Dale Shearer

Versatile backline player proved his value at fullback, wing and centre at Test, state and with several clubs during an eventful career. Shearer came to Manly from Sarina, near Mackay in Nth Queensland, in 1985 and after a strong start to the season made his State of Origin debut as a winger. In 1986 he played his first Test (against NZ) and toured with the Kangaroos at year’s end. On tour, Shearer scored 12 tries in 13 matches and played in two Tests against Great Britain and two against France. He also played for Widnes in 1987, the year Manly won the premiership, but despite four Test appearances during the next two years his relationship with the Sea Eagles soured. In 1989 Shearer was at the centre of legal action when he took up club secretary Doug Daley's alleged offer for any player to quit the club if they were unhappy, only to be told that the offer had been revoked. Coach Graham Lowe released him from his contract and although Shearer had a mixed year with the Broncos, he appeared in all 7 Tests that year which included a second Kangaroo Tour. Shearer’s form in Australia's 24-8 loss to NZ in Melbourne in 1991 was well below par and it at first appeared that his international career may be over. Released by Brisbane due to salary cap restrictions, Shearer signed with the G’Coast in 1992 and despite a knee injury threatening to end his career, he was one of Queensland’s best players at fullback in the State of Origin series. He was selected as a centre in the Australian Test teams against Great Britain but was ruled unfit before each of the three matches. The following year Shearer again starred for Queensland and was Australia's fullback in three Tests against NZ. An inconsistent performer at club level, G’Coast got little value from him in 1994 and he proved to be one of the modern game's most fickle 'guns for hire' when he signed on with the South Queensland Crushers for their debut season in 1995. However, Shearer showed that he was not a spent force when he scored a hat-trick of tries against P’matta in his first match after a nine-month lay-off through injury. Shearer proved his experience when selected in a nondescript Queensland side in 1995 at the height of Super League defections and was a late call-up to his State at five-eighth in 1996. After a season with Easts, Shearer was enjoying good form with his sixth club when he was sacked for disciplinary reasons by the North Queensland midway through the 1998 season.