Wally Lewis

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the rugby union player, see Wally Lewis (rugby union).
For the singer, see Wally Lewis (singer).

Wally Lewis
AM
Lewis in 2009
Personal information
Full nameWalter James Lewis
Born (1959-12-01) 1 December 1959 (age 64)
Hawthorne, Queensland, Australia
Playing information
Height182 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight95 kg (14 st 13 lb)
PositionFive-eighth, Lock
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1978–83 Fortitude Valley 111 71 11 4 249
1983–84 Wakefield Trinity 10 6 0 0 24
1984–87
Wynnum-Manly
 55 26 9 2 124
1988–90 Brisbane Broncos 46 20 11 0 102
1991–92 Gold Coast 34 6 3 0 30
Total 256 129 34 6 529
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1979–87 Brisbane 5 5 0 27
1979–91
Queensland
 38 10 2 2 44
1981 South Queensland 1 1 1 0 5
1981–91
Australia
 34 11 0 2 45
Coaching information
Club
Years Team Gms W D L W%
1986–87
Wynnum-Manly
 32 25 1 7 78
1992–93 Gold Coast 44 7 1 36 16
Total 76 32 2 43 42
Representative
Years Team Gms W D L W%
1993–94
Queensland
 6 2 0 4 33
Source: [1][2][3]

Walter James Lewis

AM (born 1 December 1959) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 1980s and 1990s. He became a commentator for television coverage of the sport. A highly decorated Australian national captain, Lewis is widely regarded as one of the greatest ever players of rugby league.[4][5] His time as a player and coach was followed by a career as a sports presenter for the Nine Network
.

Nicknamed The King and also

The Emperor of Lang Park,[6] Lewis represented Queensland in thirty-one State of Origin games from 1980 to 1991, and was captain for thirty of them. He also represented Australia
in thirty-three international matches from 1981 to 1991 and was national team captain from 1984 to 1989. Lewis is perhaps best known for his State of Origin performances, spearheading Queensland's dominance in that competition throughout the 1980s and winning a record 8 man of the match awards.

Lewis has since been inducted into the Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame and in 1999 he became the sixth member of 'The Immortals'. In 2000, he was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his contribution to Australia's international standing in the sport of rugby league.[7]

In February 2008, Lewis was named in the list of Australia's 100 Greatest Players (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the

Kangaroos' Team of the Century. Announced on 17 April 2008, the team is the panel's majority choice for each of the thirteen starting positions and four interchange players.[10][11] In June 2008, he was also chosen in the Queensland Rugby League's Team of the Century at five-eighth and captain.[12] In October 2016, he became the 38th Legend of Australian Sport at the Sport Australia Hall of Fame awards.[13]

In 2009 as part of the

Q150 Icons of Queensland for his role as a "sports legend".[14]

In 2011, Lewis was a recipient of the Queensland Greats Awards.[15]

Early life

Lewis was born in

Wynnum-Manly club. His mother, June, was a Queensland representative netball player.[18] When he was six years old, Lewis was playing rugby league with Cannon Hill Stars, usually at lock forward. He played in junior Queensland school teams, at times representing his state against New South Wales before a State or Test match at the Sydney Cricket Ground
.

Lewis attended

The Wallabies, while O'Connor would become a dual international when he played alongside Lewis for the Kangaroos.[19]

The 1977 Australian Schoolboys Rugby Union tour of Great Britain would see the first of three times Lewis would make undefeated tours of Britain with Australian national teams.

According to Lincoln Lewis, Wally and his brother Scott, who played alongside him in the BRL, are butchers by trade.[20]

Rugby League career

Fortitude Valley

Following his return to Australia from the 1977 Schoolboys tour, Lewis faced discrimination in the

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
.

In 1979 Lewis made his senior début for Queensland from the bench in games played under the old State of Residence rules, and also played for a

Grand Final at Lang Park. Playing in the centres for the Magpies that day was a 19-year-old cadet policeman who would become a long serving Queensland and Australian teammate of Lewis in the coming decade, Mal Meninga
.

