and played in 3 of their 4 preliminary final losses during the 1990s as the club fell agonizingly short of a grand final appearance.[4]

Following North's merger with

Super League V champions, St. Helens played against 2000 NRL Premiers, the Brisbane Broncos in the 2001 World Club Challenge.[5]
Fairleigh played as a prop forward in Saints' victory.

Post playing

In 2006 an expert panel of judges selected a North Sydney team of the century in which Fairleigh was selected in the starting thirteen in the second-row.[6]

Coaching career

NRL Coaching History

Year Role
2002 North Sydney Bears First Division
2003 – 2004 Newcastle Knights Premier League
2005 – 2006 Newcastle Knights NRL Assistant Coach /Premier League Coach
2007 – 2008 Parramatta Eels NRL Assistant Coach
2009 Parramatta Eels NRL Assistant Coach /NYC Coach
2009 – 2014 Cook Islands Head Coach
2010 – 2011 New Zealand Warriors NRL Assistant Coach
2012 – 2015 Penrith Panthers NRL Assistant Coach
2016 – 2019 North Queensland Cowboys Assistant Coach
2020–present Current NRL Officiating Coach
Sporting positions
Preceded by
 Coach
Cook Islands
Cook Islands
2009-2013 		Succeeded by
Alex Chan
2015-2016

Finals Appearances

  • Newcastle 2003, 2004, 2006
  • Parramatta 2007, 2009 Grand Final
  • Warriors 2010, 2011 Grand Final
  • Penrith 2014
  • Nth Queensland 2017 Grand Final

Fairleigh went on to develop a comprehensive reviewing platform for games which has been used across Newcastle, Parramatta, New Zealand and Penrith, where he was employed as an assistant coach; all four clubs have reached Grand Finals across all 3 grades whilst he was there.

Fairleigh coached the

USA and Tonga, but they won their last match against the Tournament co-hosts Wales creating history for the sport of rugby league in the Cook Islands
. As part of the World Cup qualification process the Cook Islands beat Samoa in a play-off to enter the Pacific Cup in 2009. The Cook Islands then went on to beat Fiji 24–22 in the Semi Final and were then beaten by Papua New Guinea in the Final. In 2016 Fairleigh took time off from coaching NRL football to give back to grassroots football. In October 2016 he was announced and unveiled as the North Queensland Cowboys new assistant coach.

References

  1. ^ "David Fairleigh – Career Stats & Summary – Rugby League Project". Rugby League Project.
  2. ^ "State of Origin player details". Archived from the original on 24 October 2007. Retrieved 30 August 2007.
  3. ^ "SportingPulse Homepage for Australian Secondary Schools Rugby League". SportingPulse. Archived from the original on 31 January 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2008.
  4. ^ "Top 10 preliminary final heartbreaks". National Rugby League.
  5. ^ "Celebrating former Saints World Champion David Fairleigh". St Helens Star. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
  6. ^ "Norths Team of the Century". Archived from the original on 3 September 2007.

Sources

  • Whiticker, Alan & Hudson, Glen (2006) The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players, Gavin Allen Publishing, Sydney
  • Big League's 25 Years of Origin Collectors' Edition, News Magazines, Surry Hills, Sydney

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=David_Fairleigh&oldid=1219706276"