Damian Gibson (born 14 May 1975) is a former

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

international

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. Primarily a , Gibson was the

North Queensland Cowboys The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest town in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL). Sinc ...

first ever try scorer.

Early life

Gibson was born and raised in

Rockhampton, Queensland Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of the ...

, Australia. He attended Emmaus College before being signed by the

Newcastle Knights The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, th ...

Playing career

After spending 1994 with the

, where he represented the NSW City under-19 side, Gibson signed with the newly established

. In Round 1 of the

1995 ARL season The 1995 ARL premiership was the 88th season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the first to be run by the Australian Rugby League following the hand-over of the Premiership's administration by the New South Wales Rugby Leagu ...

, Gibson made his first grade début as a 19-year-old in the

first ever game. He scored the club's first ever try in the 16–32 loss to 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 ...

, and was named in the Norwich Rising Star Team of 95. He spent two seasons with the Cowboys, scoring 7 tries in 31 games and was the North Queensland Cowboys Top Tryscorer in 1996. In 1997, Gibson joined the

Leeds Rhinos The Leeds Rhinos are a professional rugby league club in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The club was formed in 1870 as Leeds St John's and play in the Super League, the top tier of English rugby league. They have played home matches at Headi ...

in the

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

, scoring three tries and being named their Player of the Year. He transferred to the

Halifax Blue Sox The Halifax Panthers are a professional rugby league club in Halifax, West Yorkshire, which formed in 1873. Halifax were one of the original twenty-two rugby clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895. They have been Rugby Leag ...

in 1998, where he spent the majority of his career. During his first stint with Halifax, he scored 40 tries in 113 games. In June 1998, he made his international début for

, in a 15–12 loss to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. In 2002, he joined the

Salford City Reds The Salford Red Devils are a professional rugby league club in Salford, Greater Manchester, England, who play in the Super League. Formed in 1873, they have won six Championships and one Challenge Cup. Their home ground since 2012 has been t ...

, spending one season at the

Willows Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...

before moving to the

Castleford Tigers The Castleford Tigers are a professional rugby league club in Castleford, West Yorkshire, England, that compete in the Super League, the top-level professional rugby league club competition in the Northern Hemisphere. The club have competed i ...

( Heritage No. 794) in 2003, following the Reds' relegation. He re-joined Halifax in November 2004 after being released by the

following their relegation from Super League and went on to score 15 tries in 30 appearances in 2005. After four more seasons at Halifax, Gibson joined the

Sheffield Eagles The Sheffield Eagles are a professional rugby league club that play in the Championship (rugby league), Betfred Championship. The club play their home games at the Olympic Legacy Park (OLP) on the former site of Don Valley Stadium, their forme ...

in 2009, retiring at the end of the season.

Statistics

ARL

Super League

Post-playing career

Following his retirement, Gibson served as an assistant coach for the

Exiles rugby league team The Exiles rugby league team is an international rugby league team that plays in the International Origin series against England. The Exiles team is made up of Australian, New Zealand and Pacific Island players contracted to Super League clubs. ...

Welsh national team ) , Association = Football Association of Wales (FAW) , Confederation = UEFA (Europe) , Coach = Rob Page , Captain = Gareth Bale , Most caps = Gareth Bale (111) , Top scorer = Gareth Bal ...

, and the

Dewsbury Rams The Dewsbury Rams are a professional English rugby league club based in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire that compete in the Championship. They play their home games at the Tetley's Stadium, on Owl Lane. The Rams' main fanbase comes from their hometo ...

. While at the Rhinos, he coached the club's under-18 and under-20 sides and was on the coaching staff for their 2011

Grand Final winning season.

References

External links

Leeds Rhinos profileStatistics at thecastlefordtigers.co.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Damian 1975 births Living people Australian people of Welsh descent Australian rugby league coaches Australian rugby league players Australian expatriate sportspeople in England Castleford Tigers players Halifax R.L.F.C. players Leeds Rhinos players North Queensland Cowboys players Rugby league centres Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league players from Rockhampton, Queensland Rugby league wingers Salford Red Devils players Sheffield Eagles players Wales national rugby league team players