Lewis made the run-on side for Queensland in the inaugural State of Origin match in 1980 at lock forward alongside his hero Arthur Beetson who at the age of 35 was playing in his first ever game for his home state. There were some in the press who questioned his selection, claiming he should have started from the bench with well performed Brisbane Wests lock Norm Carr in the starting side. [citation needed] Lewis however had a hand in Queensland's first ever State of Origin try scored by Kerry Boustead. The following year a second State of Origin match was played, and captain-coach Arthur Beetson was a late withdrawal due to injury. In what proved to be a master stroke, Beetson coached the team from the sidelines and handed the captaincy over to 21-year-old Lewis who had moved from lock to play Five-eighth.

His form for Queensland in both the two games played under the old residence system, and the one Origin game in which he scored one of four Qld tries, saw him selected to make his Test début for Australia in 1981, playing five-eighth in a 43–3 win over France at the SCG. At the Australian team's first training session (at Lang Park), coach Frank Stanton wasn't impressed with Lewis' fitness after he lagged behind in a set of 400 metre runs, though it was reported that Lewis wasn't alone and only lock forward Ray Price had completed the runs without too much trouble. During the game Lewis had a chance to score his first test try. Backing up a line break, Lewis received the ball only 15 metres out with a clear path to the line. Hearing someone closing in from behind he passed the ball to his Halfback partner Steve Mortimer to score before he could be tackled. After scoring Mortimer questioned Lewis as to why he passed as there was no French player near him. Lewis later saw a television replay which showed it was in fact the match referee who he could hear behind him. Ironically, the try was Mortimer's first test try in what was also his début test for Australia.

In the

Eric Grothe
(he come on to play 5/8 with Brett Kenny moving to the centres and Mal Meninga to the wing), Lewis fired a bullet-like 20 metre cut-out pass to Meninga who then scored in the corner. Although the Kangaroos had soundly beaten Great Britain until that point of the series, Lewis' pass had a psychological effect on the Lions who were left wondering just how good the Australian's really were if they could afford to leave someone on the bench who could pass like that. Those long cut-out passes (something he learned playing junior rugby union and playing backyard football with his brothers) would become a feature of Lewis' game over the next 10 years.

During the tour, Lewis captained his first game for Australia in an international when the Kangaroos defeated Wales in a "non-test" at Ninian Park in Cardiff. Playing in the Centres, Lewis was one of four try scorers in a 37–7 win for the Kangaroos, with fullback Steve Ella leading the way with four. Wally also kicked four goals with the game played in driving rain.

Wally was selected at five-eighth for the first test against France on the French leg of the tour, but missed the second test after again dislocating his shoulder in a minor game between the tests which ended his tour as a player.

In the first and third games of the 1983 State of Origin series, Lewis was named man-of-the-match. In 1983, Lewis also regained his test five-eighth spot from Brett Kenny for the two tests against New Zealand at Carlaw Park in Auckland, and at Lang Park.

Lewis captained Queensland as they toured Papua New Guinea and England part of the 1983–84 Rugby Football League season. He played in their 8–6 defeat against Hull Kingston Rovers followed up by a 40–2 victory over Wigan RLFC and a 2–58 win over Leeds Rhinos.

Lewis played for English First Division side Wakefield Trinity (Heritage No. 928) for a short spell during the 1983–84 Rugby Football League season and he remains a favourite of Trinity fans, who named their fanzine Wally Lewis is Coming. Trinity won 5 of 10 games during Lewis's stay, including a win over St. Helens in which Lewis scored a hat-trick. After his last match on 12 February, Trinity did not win another game and were relegated to the second division. Initially, Lewis had been reluctant to sign with Wakefield after having played both club and representative football almost non-stop since the start of 1982, including the Kangaroo Tour and Queensland's three game tour of England at the end of 1983, when he came to the attention of Wakefield. The club asked him to name his price and, not believing that they could afford it, Lewis told them it would cost £30,000 for him to play in England (based on increases in average earnings, this would be approximately £140,100 in 2016).[22] What he did not know was that a wealthy Wakefield businessman financially supported the club and was bankrolling their attempt to sign Lewis (who by the end of 1983 had been rated the best player in rugby league). Good to his word and despite being jaded and in need of a break, Lewis signed to play his only season of English club football and became the highest paid player in England at the time.

