Gavin Miller

  • Playing Career

Playing Career

Vital Statistics

Full Name
Gavin John Miller
Born
Monday, 4th January, 1960
Current Age
64 years and 74 days
Place Of Birth
Inverell, New South Wales, Australia

Awards & Accolades

Man Of Steel Award
1986
Dally M Player Of The Year
1988, 1989
Dally M Second Rower Of The Year
1988, 1989
RLW Player of the Year
1989
Rothmans Medal
1989

Biography

The Sydney career of Gavin Miller can be viewed in two halves punctuated by a highly successful stint in England with Hull KR. Miller was a boom 18-year-old centre when he came to Wests from Goulburn on the recommendation of his coach (former Magpie forward) Jim Cody in 1977. However, his career faltered when he moved to Easts in 1978. Joining Cronulla, Miller represented NSW in two matches in 1983 but he did not fulfill his potential and it looked like a case of too much too soon for the talented ball-player. After a poor season with Easts in 1984, he joined Hull KR where he developed his considerable talents. In 1985-1986 he was named Player of the Year in the English Club Championship. Returning to Sydney to resume his career with the Sharks, it was a more mature, experienced player that helped the club to the minor premiership in 1988. That year Miller made his only Test appearance, against Papua New Guinea, but was also selected in the international match against the Rest of the World (a man-of-the-match performance), for Oceania against Great Britain and in the World Cup final in NZ. He was named ‘Dally M’ Player of the Year in consecutive years (1988-89) as well as Second Rower of the Year (1988-89) and Players' Player (1988). Miller's good form continued at club level but his representative career faltered when, as captain of NSW, the Blues were whitewashed 3-nil in 1989. However, on a personal level, the year was a success; he was a joint winner of the Rothmans Medal (with Mark Sargent) and 'Dally M' Player of the Year (as well as winning several other major awards), but he was continually overlooked for Test duty. Miller retired at the end of 1992 season, relegated to reserve grade but with his old skills still sparking, and took on a captain-coach position at Goulburn.
- 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 %  
NRL 222 14 1   1 51 107 108 7 48.20% List
National Panasonic Cup 5 4 -   - 12 2 3 0 40.00% List
State of Origin 5 - -   - - 1 4 0 20.00% List
English Championship 64 16 -   - 64 39 24 1 60.94% List
Regal Trophy 13 3 -   - 12 11 1 1 84.62% List
Challenge Cup 15 4 -   - 16 10 4 1 66.67% List
Yorkshire Cup 8 4 -   - 16 6 1 1 75.00% List
Tour Matches Hull Kingston Rovers 1 - -   - - 0 1 0 0.00% List
Premiership Trophy 1 - -   - - 0 1 0 0.00% List
Tour Matches Australia 1 1 -   - 4 1 0 0 100.00% List
World Cup 2 2 -   - 8 2 0 0 100.00% List
NRL Finals 3 - -   - - 0 3 0 0.00% List
City vs Country 1 - -   - - 0 1 0 0.00% List
Tooheys Challenge Cup 2 - -   - - 0 2 0 0.00% List


International

Test Matches - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Australia 1988 2 2 -   - 8 2 0 0 100.00% List

International Matches - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Australia 1988 1 - -   - - 1 0 0 100.00% List
Rest Of The World 1988 1 - -   - - 0 1 0 0.00% List
Overall1988 2 0 0   0 - 1 1 0 50.00% List

World Cup Matches - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Australia 1988 2 2 -   - 8 2 0 0 100.00% List


Representative

Australia - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
NSW City Seconds 1980 1 - -   - - 1 0 0 100.00% List
NSW 1983, 1989 5 - -   - - 1 4 0 20.00% List
NSW Country 1989 1 - -   - - 0 1 0 0.00% List
Overall1980-1989 7 0 0   0 - 2 5 0 28.57% List


Club Career

NRL/NSWRL - By Year

Team Season App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Western Suburbs NSWRFL 1977 17 2 1   - 8 4 13 0 23.53% List
Eastern Suburbs NSWRFL 1978 1 - -   - - 1 0 0 100.00% List
Eastern Suburbs NSWRFL 1979 12 - -   - - 6 6 0 50.00% List
Cronulla NSWRFL 1980 13 5 -   - 15 7 6 0 53.85% List
Cronulla NSWRFL 1981 6 - -   - - 2 4 0 33.33% List
Cronulla NSWRFL 1982 16 1 -   - 3 9 7 0 56.25% List
Cronulla NSWRFL 1983 21 - -   1 1 9 12 0 42.86% List
Eastern Suburbs NSWRL 1984 12 - -   - - 3 9 0 25.00% List
Cronulla NSWRL 1986 11 - -   - - 6 4 1 54.55% List
Cronulla NSWRL 1987 17 - -   - - 9 7 1 52.94% List
Cronulla NSWRL 1988 23 3 -   - 12 16 5 2 69.57% List
Cronulla NSWRL 1989 23 1 -   - 4 14 9 0 60.87% List
Cronulla NSWRL 1990 18 2 -   - 8 10 8 0 55.56% List
Cronulla NSWRL 1991 21 - -   - - 8 10 3 38.10% List
Cronulla NSWRL 1992 11 - -   - - 3 8 0 27.27% List

NRL/NSWRL - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Western Suburbs 1977 17 2 1   - 8 4 13 0 23.53% List
Eastern Suburbs 1978-79, 1984 25 - -   - - 10 15 0 40.00% List
Cronulla 1980-83, 1986-92 180 12 -   1 43 93 80 7 51.67% List
Overall1977-1992 222 14 1   1 51 107 108 7 48.20% List

English Career - By Year

Team Season App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Hull KR 1984/85 26 7 -   - 28 23 3 0 88.46% List
Hull KR 1985/86 39 13 -   - 52 25 13 1 64.10% List
Hull KR 1986/87 14 2 -   - 8 9 4 1 64.29% List
Hull KR 1988/89 22 5 -   - 20 9 11 2 40.91% List

English Career - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Hull KR 1984-86, 1988 101 27 -   - 108 66 31 4 65.35% List

Your Say

  • Paul Carter
    24/12/2011

    Miller was the First ever Player Born in the 1960s to play First Grade in the New South Wales Rugby League/Australian Rugby League/Super League/National Rugby League.

  • bondichook
    26/08/2022

    No he wasn't. He retired long before Super League and NRL.

  • Cody Cruickshank
    09/08/2023

    I don't know if many realise this, but he is the only player to have won the Player of the Year/Best & Fairest award in both the Australian and English top grade premierships (Rothmans Medal later the Dally M Medal + Man of Steel Award).

  • Anonymous
    09/01/2024

    Best ball player I've ever seen. Great chemistry with outside backs, along with side step to break the line himself. Most importantly, willing to take hits to put players through gaps. Best player in the nswrl (now NRL) in 1988 & 1989, ahead of legends like Sterling, Lewis & Elias.

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

Sources: NSWRL Rugby League Yearbook 1989-90, Match Video, NSWRL Rugby League Yearbook 1987-88, NSWRL Rugby League Yearbook 1988-89, NSWRL Rugby League Yearbook 1990-91, NSWRL Rugby League Yearbook 1991-92, Newspapers, NSWRL Rugby League Yearbook 1992-93, Irvin Saxton's Record Keepers' Club, Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1986-87, Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1985-86, Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1987-88, Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1989-90