Brett Firman
Encyclopedia
Brett Firman is an Australian former professional rugby league
footballer of the 2000s. He now plays for the Helensburgh Tigers
of the Illawarra Rugby League
. He previously played in the National Rugby League
, primarily in the halves, for the St. George Illawarra Dragons, Sydney Roosters
, North Queensland Cowboys
and Penrith Panthers
.
Firman began his career with the Port Macquarie Sharks, after being discovered by the NRL's Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and then went on to winning a Premier League Grand Final in 2002 for Cronulla before moving to the St George Illawarra Dragons
.
and was in the running for the 2003 Dally M Rookie of the Year award before the awards were cancelled due to industrial action from the Rugby League Players' Association. Firman continued with the Dragons in 2004, but broke his leg playing Premier League in round 3 after being dropped in favour of Mathew Head
. Head impressed many observers, and it became obvious at the end of the season that the Dragons would have to choose between the two players as they could not afford both under the NRL salary cap. The Dragons chose to re-sign Head, despite Firman still having a year on his contract with the club.
for 2005, with coach Ricky Stuart
hoping for him to form a combination with Brett Finch
in order to replace retiring great Brad Fittler
.
The Roosters had a bad start to the year, and Firman was soon dropped to Premier League and was seemingly unwanted by the club. He was released mid-season to join with the Cowboys, where he partnered 2005 Dally M medal winner Johnathan Thurston
in the halves. The Cowboys reached the finals for the second successive year after finishing in 5th position, and despite being beaten 50-6 by the Wests Tigers
in the first week, they beat Melbourne Storm
in the second week, and then the Parramatta Eels
in the preliminary final, with Firman scoring an important try, putting the club in their first ever Grand Final, against the Tigers. Firman played from the interchange bench in the 2005 NRL Grand Final
loss.
over the 2006 offseason after gaining an early release from the North Queensland Cowboys
, he was finally awarded a fulltime contract to play with the Panthers for the 2007 NRL season after the club's second trial match against the Gold Coast Titans on March 3. He has since been released by the Penrith Panthers.
Firmans last club was the Penrith Panthers
in 2007.
The ABC TV
Four Corners program "Code of Silence", broadcast on 11 May 2009, reported the incident, where both Matthew Johns
and Brett Firman spoke with Four Corners off-camera, and stated that they were the first players to have sex with Clare; Firman saying that "she was up for it a hundred per cent".
Johns has been withdrawn from his various public facing roles despite his public apology. No other players involved, including Brett who was named, have done so to date.
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
footballer of the 2000s. He now plays for the Helensburgh Tigers
Helensburgh Tigers
The Helensburgh Tigers are an Australian rugby league football team based in Helensburgh, a country town of the Illawarra region. The club are apart of Country Rugby League and has competed in the Illawarra Rugby League premiership since its inception in 1911....
of the Illawarra Rugby League
Illawarra Rugby League
The Illawarra Rugby League is a rugby league competition in Wollongong, NSW. It is one of the oldest rugby league competitions in Australia, founded in 1911 with five clubs ....
. He previously played in the National Rugby League
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
, primarily in the halves, for the St. George Illawarra Dragons, Sydney Roosters
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League...
, North Queensland Cowboys
North Queensland Cowboys
The North Queensland Cowboys are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, Queensland. They compete in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership...
and Penrith Panthers
Penrith Panthers
The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, the top rugby league football competition in Australasia. For the 2012 NRL season they will be coached by Ivan...
.
Early career
While attending Port Macquarie St. Josephs College, Firman played for the Australian Schoolboys team in 2000.Firman began his career with the Port Macquarie Sharks, after being discovered by the NRL's Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and then went on to winning a Premier League Grand Final in 2002 for Cronulla before moving to the St George Illawarra Dragons
St George Illawarra Dragons
The St George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing the St. George and Illawarra regions. They have competed in the National Rugby League since 1999 as a joint venture between Sydney's historic St. George Dragons club and 1982 expansion club, the...
.
2003-2004
He quickly became an NRL premiership regular for the St George Illawarra DragonsSt George Illawarra Dragons
The St George Illawarra Dragons is an Australian professional rugby league football club, representing the St. George and Illawarra regions. They have competed in the National Rugby League since 1999 as a joint venture between Sydney's historic St. George Dragons club and 1982 expansion club, the...
and was in the running for the 2003 Dally M Rookie of the Year award before the awards were cancelled due to industrial action from the Rugby League Players' Association. Firman continued with the Dragons in 2004, but broke his leg playing Premier League in round 3 after being dropped in favour of Mathew Head
Mathew Head
Mathew Head is an Australian professional rugby league player for the St. George Illawarra Dragons. He previously played for the Wests Tigers in the National Rugby League and Hull in Super League. He primarily plays at half-back.-St. George Illawarra Dragons:Head's career has been plagued by...