Wynnum-Manly

Back in Australia, Lewis left Valleys and ultimately signed with the

Golden Boot Award
as the world's best international player in 1984.

Lewis was man-of-the-match for Game II of the

that year, winning the test series 2–1. The New Zealand tour was an unhappy one though, with coach Terry Fearnley, who had just led New South Wales to their first ever State of Origin series win, not getting along with captain Lewis or the other Queensland players and seemingly favoring NSW players, especially tour vice-captain Wayne Pearce. After winning the first two tests, Fearnley dropped four players from the team, all Queenslanders, in what Queensland Rugby League boss Senator Ron McAuliffe
called a "Football Assassination". The changes to the team proved to be a disaster as the Kiwis defeated a disjointed Australia 18–0.

The following year, internal problems between the Seagulls club board and its head coach

mid-season test series
against New Zealand, later told that while initially weary of working with Lewis based on Fearnley's public comments and Lewis' battles with Frank Stanton on the 1982 Kangaroo Tour, he encountered no problems with the Australian captain and the two formed a good personal and working relationship.

Although Queensland lost the 1986 State of Origin series 3–0 to NSW, the first clean sweep in Origin history, Lewis led the Australian's to a clean sweep of New Zealand in the mid-season test series, scoring a try in the 29-12 second test win at the SCG and the 32–12 win in the final game at Lang Park. Australia also won the opening test of the series 22–8 at Carlaw Park in Auckland.

In

Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1987.[31] 1987 saw Lewis lead Queensland to a 2-1 Origin series win over NSW, though NSW won a fourth exhibition game played at the Veterans Memorial Stadium in Los Angeles
. The Australians only played one test in 1987, suffering a shock 13–6 loss to New Zealand at Lang Park in July. It was the second time in succession that the Kangaroos, fresh from an unbeaten Kangaroo Tour, had lost a test to the Kiwis in Brisbane.

Brisbane Broncos

Several

first season and also later had the honour of scoring the club's first hat-trick
.

During the season Lewis was awarded the

1985 - 1988 Rugby League World Cup. Australia won the game 25–12 in front of 47,363 fans at Auckland's home of rugby union Eden Park, though Lewis broke his right forearm in the 15th minute of the game while tackling Kiwi winger Tony Iro. After receiving treatment, he bravely played on for a further 20 minutes, making a number of one armed tackles despite being an obvious target in defense. Late in the first half when it became clear that with a 21–0 lead Australia would win the game, coach Don Furner replaced Lewis with Terry Lamb
.

Lewis won another man-of-the-match award in the second game of the

mid-season tour
of New Zealand.

At the end of the 1990 season, due to salary cap restrictions, Lewis was not made a large enough offer to keep him at the Broncos, with Bennett citing the need to retain younger talent.[33]

Gold Coast Seagulls and coaching

Following the souring of his relationship with the Broncos, Lewis was unwilling to move to Sydney for family reasons and in 1991, he joined the Gold Coast Seagulls and was appointed as captain by coach Malcolm Clift. He won his eighth and last man-of-the-match award in the first game of the State of Origin series that year, before playing both his last match for Queensland and Australia by the end of the season. He captained and coached Gold Coast during the 1992 NSWRL season but again finished the season in last place. In their last match under Lewis as captain-coach, the Gold Coast defeated Penrith, thus denying the Panthers a place in the finals play-offs. The following year he stopped playing but continued coaching the Seagulls, but departed after a third consecutive wooden spoon. In his time coaching Seagulls, the club had won just 7 games out of 44 played, losing the last 16 in a row.[34]

Wally Lewis played his last game for the Seagulls in a match against a

St George Dragons players Ricky Walford and Jeff Hardy) at the Thebarton Oval in Adelaide on 7 November 1992, the night before the Australian Formula One Grand Prix
.

Lewis also coached the

Queensland State of Origin side
in 1993 and 1994 but never won a series.

Legacy

Wally Lewis statue outside Suncorp Stadium (Lang Park), Brisbane (2022)

Wally Lewis is remembered for his creative, playmaking football and great on-field confrontations, most notably one in the 1991 State of Origin series with

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.

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 footballer 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.

Wally Lewis has also appeared in numerous advertisements during and after his football playing career. Examples include promotions for

XXXX beer and Burger King
.

