Joe Thomas (rugby league)

Joe Thomas (born 13 February 1964) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played for South Sydney, Canterbury, Western Suburbs and Illawarra in the NSWRL.

Joe Thomas

Personal information
Born	(1964-02-13) 13 February 1964 (age 59)
Playing information
Position	Hooker
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1984–87 South Sydney 20 2 0 0 8 1988–90 Canterbury Bulldogs 55 7 0 0 28 1991–93 Western Suburbs 53 4 0 0 16 1994 Illawarra Steelers 6 1 0 0 4 Total 134 14 0 0 56 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1991–93 NSW City 2 0 0 0 0
Source: ^[1]

Biography

A Mascot junior, Thomas started his NSWRL career with South Sydney, playing as a lock forward. His first-grade appearances at South Sydney were limited by serious injuries.^{[citation needed]}

Thomas was a hooker in Canterbury's 1988 premiership team, which defeated Balmain in the grand final.^[2] In his three seasons at Canterbury he played 55 first-grade games.^{[citation needed]}

From 1991 to 1993 he played for Western Suburbs and while at the club made two representative appearances for NSW City. He was one of Western Suburb's captains during this period.^[3]

He finished his career with a season at Illawarra in 1994, then was appointed an assistant coach under Phil Gould at Eastern Suburbs.^[4]

Thomas's elderly mother Mary died in 2010 of head injuries sustained when she fell to the ground after being assaulted by a cyclist on an Eastlakes street. The attacker, Daniel Paul Wood, had got off his bike after passing the 71-year old and walked back 10-metres to push her in the chest, an altercation brought about by his belief she had been in his way. Wood, who was intoxicated, was charged with murder, but the court accepted a guilty plea for manslaughter, sentencing him to five-years in prison.^[5][6]

References

1. Collis, Ian (2018). The A to Z of Rugby League Players. New Holland Publishers. ISBN 9781921024986.
2. "Dogs too hot". The Canberra Times. 12 September 1988. p. 20. Retrieved 17 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
3. "Verdicts end one career, put doubts over another". The Canberra Times. 3 August 1993. p. 24. Retrieved 17 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
4. "Ski accident could rob Panthers of top full-back". The Canberra Times. 9 September 1994. p. 33. Retrieved 17 October 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
5. "Family demoralised by killer's sentence". Yahoo!. 22 November 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
6. "Daniel Wood jailed for five years for killing Mary Touma, mother of NRL player Joe Thomas". The Sydney Morning Herald. 22 November 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2018.

External links

• Joe Thomas at Rugby League project