Craig Field
Encyclopedia
Craig Field is an Australia
n former professional rugby league
player. Field played for South Sydney
, Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
, Balmain Tigers
and Wests Tigers
. His primary position was at halfback. His talent and leadership on the field was hampered by off-field incidents throughout his career.
In 1995, Field was stripped of the captaincy and fined $10,000 for missing training and at the end of the 1996 season he left the Rabbitohs for Manly-Warringah. Both Cliff Lyons
and Geoff Toovey
were in the Manly team and Field had to compete against the two test halves for the halfback position. Field was a member of the 1997 Manly side which lost the Grand Final to the Newcastle Knights
.
Early in 1999, Field requested a release from the Manly club and he played his last game with the team in round 5. In round 7, he steered his new club, Balmain, to a win over Manly.
Field became a Wests Tiger in 2000 when Balmain and Western Suburbs
merged at the end of the 1999 season. After only four games of the 2001 season, Field and team-mate, Kevin McGuinness
, were suspended by the National Rugby League
(NRL) for six months after testing positive for stimulants. Field did not participate in any other first-grade games in Australia.
In 2002, Field moved to the south-west of France
to play for the Pia Donkeys in the French Rugby League Championship
. Following the sacking of coach John Elias in February, 2003, Field took over coaching duties and led Pia in the club's 16–14 loss in the French Cup final. On his return to Australia in May, 2003, Field joined the Newtown Jets
in the premier-league competition, captaining the side for the remainder of the season.
In 2008, Field was captain-coach of Wagga Brothers in the Group 9
competition. In 2010, he joined the Cudgen Hornets in the Northern Rivers Regional Rugby League, along with his cousin Matt Seers
.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n former professional rugby league
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...
player. Field played for South Sydney
South Sydney Rabbitohs
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in Redfern, a suburb of South-central Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League premiership and are one of nine existing teams from the state capital...
, Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League's Telstra Premiership, the premier rugby league competition of Australasia...
, Balmain Tigers
Balmain Tigers
The Balmain Tigers are a rugby league football club based in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Balmain. They were a founding member of the New South Wales Rugby League and one of the most successful in the history of the premiership, with eleven titles...
and 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...
. His primary position was at halfback. His talent and leadership on the field was hampered by off-field incidents throughout his career.
Playing career
Field made his debut with South Sydney as a seventeen-year old in 1990, playing one game from the bench. By 1993, with his flashes of brilliance on-field, he had earned himself a position in the first-grade team on a regular basis and in 1994 he was promoted to captain.In 1995, Field was stripped of the captaincy and fined $10,000 for missing training and at the end of the 1996 season he left the Rabbitohs for Manly-Warringah. Both Cliff Lyons
Cliff Lyons
Cliff Lyons is an indigenous Australian former international-level rugby league footballer of the 1980s and 90s...
and Geoff Toovey
Geoff Toovey
Geoffrey "Geoff" Toovey is an Australian rugby league coach and former professional player of the late 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. He was educated at Davidson High School...
were in the Manly team and Field had to compete against the two test halves for the halfback position. Field was a member of the 1997 Manly side which lost the Grand Final to the Newcastle Knights
Newcastle Knights
The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership...
.
Early in 1999, Field requested a release from the Manly club and he played his last game with the team in round 5. In round 7, he steered his new club, Balmain, to a win over Manly.
Field became a Wests Tiger in 2000 when Balmain and Western Suburbs
Western Suburbs Magpies
The Western Suburbs Magpies are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly referred to, were one of the nine foundation clubs of the first New South Wales Rugby League competition in Australia...
merged at the end of the 1999 season. After only four games of the 2001 season, Field and team-mate, Kevin McGuinness
Kevin McGuinness
Kevin McGuinness is an Indigenous Australian retired professional rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. He played for Salford City Reds in the UK Super League, the Western Suburbs Magpies, Wests Tigers and Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the Australian National Rugby League competition...
, were suspended by 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...
(NRL) for six months after testing positive for stimulants. Field did not participate in any other first-grade games in Australia.
In 2002, Field moved to the south-west of France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
to play for the Pia Donkeys in the French Rugby League Championship
French rugby league championship
The French rugby league championship has been the major rugby league tournament for semi-professional and professional clubs in France and Monaco since the sport was introduced to the country in the thirties....
. Following the sacking of coach John Elias in February, 2003, Field took over coaching duties and led Pia in the club's 16–14 loss in the French Cup final. On his return to Australia in May, 2003, Field joined the Newtown Jets
Newtown Jets
The Newtown Jets are an Australian rugby league football club based in Newtown, a suburb of Sydney's inner west. They currently compete in the NSWRL Premier League competition, having left the top grade after the 1983 NSWRFL season...
in the premier-league competition, captaining the side for the remainder of the season.
In 2008, Field was captain-coach of Wagga Brothers in the Group 9
Group 9 Rugby League
Group 9 is a rugby league competition based around the surrounding areas of Wagga Wagga, New South Wales. The competition is played in five grades, these being the under 16s , the under 18s , women's league-tag, Reserve Grade and the XXXX Gold Group 9 First Grade.-History:Group 9 Rugby League was...
competition. In 2010, he joined the Cudgen Hornets in the Northern Rivers Regional Rugby League, along with his cousin Matt Seers
Matt Seers
Matt Seers is an Australian former professional rugby league player for the North Sydney Bears, Wests Tigers and Wakefield Trinity Wildcats...
.