Malcolm Reilly

Playing Career

Vital Statistics

Born
Monday, 19th January, 1948
Current Age
76 years and 59 days

Awards & Accolades

Lance Todd Trophy
1969
English Hall Of Fame
2014

Biography

Fiery, superbly gifted Great Britain lock, had a tumultuous career with Manly before returning to Australia in the 1990s to find grand final success as coach of Newcastle. Reilly was the spearhead in Great Britain's Ashes win in Australia in 1970 and his services were quickly snapped up by Manly for the then record transfer fee of $30,000. The Castleford forward immediately created headlines. Reilly was a magnificent ball-player with a great chip-kick but was not backward in his clashes with his opponents and his aggression did not endear him to all Australian fans. He was sent off on several controversial occasions and was constantly troubled by knee problems but there was no denying his genius with the ball. Reilly played in Manly's maiden grand final win in 1972 but lasted only 25 minutes of the 1973 decider after suffering a kidney injury after being hit with a late tackle. At the end of 1975, Manly opted to sign his Castleford 'clone', Steve Norton, but Reilly continued playing in England until he was 36. After his retirement, he started a successful career as Great Britain coach and proved himself to be thoroughly professional and progressive. In three Test series against Australia under his coaching, Great Britain managed to win a Test against the reigning world champions but the Ashes eluded him during his coaching career. In 1994, Reilly relinquished his position at Halifax to come to Australia and take on that role with Newcastle. In 1995, at the height of the Super League war, he was signed by the ARL to a five-year loyalty agreement. Two years later, he orchestrated Newcastle’s miraculous last-minute win over Manly in the Optus Cup grand final. 1998 proved to be his final season in Australia, returning to England because of family commitments.
- ALAN WHITICKER

Playing Career Statistics

All statistics shown in this section are based only on data available in the RLP database, and are not necessarily a complete and/or 100% accurate representation of a player's career. This information should be used as a guide only. If you see a question mark (?), it denotes that the figure is not available.

To view a list of corresponding matches, click on the List button.

Competitions

Competition   App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
European Championship 3 - -   - - 1 2 0 33.33% List
Tour Matches Great Britain 13 3 1   - 11 12 1 0 92.31% List
Test Series 6 1 -   - 3 5 1 0 83.33% List
The Ashes 3 - -   - - 2 1 0 66.67% List
World Cup 3 - -   - - 2 1 0 66.67% List
Craven Mild Cup 6 2 -   - 6 4 1 1 66.67% List
NRL 89 13 1   - 41 66 21 2 74.16% List
NRL Finals 9 - -   - - 4 5 0 44.44% List
National Panasonic Cup 2 1 1   - 5 2 0 0 100.00% List
Yorkshire Cup 7 3 1   - 12 6 1 0 85.71% List
English Championship 41 2 -   1 7 22 18 1 53.66% List
Regal Trophy 3 - -   - - 3 0 0 100.00% List
Challenge Cup 5 1 -   - 3 2 3 0 40.00% List
Premiership Trophy 1 - -   - - 0 1 0 0.00% List


International

Test Matches - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Great Britain 1970 9 1 -   - 3 7 2 0 77.78% List
England 1970, 1977 3 - -   - - 1 2 0 33.33% List
Overall1970-1977 12 1 0   0 3 8 4 0 66.67% List

World Cup Matches - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Great Britain 1970 3 - -   - - 2 1 0 66.67% List


Club Career

NRL/NSWRL - By Year

Team Season App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Manly NSWRFL 1971 14 2 -   - 6 10 4 0 71.43% List
Manly NSWRFL 1972 22 4 -   - 12 19 2 1 86.36% List
Manly NSWRFL 1973 19 4 1   - 14 16 2 1 84.21% List
Manly NSWRFL 1974 16 - -   - - 9 7 0 56.25% List
Manly NSWRFL 1975 18 3 -   - 9 12 6 0 66.67% List

NRL/NSWRL - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Manly 1971-75 89 13 1   - 41 66 21 2 74.16% List

English Career - By Year

Team Season App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Castleford 1980/81 25 4 1   1 15 16 8 1 64.00% List
Castleford 1981/82 14 1 -   - 3 7 7 0 50.00% List
Castleford 1982/83 6 - -   - - 4 2 0 66.67% List
Castleford 1983/84 9 1 -   - 4 5 4 0 55.56% List
Castleford 1984/85 2 - -   - - 1 1 0 50.00% List
Castleford 1985/86 1 - -   - - 0 1 0 0.00% List

English Career - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Castleford 1980-85 57 6 1   1 22 33 23 1 57.89% List

Your Say

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Contributions: Greg Fiveash, Andrew Ferguson, Shawn Dollin, Rugby League Tables, Alan Katzmann, Paul Carter, Bill Bates, AJ Lucantonio

Sources: Irvin Saxton's Record Keepers' Club, Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1981-82, Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1983-84, Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1985-86, Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1982-83, Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1986-87, Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1984-85