Garry Jack

The 'Golden Boot' awarded to Garry Jack as the finest league player in the world in 1987 is a good measure of the standing he attained during his career. The dashing, snowy-haired fullback trialled with Wests on the recommendation of his Wests Wollongong coach Paul Sait in 1981 and, after playing the latter part of the season in first grade, he was signed by Balmain secretary Keith Barnes. Aggressive, fast and safe under pressure Jack was seen at his best running the ball back strongly and breaking the first line of defence. He made his State of Origin debut in 1984 and was selected in the three Test series against Great Britain. For the next four years Jack was the No.1 fullback in the world, missing only the First Test on the tour of NZ in 1985. Jack played in all nine Tests in 1986 (NZ, Papua New Guinea, GB and France on the Kangaroo tour) and was the first Australian fullback to score three tries in a Test (against France in the Second Test at Carcassonne). He stayed on to play for Salford after the tour but although he represented NSW and Australia in 1987 he stood down from the State of Origin match in Los Angeles. After playing in Australia's World Cup victory in NZ the following year Jack’s Test career suddenly ended. An unhappy State of Origin match in 1989 saw him announce his retirement from rep football, leaving the way for Canberra’s Gary Belcher to assume the role. After the disappointment of grand final losses in 1988-89 with the Tigers, Jack tried to regain his place in the rep teams but found the door firmly closed. Signing with Salford he was still in great form when he quit the Tigers at the end of 1992 having surpassed Keith Barnes' record for first grade matches (since surpassed by Ben Elias and Paul Sironen). Accepting a manager-coach position with Salford Jack was relieved of the coaching duties before being sacked as manager of the club in early 1995. He returned to the Tigers that year to play the final season of his career but was back in the news in 1999 when he sued former Manly forward Ian Roberts for injuries suffered after an altercation in a match in 1991.

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 icon.

International
Test Matches - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Australia	1984-88	21	11	-				-	44	18	3	0	85.71%
Overall	1984-1988	21	11	0				0	44	18	3	0	85.71%
International Matches - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Australia	1984-1988	1	-	-				-	-	1	0	0	100.00%
Overall	1988	1	0	0				0	-	1	0	0	100.00%
World Cup Matches - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Australia	1984-1988	8	5	-				-	20	6	2	0	75.00%
Overall	1985-1988	8	5	0				0	20	6	2	0	75.00%
Representative
Australia - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
New South Wales	1984-89	17	1	-				-	4	7	10	0	41.18%
NSW City Firsts	1984-85	2	-	-				-	-	2	0	0	100.00%
NSW Country Firsts	1986	1	-	-				-	-	0	1	0	0.00%
NSW Country	1987	1	-	-				-	-	0	1	0	0.00%
Overall	1984-1989	21	1	0				0	4	9	12	0	42.86%
Club Career
Australian League Matches - By Year
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Western Suburbs	NSWRFL 1981	5	1	-				-	3	2	3	0	40.00%
Balmain	NSWRFL 1982	21	7	-				-	21	10	11	0	47.62%
Balmain	NSWRFL 1983	25	7	-				1	29	15	10	0	60.00%
Balmain	NSWRL 1984	20	8	-				-	32	10	10	0	50.00%
Balmain	NSWRL 1985	18	8	-				-	32	11	7	0	61.11%
Balmain	NSWRL 1986	24	10	-				-	40	14	10	0	58.33%
Balmain	NSWRL 1987	20	3	-				-	12	12	7	1	60.00%
Balmain	NSWRL 1988	23	4	-				-	16	16	7	0	69.57%
Balmain	NSWRL 1989	17	2	-				-	8	11	5	1	64.71%
Balmain	NSWRL 1990	19	4	1	/	1	100.00%	-	18	13	6	0	68.42%
Balmain	NSWRL 1991	21	2	0	/	1	0.00%	-	8	8	12	1	38.10%
Balmain	NSWRL 1992	22	3	-				-	12	10	11	1	45.45%
Sydney Tigers	ARL 1995	13	2	-				-	8	4	9	0	30.77%
Overall	1981-1995	248	61	1				1	239	136	108	4	54.84%
Australian League Matches - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Western Suburbs	1981	5	1	-				-	3	2	3	0	40.00%
Balmain	1982-92, 1995	243	60	1				1	236	134	105	4	55.14%
Overall	1981-1995	248	61	1				1	239	136	108	4	54.84%
Australian Finals Matches - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Balmain	1982-1990	15	2	-				-	8	7	8	0	46.67%
Overall	1983-1990	15	2	0				0	8	7	8	0	46.67%
English League Career - By Year
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Salford	Championship 1987/88	?	2	-				-	8
Sheffield Eagles	Championship 1992/93	?	5	1				-	22
Salford	Championship 1993/94	?	10	-				-	40
Overall	1987-1994	?	20	1				0	82	?	?	?	?
English League Career - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Salford	1987-88, 1993-94	?	13	-				-	52	?	?	?	?
Sheffield Eagles	1992-93	?	7	1				-	30	?	?	?	?
Overall	1987-1994	?	20	1				0	82	?	?	?	?

Last modified: Thu, 14 Jan 2021 06:05:14 +1100 (Sydney time)