Gary Belcher

Regarded as one of the finest attacking fullbacks of the modern era, Belcher's ability to chime into the attack was first noticed when he was a member of Brisbane Souths’ premiership-winning team in 1985. The following year he moved to Canberra with teammate Mal Meninga, making his State of Origin debut before being chosen for the 1986 Kangaroo tour. Belcher was understudy to Garry Jack on tour, playing in 10 matches (no Tests). In 1987 he was a member of the Raiders' side that went down to Manly in the grand final. With Queensland achieving a 3-nil whitewash in 1988, Belcher got his chance against Great Britain, making his debut in the Centenary Anglo-Australian Test. While his time with Castleford in 1988-89 was disappointing, Belcher went on to play in 15 consecutive Tests against all rugby league nations. In 1988 he was the season's top point-scorer with 218pts which was also a Canberra club record (since bettered by Clinton Scifcofske in 2001). Belcher's ability to run the ball back confidently and his front-on defence were seen to advantage in Canberra’s premiership victories in 1989-90. Scoring a record 17 tries in a season by a fullback in 1989, he was a try-scorer in the club's magnificent fight-back against Balmain in the grand final. On the 1990 Kangaroo tour Belcher survived the challenge from Greg Alexander and played in all five Tests. Injury interrupted his 1991 season, ruling him out of the Test series against NZ but after taking his place in the club's grand final side, his ultra-competitiveness saw him win back the No.1 fullback spot on the Australian tour of New Guinea. He played in all five matches and top-scored with a modest 32 points but a total knee reconstruction wiped the 1992 season. Belcher returned to State of Origin duty in 1993 but was dropped after Queensland’s 14-10 loss in the first match of the series. With Canberra declining to offer him a new contract, he announced his retirement (on his own sports segment of a Canberra television news program) to concentrate on a media career with Channel 9. He later linked with the Brisbane Broncos as an assistant coach to Wayne Bennett but was sensationally sacked, along with the club’s entire coaching staff, after the disappointing 2005 season.

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	1988-91	15	3	6				-	24	13	2	0	86.67%
Overall	1988-1991	15	3	6				0	24	13	2	0	86.67%
World Cup Matches - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Australia	1988-91	6	1	1				-	6	5	1	0	83.33%
Overall	1988-1991	6	1	1				0	6	5	1	0	83.33%
Representative
Australia - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Queensland	1986-90, 1993	16	5	16				-	52	9	7	0	56.25%
Overall	1986-1993	16	5	16				0	52	9	7	0	56.25%
Club Career
Australian League Matches - By Year
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Canberra	NSWRL 1986	21	11	0	/	3	0.00%	-	44	8	12	1	38.10%
Canberra	NSWRL 1987	25	8	32	/	55	58.18%	-	96	16	9	0	64.00%
Canberra	NSWRL 1988	22	10	89	/	130	68.46%	-	218	13	9	0	59.09%
Canberra	NSWRL 1989	19	17	7	/	14	50.00%	-	82	15	4	0	78.95%
Canberra	NSWRL 1990	23	13	10	/	14	71.43%	-	72	16	6	1	69.57%
Canberra	NSWRL 1991	15	6	5	/	6	83.33%	-	34	9	6	0	60.00%
Canberra	NSWRL 1992	1	-	5	/	6	83.33%	-	10	1	0	0	100.00%
Canberra	NSWRL 1993	22	4	0	/	1	0.00%	-	16	14	7	1	63.64%
Overall	1986-1993	148	69	148	/	229	64.63%	0	572	92	53	3	62.16%
Australian League Matches - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Canberra	1986-93	148	69	148	/	229	64.63%	-	572	92	53	3	62.16%
Overall	1986-1993	148	69	148	/	229	64.63%	0	572	92	53	3	62.16%
Australian Finals Matches - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Canberra	1986-1993	19	8	17				-	66	11	8	0	57.89%
Overall	1987-1993	19	8	17				0	66	11	8	0	57.89%
All Australian Club Matches - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Canberra	1986-93	149	69	148				-	572	92	54	3	61.74%
Overall	1986-1993	149	69	148				0	572	92	54	3	61.74%
English League Career - By Year
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Castleford	Championship 1988/89	?	1	-				-	4
Overall	1988-1989	?	5	0				1	21	?	?	?	?
English League Career - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Castleford	1988-89	?	5	-				1	21	?	?	?	?
Overall	1988-1989	?	5	0				1	21	?	?	?	?

Last modified: Fri, 16 Apr 2021 20:28:00 +1000 (Sydney time)