Peter Tunks

Playing Career

Vital Statistics

Born
Saturday, 30th August, 1958
Current Age
66 years and 64 days
Place Of Birth
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Honours & Awards

Based only on data available in the RLP database. This information should be used as a guide only.

World Cup
1985/1988
Test Series
Australia vs New Zealand 1985, Australia vs New Zealand 1986
State of Origin
1987, 1985, 1986
NSWRL Premiership (NRL)
1984, 1985, 1988
Preseason Cup
1978
Midweek Cup
1981

Biography

Easts junior trialed with both Easts and Manly before being graded by Souths in the late 1970s. A tough, no-nonsense prop Peter Tunks toiled for seven seasons with the Rabbitohs, (overcoming bouts of hepatitis and glandular fever in 1979), before achieving success with C’bury. A member of the Bulldogs’ teams that won premierships in 1984-85 Tunks played in 6 Tests for Australia (each against NZ) but declined to tour with the 1986 Kangaroos due to business commitments. Tunks captained Leeds in 1987-88 and was Phil Gould's choice as captain following the standing down of Steve Mortimer in 1988. After leading the club to a grand final win over Balmain that year, Tunks later followed Gould to Penrith in 1990. Injuries relegated him to reserve grade with the Panthers and he decided to see out his career in English club football. Tunks played with Salford and Sheffield Eagles (both 1990) before taking on a captain-coach role with Oldham. Tunks' brief in England was clear - avoid relegation at all costs - but with the club languishing at the bottom of the league table he resigned in February 1994 and was replaced by Bob Lindner.
- 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   Comp Wins App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
World Cup 1 2 - -   - - 1 1 0 50.00% List
Tour Matches Australia - 4 - -   - - 3 1 0 75.00% List
Test Series 2 5 - -   - - 4 1 0 80.00% List
State of Origin 3 9 1 -   - 4 6 3 0 66.67% List
City vs Country - 3 - -   - - 3 0 0 100.00% List
City vs Country Firsts - 2 - -   - - 2 0 0 100.00% List
NSWRFL/NSWRL Premiership (NRL) 3 233 42 -   - 146 133 90 10 57.08% List
NSWRFL/NSWRL Finals - 13 2 -   - 8 10 3 0 76.92% List
Challenge Cup - 5 1 -   - 4 3 2 0 60.00% List
English Championship - 26 3 -   - 12 10 12 4 38.46% List
Regal Trophy - 5 - -   - - 4 1 0 80.00% List
Yorkshire Cup - 3 1 -   - 4 2 1 0 66.67% List
Lancashire Cup - 1 - -   - - 1 0 0 100.00% List
Preseason Cup 1 7 2 -   - 6 4 3 0 57.14% List
Midweek Cup 1 25 4 -   - 13 15 7 3 60.00% List
Challenge Cup AU - 7 - -   - - 5 2 0 71.43% List
UK Second Division - 7 1 -   - 4 7 0 0 100.00% List


International

Test Matches - By Team

Team Years   App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Australia 1985-87   6 - -   - - 4 2 0 66.67% List

World Cup Matches - By Team

Team Years   App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Australia 1985-86   2 - -   - - 1 1 0 50.00% List


Representative

Australia - By Team

Team Years   App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
NSW 1981, 1984-87   9 1 -   - 4 6 3 0 66.67% List
NSW City Seconds 1984   1 1 -   - 4 0 1 0 0.00% List
NSW City Firsts 1985-86   2 - -   - - 2 0 0 100.00% List
NSW City 1987-89   3 - -   - - 3 0 0 100.00% List
Overall1981-1989   15 2 0   0 8 11 4 0 73.33% List


Club Career

NSWRFL/NSWRL Premiership (NRL) - By Year

Team Season   App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
South Sydney NSWRFL 1977   4 1 -   - 3 0 4 0 0.00% List
South Sydney NSWRFL 1978   19 2 -   - 6 10 8 1 52.63% List
South Sydney NSWRFL 1979   5 1 -   - 3 1 4 0 20.00% List
South Sydney NSWRFL 1980   16 5 -   - 15 8 8 0 50.00% List
South Sydney NSWRFL 1981   21 8 -   - 24 8 12 1 38.10% List
South Sydney 1982 Winfield Cup   21 5 -   - 15 12 8 1 57.14% List
South Sydney NSWRFL 1983 Winfield Cup   16 5 -   - 20 7 8 1 43.75% List
Canterbury NSWRL 1984 Winfield Cup   24 5 -   - 20 20 4 0 83.33% List
Canterbury NSWRL 1985 Winfield Cup   19 3 -   - 12 13 4 2 68.42% List
Canterbury NSWRL 1986 Winfield Cup   16 4 -   - 16 9 6 1 56.25% List
Canterbury NSWRL 1987 Winfield Cup   17 - -   - - 12 5 0 70.59% List
Canterbury NSWRL 1988 Winfield Cup   21 3 -   - 12 17 4 0 80.95% List
Canterbury NSWRL 1989 Winfield Cup   22 - -   - - 10 10 2 45.45% List
Penrith NSWRL 1990 Winfield Cup   12 - -   - - 6 5 1 50.00% List

NSWRFL/NSWRL Premiership (NRL) - By Team

Team Years   App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
South Sydney 1977-83   102 27 -   - 86 46 52 4 45.10% List
Canterbury 1984-89   119 15 -   - 60 81 33 5 68.07% List
Penrith 1990   12 - -   - - 6 5 1 50.00% List
Overall1977-1990   233 42 0   0 146 133 90 10 57.08% List

English Career - By Year

Team Season   App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Leeds 1987/88   24 4 -   - 16 15 6 3 62.50% List
Salford 1990/91   8 1 -   - 4 8 0 0 100.00% List
Sheffield 1990/91   15 1 -   - 4 4 10 1 26.67% List

English Career - By Team

Team Years   App T G   GK % FG Pts W L D Win %  
Leeds 1987   24 4 -   - 16 15 6 3 62.50% List
Salford 1990   8 1 -   - 4 8 0 0 100.00% List
Sheffield 1990   15 1 -   - 4 4 10 1 26.67% List
Overall1987-1991   47 6 0   0 24 27 16 4 57.45% List

Your Say

  • Graeme Hobbs
    23/05/2011

    My question is not ruby league related. I remember Peter Tunks had a wine bar in Randwick. I would like to know the name of that wine bar to settle a bet please.

  • Anonymous
    29/06/2012

    Tunks had a bar in Randwick in the 1980s named Baxters.

  • Costa
    26/10/2017

    One of the best prop forwards of the 80s. Always remembered for his powerhouse performances in the great Bulldogs side who had the best forward pack of the 80s.

  • Paul Carter
    14/05/2020

    You can hear him on Talkinsport on 2SM between 3:00 and 6:00 pm from Monday to Wednesday.

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

Contributions: Rugby League Tables, Paul Carter, Greg Fiveash, Andrew Ferguson, Shawn Dollin, AJ Lucantonio, Alan Katzmann, Steven Russo, Max Turner, Bill Bates, Tim Costello

Sources: David Middleton's Rugby League Yearbook (1987-88 to present), Match Video, Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook (1981-82 to 1999), Irvin Saxton's Record Keepers' Club, Newspapers