Alan Fallah (born 11 March 1959) is an Australian former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s for the

Western Suburbs Magpies The Western Suburbs Magpies (legal name: Western Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club Ltd) 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 r ...

and was also an

NRL The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

touch judge A touch judge is an official who monitors the touch-line in a game of rugby union or rugby league and raises a flag if the ball (or player carrying it) goes into touch. Touch judges also stand behind the posts to confirm that a goal has been scored ...

Background

Fallah was born in

Bankstown, New South Wales Bankstown is a suburb south west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 16 kilometres south-west of the Sydney central business district and is located in the local government area of the City of Canterbury-Bankstown, ha ...

, Australia.

Club career

A Canterbury junior with St George Dragons, Bass Hill RSL, then

Chester Hill Hornets Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Local ...

from the age of 11, Fallah played thirds and reserve grade with the

Canterbury Bankstown 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 NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilita ...

while still in high school. He studied at the University of Wollongong and played three seasons with the Corrimal Cougars and represented the Illawarra divisional team and NSW Country. He then captain-coached the Oberon Tigers for two seasons, also representing Group 10, Western Division and again NSW Country. Fallah came to attention representing Illawarra in the country rugby league championship 1981. He went on to represent Country Firsts later that year. Fallah joined the Western Suburbs Magpies in 1984, but badly injured his knee in his second game in reserves. He made his first grade debut towards the end of the season, playing in 6 games, but broke his arm in the second last match. From 1985 to 1990, he was the regular starting hooker for the club. He scored his first try in round 2 of 1985 against Manly, and scored a double in round 23 against Souths. He was first grade captain in 12 games and scored 14 tries for Wests. The mid-to-late eighties were an unsuccessful period for the Magpies, but Fallah often gained attention for his performances. He was described as, "one of the best number 12s in the game." Coach Ken Gentle said of him, "You can have your

Benny Elias Ben Elias (Arabic: بن الياس; born 15 November 1963 in Tripoli, Lebanon),is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played primarily as a for Balmain in the New South Wales Rugby League premie ...

. I wouldn't swap Allan for any other hooker in Sydney." Fallah was later named as hooker in the Magpies' Team of the Eighties. Fallah retired in 1993 after playing for the Blackpool Gladiators in the UK.

Refereeing

After his retirement as a player, Fallah became a

referee/touch judge. He officiated in 87 NRL games, 3 State of Origins and two internationals. He was involved in two incidents that gained press attention. In the first, where Fallah was a touch judge, coach

Chris Anderson Chris Anderson may refer to: Sports * Chris Anderson (baseball) (born 1992), American baseball player * Chris Anderson (cheese roller), 22-time winner of annual cheese rolling * Chris Anderson (footballer, born 1925) (1925–1986), Scottish footb ...

described referee Rod Lawrence's performance as, "fucking disgraceful," when he encountered the officials at half-time of a match. In the second, there was confusion over whether a conversion should have been awarded when one touch judge raised a flag and another did not.

Retirement

Fallah remained involved in rugby league after his retirement. He coached at the Gymea Technology High School where he taught and represented NSW and Australia in Oztag at an over-45s level, alongside former teammate Trevor Cogger.

Current

Allan Fallah currently teaches physical education at Endeavour Sports High School in Sydney, New South Wales.

References

External links

* Whiticker, Alan and Hudson, Glen; ''The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players''; published 2005 by BAS publishing, f16/171 Collins St, Melbourne, Vic., 3000 1959 births Living people Australian rugby league players Australian rugby league referees Blackpool Borough players Rugby league hookers Rugby league players from Sydney Touch footballers Western Suburbs Magpies players {{Australia-rugbyleague-bio-stub