John 'Reebs' Ribot

  • Playing Career

Playing Career

Vital Statistics

Full Name
John Ribot de Bresac
Nickname(s)
Reebs
Born
Thursday, 3rd March, 1955
Current Age
69 years and 26 days
Place Of Birth
Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

Awards & Accolades

Dally M Winger Of The Year
1980, 1982

Biography

The architect of Super League’s attempted take-over of the game in 1995, the former Queensland winger/forward first represented his state in 1977 before coming to Newtown as part of the club's rebuilding program. Playing under his full name, John Ribot de Bresac, he met with only limited success and returned to Brisbane in 1979 after suffering a groin injury. Ribot was thrown a lifeline by Wests and was shifted to the wing by coach Roy Masters. Ribot used his pace and strength to great effect on the flank, representing NSW before making his Test debut against France in 1981. The following year, he signed with Manly and made his State of Origin debut for the Maroons before playing in two Tests against NZ. After the Sea Eagles' grand final loss to P’matta, Ribot was selected on the 'Invincibles' Kangaroo Tour, playing in two Tests, against Papua New Guinea and France. He returned to Brisbane to play for Redcliffe after Manly's 1983 grand final loss but his rep career did not miss a beat. Ribot played in all three Tests against NZ in 1985 and his try in the Second Test in Auckland saved Australia from certain defeat. After his retirement, Ribot became QRL Development Manager and the first Chief Executive of the Brisbane Broncos. While Ribot's talents as an administrator were reflected in the club's success during the 1990s, he was continually at loggerheads with the NSWRL. The turning point was the decision by the NSWRL to sack him from its Premiership Policy Committee in 1993. Ribot found News Ltd a willing participant in forming an elite, rival competition with the Bronco Chief Executive leaving Brisbane to head up the organisation known as Super League. After partially realising his ‘vision’ in getting the competition up and running in 1997, he secured the franchise to form a club in Melbourne. While the Storm won the 1999 grand final in only its second season in existence, Ribot’s single-minded battle for acceptance in an AFL-dominated city eventually saw him resign the post in 2003.
- 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 %  
Interstate Matches 5 2 2   - 10 3 2 0 60.00% List
Tour Matches Queensland Firsts 1 2 1   - 8 0 1 0 0.00% List
NRL 119 78 18   - 283 61 56 2 51.26% List
City vs Country Firsts 3 3 -   - 9 3 0 0 100.00% List
NRL Finals 8 4 -   - 12 4 4 0 50.00% List
Tour Matches Australia 17 20 20   - 100 17 0 0 100.00% List
Test Series 8 5 2   - 19 7 1 0 87.50% List
State of Origin 8 3 -   - 10 4 4 0 50.00% List
The Ashes 1 1 -   - 6 1 0 0 100.00% List
National Panasonic Cup 1 15 12   - 71 1 0 0 100.00% List
World Cup 1 - -   - - 0 1 0 0.00% List


International

Test Matches - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Australia 1981-82, 1985 10 11 2   - 40 9 1 0 90.00% List

World Cup Matches - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Australia 1981-1985 1 - -   - - 0 1 0 0.00% List


Representative

Australia - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
QLD Firsts 1977 3 2 3   - 12 0 3 0 0.00% List
NSW Firsts 1978, 1981 3 2 -   - 6 3 0 0 100.00% List
NSW City Firsts 1978, 1981-82 3 3 -   - 9 3 0 0 100.00% List
QLD 1982-85 8 3 -   - 10 4 4 0 50.00% List
Aus Presidents XIII 1985 1 - -   - - 1 0 0 100.00% List
Overall1977-1985 18 10 3   0 37 11 7 0 61.11% List


Club Career

NRL/NSWRL - By Year

Team Season App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Newtown NSWRFL 1978 17 12 6   - 48 2 14 1 11.76% List
Newtown NSWRFL 1979 14 7 1   - 23 3 11 0 21.43% List
Western Suburbs NSWRFL 1980 17 16 4   - 56 8 9 0 47.06% List
Western Suburbs NSWRFL 1981 19 10 7   - 44 10 8 1 52.63% List
Manly NSWRFL 1982 27 20 -   - 60 18 9 0 66.67% List
Manly NSWRFL 1983 25 13 -   - 52 20 5 0 80.00% List

NRL/NSWRL - By Team

Team Years App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Newtown 1978-79 31 19 7   - 71 5 25 1 16.13% List
Western Suburbs 1980-81 36 26 11   - 100 18 17 1 50.00% List
Manly 1982-83 52 33 -   - 112 38 14 0 73.08% List
Overall1978-1983 119 78 18   0 283 61 56 2 51.26% List

Your Say

Want to have your say about this player? Add a comment.

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