During the 2007 season at the Broncos' 20-year anniversary celebration, the club announced a list of the 20 best players to play for them to date which included Lewis.[35]

In December 2009 Lewis was inducted into the Queensland Sports Hall of Fame.[36]

Quotes

  • "Lewis has to be number one because he’s the only bloke who dominated the game at the highest level, in State of Origin, over a long period."[37] Ray Warren, Australian sports commentator
  • "Certainly he's the best I've ever seen in the rugby codes, and my memory goes back to Raper and Gasnier, Catchpole and Hawthorne."[38] Peter Meares, Australian sports commentator and writer.
  • "Lewis is the greatest player at representative level I've seen – and I've seen some great players, I was there when Gas and Chook were at the end of their careers."[39] Arthur Beetson, Australian former national team coach
  • "...all great players, but I haven't seen anyone step past or ahead of Wally Lewis. You've got the right bloke in at No. 1."[40] Steve Mortimer, former New South Wales captain.
  • "For what it is worth, I rate him as the best footballer I ever laid eyes on."[41] Bill Harrigan, leading referee
  • "I've got to say here and now Wally is the greatest footballer I've seen, and all those great players knew that Wally was the greatest."[42] George Lovejoy, Queensland rugby league commentator

Personal life

Lewis in 2008

In November 1984, Lewis married Jacqueline in St John's Cathedral (Brisbane); however, they separated in 2021.[43] Together, they have two sons and one daughter: Mitchell, Lincoln and Jamie-Lee.[44]

Wally's son,

Ash, Kip, Luttsy & Susie breakfast show.[46] His daughter Jamie-Lee was born profoundly deaf. The family got confirmation of this on the day of the final State of Origin game of the 1991 series, prompting Wally's decision to retire from Origin football following the game. Jamie-Lee is a water polo player who is currently on a scholarship to the Queensland Academy of Sport who has represented Australia, and is the first[citation needed
] deaf person in the world to ever represent her country's national hearing team.

In May 2010, Lewis was rushed to hospital and had his gallbladder removed.[47]

Wally Lewis completed his autobiography, Out of the Shadows: A Champion's Return to the Spotlight, in 2009.[44]

Wally Lewis "The King" in 2004

Lewis is well known as a big fan of The Phantom comic series.[48]

Following his retirement from the sport, Lewis became a television sports presenter, first on Seven Nightly News Brisbane,[49] before moving to the higher-rating Nine News Queensland where he remained until he stepped down from the role, citing health concerns, at the beginning of January 2023.[50]

Epilepsy

During the nightly news broadcast of 16 November 2006, Lewis previewed the sports segment but was not onscreen when the program returned from the commercial break, with newsreader Bruce Paige instead presenting the sports segment. A similar event occurred two weeks later, on 30 November, 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.[51] The following night, Lewis revealed that he had epilepsy. Lewis has revealed in his book that his on-air disorientation was caused by the condition.[52]

On 21 February 2007, Lewis underwent brain surgery to help his epilepsy at

Austin Hospital in Melbourne. The surgery was reported as a success by Gavin Fabinyi, Director of Neurosurgery.[53]
He has since made a full recovery.

Lewis was not expected to make a return as a TV reporter until 29 January but delivered a flawless report alongside new sports presenter Steve Haddan.[54] In September 2007, Lewis appeared on-air for the first time since the surgery, and by 2009 had returned to presenting on weeknights.[55]

Lewis is quoted as saying that "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."[6]

Lewis said he wanted to work with epilepsy organisations and raise awareness about the condition.[6] He is also the vice patron of the Hear and Say Centre,[56] becoming involved with the charity organization after his daughter, Jamie-Lee, was born profoundly deaf.[44]