. Head impressed many observers, and it became obvious at the end of the season that the Dragons would have to choose between the two players as they could not afford both under the NRL salary cap. The Dragons chose to re-sign Head, despite Firman still having a year on his contract with the club.
2005
Firman moved to the Sydney RoostersSydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League...
for 2005, with coach Ricky Stuart
Ricky Stuart
Ricky Stuart is an Australian rugby league football coach and former player of the 1980s and 90s. He is currently the head coach of the New South Wales State of Origin team, having replaced Craig Bellamy following a fifth consecutive failure in the 2010 series...
hoping for him to form a combination with Brett Finch
Brett Finch
Brett Finch is an Australian professional rugby league footballer for the Wigan Warriors of the Super League...
in order to replace retiring great Brad Fittler
Brad Fittler
Bradley Scott "Freddie" Fittler AM is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and former player. The current coach of NSW City team in the City vs. Country clash, he coached in the NRL for the Sydney Roosters between 2007 and 2009. As a player, Fittler captained both New South Wales...
.
The Roosters had a bad start to the year, and Firman was soon dropped to Premier League and was seemingly unwanted by the club. He was released mid-season to join with the Cowboys, where he partnered 2005 Dally M medal winner Johnathan Thurston
Johnathan Thurston
Johnathan Dean Thurston is an Indigenous Australian professional rugby league footballer in the NRL with the North Queensland Cowboys whom he co-captains...
in the halves. The Cowboys reached the finals for the second successive year after finishing in 5th position, and despite being beaten 50-6 by the Wests Tigers
Wests Tigers
The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Sydney's mid-western suburbs. They have competed in the National Rugby League since they were formed at the end of the 1999 season as a joint-venture club between the Balmain Tigers and the Western Suburbs...
in the first week, they beat Melbourne Storm
Melbourne Storm
The Melbourne Storm are an Australian professional rugby league club based in the city of Melbourne. They are the first fully professional rugby league team based in the Australian rules football-dominated state of Victoria....
in the second week, and then the Parramatta Eels
Parramatta Eels
The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, with their First Grade side playing their first season in the New South Wales Rugby Football League...
in the preliminary final, with Firman scoring an important try, putting the club in their first ever Grand Final, against the Tigers. Firman played from the interchange bench in the 2005 NRL Grand Final
2005 NRL Grand Final
The 2005 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2005 National Rugby League season. It was played on the night of Sunday, 2 October at Sydney's Telstra Stadium between 4th-placed Wests Tigers and 5th-placed North Queensland Cowboys, the only two clubs in the...
loss.
2006-2007
Firman trialled with the Penrith PanthersPenrith Panthers
The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, the top rugby league football competition in Australasia. For the 2012 NRL season they will be coached by Ivan...
over the 2006 offseason after gaining an early release from the North Queensland Cowboys
North Queensland Cowboys
The North Queensland Cowboys are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, Queensland. They compete in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership...
, he was finally awarded a fulltime contract to play with the Panthers for the 2007 NRL season after the club's second trial match against the Gold Coast Titans on March 3. He has since been released by the Penrith Panthers.
Firmans last club was the Penrith Panthers
Penrith Panthers
The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, the top rugby league football competition in Australasia. For the 2012 NRL season they will be coached by Ivan...
in 2007.
2002 NZ tour sexual assault investigation
While on a tour of New Zealand in February 2002, members of the Cronulla Sharks were involved in a group sex session of disputed consent with a young woman in a Christchurch hotel room. The New Zealand police "... noted that some comments she made suggesting she was not distressed were a mechanism for coping with what had happened." Detective Superintendent Neville Jenkins described Clare (a pseudonym) as naive, young for her age and "...just a growing up teenager."The ABC TV
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
Four Corners program "Code of Silence", broadcast on 11 May 2009, reported the incident, where both Matthew Johns
Matthew Johns
Matthew Johns is an Australian rugby league football commentator and former professional player...
and Brett Firman spoke with Four Corners off-camera, and stated that they were the first players to have sex with Clare; Firman saying that "she was up for it a hundred per cent".
Johns has been withdrawn from his various public facing roles despite his public apology. No other players involved, including Brett who was named, have done so to date.