Greg Smith (rugby league)
Encyclopedia
Greg Smith is an American athlete who played one spectacularly unsuccessful game for the Newcastle Knights
in Australia
's National Rugby League
in 1999.
After coaching the American Tomahawks
in the Australian Rugby League
's World Sevens
tournament in 1997, Warren Ryan
became keen to recruit an NFL
player when he took charge of the Newcastle club as its full-time coach two years later. In the lead-up to this season, Smith somehow managed to convince Ryan that he had played in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles
, when in reality he had done no such thing.
In Round 3, Smith was named to make his debut against the Canterbury Bulldogs
, but was directly responsible for a succession of mistakes in the second half which caused the Knights to sacrifice a 24-4 lead, and ultimately lose the match 28-26. Smith's ineptitude (and Ryan's selection of him, particularly when his NFL credentials were revealed by the local media to have been completely fictional) was roundly criticised after the match, and it became the last and only game he played for the club. As of 2011, no American has since been sighted in the NRL.
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...
in Australia
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...
's 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...
in 1999.
After coaching the American Tomahawks
United States national rugby league team
-2008 & 2013 Rugby League World Cup Qualifying:In October 2006, The Tomahawks were to participate in a four team Atlantic qualifying pool for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup, but South Africa and the West Indies withdrew. As a result, The Atlantic qualifying pool was reduced to a single game...
in the Australian Rugby League
Australian Rugby League
The Australian Rugby League is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in Australia. It is made up of state bodies, including the New South Wales Rugby League and the Queensland Rugby League...
's World Sevens
Rugby League World Sevens
The Rugby League World Sevens, usually referred to as the World Sevens and sometimes as the World Cup Sevens, were a pre-season rugby league sevens tournament made up over the years primarily of New South Wales Rugby League , Australian Rugby League and mostly recently National Rugby League ...
tournament in 1997, Warren Ryan
Warren Ryan
Warren Ryan is former rugby league football coach and player from Sydney, Australia. He is considered as one of the most influential coaches in recent times. Ryan also played 1st Grade Rugby League for the St George Dragons and Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks....
became keen to recruit an NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
player when he took charge of the Newcastle club as its full-time coach two years later. In the lead-up to this season, Smith somehow managed to convince Ryan that he had played in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, when in reality he had done no such thing.
In Round 3, Smith was named to make his debut against the Canterbury Bulldogs
Canterbury Bulldogs
The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, as well as New South Wales Rugby League junior competitions...
, but was directly responsible for a succession of mistakes in the second half which caused the Knights to sacrifice a 24-4 lead, and ultimately lose the match 28-26. Smith's ineptitude (and Ryan's selection of him, particularly when his NFL credentials were revealed by the local media to have been completely fictional) was roundly criticised after the match, and it became the last and only game he played for the club. As of 2011, no American has since been sighted in the NRL.
External links
- http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/players/Greg_Smith/summary.html
- http://makingthenut.com/content/bizarre-tale-greg-smith