Chris Gardner nicknamed "Stan" (born 19 October 1955) is an Australian former

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 1970s and 1980s. He played for Cronulla-Sutherland in the

New South Wales Rugby League The New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was ...

(NSWRL) competition.

Playing career

Gardner made his first grade debut for Cronulla in Round 3 1978 against 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 ...

Cumberland Oval Parramatta Stadium was a sports stadium in Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia, 23 kilometres west of Sydney's central business district. The stadium was the home ground of several western Sydney-based sports teams, at the time of closure t ...

. In 1978, Cronulla finished 2nd on the table and qualified for the finals. Cronulla defeated Manly in the opening week of the finals series 17-12. Cronulla then defeated minor premiers Western Suburbs to reach their second grand final against Manly. After just 4 games in first grade, Gardner was selected to play in the 1978 NSWRL grand replay to replace Mick Mullane Jr. who was injured in the first final. Just 3 days earlier, Manly and Cronulla played out an 11-11 draw and were required to return and play again on a Tuesday afternoon. Both Manly and Cronulla went into the replay with tired players but it was Manly who prevailed in the replay 16-0 winning their fourth premiership in front of a low crowd of 33,552. In 1979, Cronulla reached the minor semi-final against Canterbury-Bankstown but were defeated 30-15 with Gardner playing at centre. In 1981, Cronulla again reached the finals but once again Manly proved to be their nemesis defeating them 14-11 in the minor preliminary final. In 1983, Gardner finished equal top try scorer in the competition with 17 tries, but Cronulla finished a disappointing 9th on the table. Gardner retired at the end of the 1985 season scoring a total of 44 tries in 128 games.

Coaching

Chris was briefly head-coach of

Bramley Buffaloes Bramley Buffaloes RLFC is a rugby league club from the Bramley area of West Leeds in West Yorkshire, England. History At the end of the 1999 season Bramley RLFC resigned from the Northern Ford Premiership to become a feeder team for Leeds, b ...

in April 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Chris 1955 births Living people Bramley Buffaloes coaches Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks players Rugby league wingers Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Sydney