Statistics

Club

† Denotes seasons in which Lewis won a BRL premiership
Season Team Matches T G F/G Pts
1978 Fortitude Valley 22 10 0 0 30
1979† Fortitude Valley 20 19 0 1 58
1980 Fortitude Valley 21 16 2 0 52
1981 Fortitude Valley 18 11 0 1 34
1982 Fortitude Valley 15 5 0 2 17
1983 Fortitude Valley 15 10 9 0 58
1983-84 Wakefield Trinity 10 6 0 0 24
1984† Wynnum-Manly 17 11 0 0 44
1985 Wynnum-Manly 16 7 0 2 30
1986† Wynnum-Manly 14 6 8 0 40
1987 Wynnum-Manly 8 2 1 0 10
1988 Brisbane 19 15 8 0 76
1989 Brisbane 18 4 2 0 20
1990 Brisbane 9 1 1 0 6
1991 Gold Coast 14 3 2 0 16
1992 Gold Coast 20 3 1 0 14
Career totals 301 155 45 12 654[a]

References

  1. ^ Rugby League Project
  2. ^ "Rugby League Project Coaches". Archived from the original on 7 December 2017. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  3. ^ Walter, Brad (3 August 2005). "Let Joey go for the good of the game". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 30 April 2007.
  4. ^ Crawford, Sarah (13 December 2009). "King Wally upstages even Santa". Sunshine Coast Daily. APN News & Media Ltd. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
  5. ^ Tsitouris, Helen (21 July 2007). "Wally Lewis's waiting game". The Sunday Mail. Queensland Newspapers. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
  6. ^ a b c Strutt, Sam (11 January 2007). "Can surgery save Wally Lewis?". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 29 April 2007.
  7. ^ "Wally Lewis". Australian Honours Database. Retrieved 29 April 2007.
  8. ARL. 23 February 2008. Archived from the original
    on 26 February 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2008.
  9. ^ Cassidy, Peter (23 February 2008). "Controversy reigns as NRL releases top 100 players". Macquarie National News. Archived from the original on 25 February 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2008.
  10. ^ Balym, Todd (17 April 2008). "Johns, Meninga among Immortals". Fox Sports Australia. Archived from the original on 7 September 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2008.
  11. ARL. 17 April 2008. Archived from the original
    on 21 May 2010. Retrieved 17 April 2008.
  12. ^ Ricketts, Steve (10 June 2008). "Locky named No.1 but Wal's still King". The Courier-Mail. Archived from the original on 2 July 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2009.
  13. ^ "King Wally becomes a Legend as Michelle Payne rides off with the 'The Don'". Sport Australia Hall of Fame website. 14 October 2016. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  14. ^ Bligh, Anna (10 June 2009). "Premier Unveils Queensland's 150 Icons". Queensland Government. Archived from the original on 24 May 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  15. ^ "2011 Queensland Greats recipients". Queensland Government. Archived from the original on 31 May 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
  16. ISBN 9780702234101
    .
  17. ISBN 9781864033618
    .
  18. ISBN 9780702233838
    .
  19. ^ Ella, Mark (24 November 2012). "Follow the Australian Schoolboys' advice: don't kick the ball". The Australian. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  20. ^ "Hell's Kitchen Australia". www.tvnz.co.nz. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  21. ^ Sean Fagan. "Wally Lewis - Rugby League Hall of Fame". rl1908.com. Archived from the original on 7 February 2010. Retrieved 15 May 2011.
  22. ^ "Measuring Worth - Relative Value of UK Pounds". Measuring Worth. 31 December 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
  23. ^ Durkin, Tony (21 March 184). "KOUGARI'S KAMIKAZES". Rugby League Week. Bauer Media Group. p. 30.
  24. ^ "Sport digest". The Sydney Morning Herald. 19 April 1984. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  25. ISBN 9780994580269
    .
  26. ISBN 9780994580269
    .
  27. ^ Tait, Paul (28 February 1986). "Now Abbot attacks Fearnley". The Sydney Morning Herald. Australia. p. 31. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  28. Commonwealth of Australia Gazette. Special
    . No. S117. Australia. 8 June 1987. p. 1. Retrieved 29 July 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  29. ^ "QUEEN'S BIRTHDAY HONOURS LIST 1987". The Canberra Times. Vol. 61, no. 18, 875. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 8 June 1987. p. 8. Retrieved 29 July 2022 – via National Library of Australia.
  30. ^ Headon, David (October 1999). "Up From the Ashes: The Phoenix of a Rugby League Literature" (PDF). Football Studies Volume 2, Issue 2. Football Studies Group. Retrieved 7 July 2009.
  31. ^ "Wally Lewis". Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  32. ^ "O'Connor helps set Test records". The Age. 21 July 1988. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
  33. ISBN 9780702235368
    .
  34. ^ "Custom Match List". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 7 July 2011.
  35. ^ Dekroo, Karl (9 May 2007). "Still the king". The Courier-Mail. Australia: Queensland Newspapers. Archived from the original on 12 May 2007. Retrieved 8 December 2009.
  36. ^ Murdoch, Alex (4 December 2009). "Greg Inglis caps off stellar season with award". The courier Mail. Australia: Queensland Newspapers. Retrieved 5 December 2009.
  37. ^ Webster, Andrew (April 2004). "A few Drinks with Ray Warren Inside Sport". Retrieved 3 July 2009.
  38. ISBN 9780702234101
    .
  39. ^ Sarno, Tony (9 August 1992). "The King abdicates with a whimper, not a bang". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 39. Retrieved 6 October 2009.
  40. ^ Rothfield, Phil (26 May 2010). "Phil Rothfield names his 50 greatest Origin players". The Daily Telegraph. Australia: Herald and Weekly Times. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
  41. ISBN 9780733627743
    .
  42. ISBN 9780975770412
    . Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  43. ^ "Lincoln Lewis spills on father Wally's messy and public marriage split". 21 May 2021.
  44. ^ a b c "King Wally Lewis' tell-all book". The Daily Telegraph. 20 September 2009. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  45. ^ Edwards, Amy; Beaumont, Anita (22 June 2007). "Home or away he's marooned". Newcastle Herald. Fairfax Media. p. 14. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  46. ^ "Wally Lewis hopes to be at Origin after surgery". Nova FM. Archived from the original on 20 February 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  47. ^ "Rugby league legend Wally Lewis recovering after surgery". Herald-Sun. AAP. 23 May 2010. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  48. ^ [1][dead link]
  49. ^ Martin, Dan (17 May 2012). BTQ7 Seven Nightly News & Today Tonight (QLD) January 27, 1998. YouTube. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
  50. ^ McKnight, Robert (23 January 2023). "EXCLUSIVE – WALLY LEWIS steps down as sports presenter of 9NEWS Queensland – effective immediately". TV Blackbox. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  51. ^ "Wally Lewis on leave after on-air mishap". ABC News. 1 December 2006. Retrieved 29 April 2007.
  52. ^ "Wally Lewis reveals he has epilepsy". AAP. The Age. 1 December 2006. Retrieved 29 April 2007.
  53. ^ "King Wally's brain surgery a success". ABC News. 21 February 2007. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
  54. ^ Connolly, Steve (29 January 2007). "League great Lewis back on air". AAP. news.com.au. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
  55. ^ Koch, Dan (7 September 2007). "The King back at his desk". The Australian. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  56. ^ "Hear and Say Centre Board Members". Hear and Say Centre. Archived from the original on 29 August 2007. Retrieved 29 April 2007.

