Ben Gonzales (born 17 March 1965), also known by the nickname of "Speedy", is a Filipino-born 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 11 ...

footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played with the

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith that competes in the NRL. The team is based west of the centre of Sydney, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Penrit ...

and the

Gold Coast Giants The Gold Coast Chargers were a professional rugby league club which played in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership from New South Wales Rugby League season 1988, 1988 to New South Wales Rugby League season 1994, 1994, the Australian Ru ...

. He played primarily as a winger and occasionally as a

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

Background

Gonzales was born in

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 2,960,048 people. It was fou ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. He is of Spanish Mestizo descent.

Playing career

Gonzales was a Penrith junior. He made his first grade debut for the Panthers in his side's 20−8 loss to the Canterbury Bulldogs at

Belmore Sports Ground Belmore Sports Ground, formerly known as Belmore Oval, is a multi-purpose stadium in Belmore, New South Wales, Australia. The park covers and from 1951 has contained the Belmore Bowling Recreation Club green. It is close to Belmore railway s ...

in round 7 of the 1984 season. 1984 was a season of change for the Panthers, under new coach

Tim Sheens Tim Sheens (born 30 October 1950) is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and former player. Head Coach of the Australia national team between 2009 and 2015, he has also been the head coach of National Rugby League (NRL) clubs ...

they went within one game of making their first ever finals appearance in the club's history. Gonzales had his best season at the Panthers in 1985. He played in 25 of his side's 26 games and scored 11 tries which included a hat-trick against the

Canberra Raiders The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby ...

in round 5. The Panthers would eventually finish as finalists at the end of the 1985 season. Gonzales played in both the playoff for fifth spot against the

Manly Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rugb ...

in which the Panthers won 10−7, and in the Panthers' first ever finals appearance in which they lost 38−6 to the

Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and their ...

at the SCG. Gonzales would not play in another finals match. His stint with the Panthers ended at the conclusion of the 1987 season. In 1988, Gonzales joined the newly formed

later renamed as the Seagulls and Chargers. Gonzales was a foundation player for the club and despite missing their first ever match, a 21–10 loss to Canterbury at

Seagulls Stadium Seagulls Stadium was a rugby league stadium located on Gollan Drive in West Tweed Heads, New South Wales. Originally known as Chris Cunningham Field, it was the home ground of the Gold Coast-Tweed Giants rugby league franchise, who entered the ...

, he played in the remaining 21 games for the Giants in their inaugural season. In 1989, Gonzales played in all 22 of his side's games. Gonzales played a further 2 seasons for Gold Coast and retired at the end of 1991. His final game came in his side's 32−10 loss to the

North Sydney Bears The North Sydney Bears is an Australian rugby league football club based in North Sydney, New South Wales. The club competes in the New South Wales Cup, having exited the National Rugby League following the 1999 NRL season after 90 years in t ...

North Sydney Oval North Sydney Oval is a multi-use sporting facility in North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, owned and operated by North Sydney Council. First used as a cricket ground in 1867, it is also used for Australian rules football, rugby league, rug ...

in the final round of the 1991 season. In total, Gonzales played 135 games and scored 40 tries.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzales, Ben 1965 births Living people Australian people of Filipino descent Filipino emigrants to Australia Filipino rugby league players Gold Coast Chargers players Penrith Panthers players Rugby league players from Sydney Rugby league centres Rugby league wingers Sportspeople from Quezon City