Noel Cleal

Powerhouse centre/second row forward, originally from Warialda, first came to prominence playing on the wing for Northern Division against Great Britain in 1979. With his much-travelled, look-alike brother Les, Noel Cleal had already captain-coached Wondai to a premiership in Queensland, represented Wide Bay and then NSW Country while playing for Scone. ‘Crusher’ Cleal came to Easts from Sawtell in 1980 and was a centre in the club’s grand final loss to Canterbury. He later followed coach Bob Fulton to Manly in 1983, after Fulton had moved him to the second row. Following another grand final loss (against P’matta) his rep career took off in the mid-1980s. Cleal represented NSW in 1984 and was runner-up in that year's Rothmans Medal competition. He made his Test debut against NZ the following year and after a stint with Widens (1985-86) played in three Tests against Papua New Guinea and Great Britain on the 1986 Kangaroo tour before breaking his arm and returning home. While not as effective in defence, Cleal was given latitude by his coaches to use his strength and size in attack. He played in Manly's grand final success in 1987 before seeing out the remainder of his career with English club Hull. Cleal was the English club's choice as replacement coach in 1990 but despite winning the British premiership trophy in 1991, he was sacked when the club faltered the following year. Returning to Australia, Cleal was snapped up by P’matta as a junior development and recruitment officer. In 2004 he took on a similar role with Manly – a season which saw his son Kane make his first grade debut with the club.

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	1985-86	8	3	-				-	12	8	0	0	100.00%
Overall	1985-1986	8	3	0				0	12	8	0	0	100.00%
World Cup Matches - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Australia	1985-1986	2	2	-				-	8	2	0	0	100.00%
Overall	1986	2	2	0				0	8	2	0	0	100.00%
Representative
Australia - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
NSW Firsts	1981	1	-	-				-	-	1	0	0	100.00%
New South Wales	1984-88	12	3	-				-	12	8	4	0	66.67%
NSW City Firsts	1984	1	1	-				-	4	1	0	0	100.00%
NSW Country Firsts	1985-86	2	1	-				-	4	0	2	0	0.00%
NSW Country	1987	1	1	-				-	4	0	1	0	0.00%
Overall	1981-1988	17	6	0				0	24	10	7	0	58.82%
Club Career
Australian League Matches - By Year
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Eastern Suburbs	NSWRFL 1980	25	8	1				-	26	15	8	2	60.00%
Eastern Suburbs	NSWRFL 1981	18	10	-				-	30	11	7	0	61.11%
Eastern Suburbs	NSWRFL 1982	27	8	-				-	24	17	8	2	62.96%
Manly Warringah	NSWRFL 1983	24	11	-				-	44	20	4	0	83.33%
Manly Warringah	NSWRL 1984	23	10	-				-	40	14	9	0	60.87%
Manly Warringah	NSWRL 1985	20	7	1				-	30	11	8	1	55.00%
Manly Warringah	NSWRL 1986	21	5	9	/	13	69.23%	-	38	12	9	0	57.14%
Manly Warringah	NSWRL 1987	15	7	-				-	28	13	2	0	86.67%
Manly Warringah	NSWRL 1988	21	3	-				-	12	14	7	0	66.67%
Manly Warringah	NSWRL 1989	4	-	-				-	-	1	3	0	25.00%
Overall	1980-1989	198	69	11				0	272	128	65	5	64.65%
Australian League Matches - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Eastern Suburbs	1980-82	70	26	1				-	80	43	23	4	61.43%
Manly Warringah	1983-89	128	43	10				-	192	85	42	1	66.41%
Overall	1980-1989	198	69	11				0	272	128	65	5	64.65%
Australian Finals Matches - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Eastern Suburbs	1980-82	8	1	-				-	3	3	5	0	37.50%
Manly Warringah	1983-84, 1986-88	7	1	3				-	10	3	4	0	42.86%
Overall	1980-1988	15	2	3				0	13	6	9	0	40.00%
English League Career - By Year
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Widnes	Championship 1985/86	?	2	-				-	8
Hull FC	Championship 1989/90	?	8	-				-	32
Hull FC	Championship 1990/91	?	3	-				-	12
Overall	1985-1991	?	20	0				0	80	?	?	?	?
English League Career - By Team
Team	Years	App	T	G			GK %	FG	Pts	W	L	D	Win %
Widnes	1985-86	?	8	-				-	32	?	?	?	?
Hull FC	1989-91	?	12	-				-	48	?	?	?	?
Overall	1985-1991	?	20	0				0	80	?	?	?	?

Last modified: Wed, 23 Sep 2020 13:07:42 +1000 (Sydney time)