Notes

  1. ^ Tries were only worth three points until 1983.

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wally Lewis.
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Graham Lowe
1991–1992
 Coach

Queensland
1993–1994 		Succeeded by
Paul Vautin
1995–1997
Preceded by
Mal Clift

1991
 Coach
Gold Coast Seagulls

1992–1993 		Succeeded by
John Harvey
1994–1995
Preceded by Captain
Gold Coast Seagulls

1991–1992 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
team created
 Captain

Brisbane Broncos
1988–1989 		Succeeded by
Gene Miles
1990–1991
Preceded by
Des Morris
1981-1985
 Coach

Wynnum-Manly
1986–1987 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
David Green
1983-1985
 Captain

Wynnum-Manly
1986–1987 		Succeeded by
Doug Belford
1988
Preceded by
Max Krilich
1982-1983
Australia

1984–1989 		Succeeded by
Mal Meninga
1990-1994
Preceded by Captain

Fortitude Valley
1982–1983 		Succeeded by
Russell Klein
1984
Preceded by Captain

Queensland
1981–1991 		Succeeded by
Mal Meninga
1992–1994
Media offices
Preceded by
Sean Lawson
Ian Healy
 Nine News Queensland
Weeknight sports presenter
1998–2006
2009–2023 		Succeeded by
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