Dean Pay (born 3 June 1969) is a former Australian 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 and former head coach of 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 facilit ...
in the
NRL, a professional player who played in the late 1980s and 1990s.
He played for 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 facilit ...
and 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 ...
. He was an
Australia and
State of Origin
A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Ov ...
representative for the
NSW Blues. Widely regarded as "one of the greats", he was instrumental in the Bulldogs' success during the early 1990s, Pay was a skillful ball-playing forward and an especially strong defender against speed bumps.
Background
Pay was born in
Perth, Western Australia, Australia on 3 June 1969.
He played his junior rugby league for St Johns JRL.
Playing career
Pay made his first grade debut for Canterbury-Bankstown against
Eastern Suburbs Eastern Suburbs may refer to:
Places
*Eastern Suburbs (Mumbai), India
*Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Australia
**Eastern Suburbs railway line, Sydney, Australia
Sports clubs
;Association football
*Eastern Suburbs AFC, Auckland, New Zealand
* Eastern ...
in Round 21 1989 at
Belmore Oval
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 ...
.
Pay was first selected to play for the
New South Wales Blues in Game 2 of the
1994 State of Origin series at second-row forward, retaining his spot for Game 3. At the end of the
1994 NSWRL season
The 1994 NSWRL season (known as the 1994 Winfield Cup Premiership due to sponsorship from Winfield (cigarette), Winfield) was the eighty-seventh season of professional rugby league football in Australia. Sixteen clubs, including 14 from within the ...
Pay played at second-row forward for the Bulldogs in their Grand Final loss to 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 ...
. He was then selected to go on the
1994 Kangaroo tour The 1994 Kangaroo Tour was the 18th and last Kangaroo Tour played in the conventional format, where the Australia national rugby league team (known as the XXXX Kangaroos due to sponsorship reasons) played a number of matches against British and Fre ...
.
In a career-defining moment during 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 Lea ...
's semi-finals campaign, Pay broke the ribs of star Brisbane forward
Glenn Lazarus
Glenn Patrick Lazarus (born 11 December 1965) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer, and a former Australian Senator. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative , Lazarus won premie ...
in the opening moments of the match, greatly hindering the Broncos in their Premiership ambitions. After winning the
1995 ARL Premiership
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 ...
with the
Super League-aligned Bulldogs, the club lost Pay, along with other key players,
Jim Dymock
Jim Dymock (born 4 April 1972) is a professional rugby league coach who is the assistant coach of the Gold Coast Titans in the NRL and a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s.
A Tonga and Australia inter ...
,
Jason Smith and
Jarrod McCracken
Jarrod McCracken (born 27 March 1970) is a New Zealand former rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He is a former captain of the New Zealand national rugby league team and is the son of New Zealand rugby league internation ...
, to the ARL-loyal
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 ...
. He was appointed the club's captain for the 1997 and 1998 seasons. Pay captained Parramatta to their first finals campaign in 11 years when the club finished 3rd in the
1997 ARL season
The 1997 Australian Rugby League season was the 90th season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the third season run by the Australian Rugby League. While several clubs had left the League to compete in the 1997 Super Leagu ...
. Parramatta would go on to lose 28-20 against 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 ...
in the first week of the finals despite leading 20-0 at halftime. The following week, Parramatta were eliminated from the finals after losing to
North Sydney 24-14.
The following season in 1998, Parramatta finished 4th and defeated eventual premiers Brisbane 15-10 at the
Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
. In the preliminary final against Pay's former club Canterbury, Parramatta were winning 18-2 with less than 10 minutes to play and looked destined to reach their first grand final since 1986. In the following minutes, one of the greatest comebacks in finals history occurred when Canterbury scored 3 tries and took to the game into extra-time before winning 32-20. Pay was selected to play for Australia from the interchange bench in the
1998 Anzac Test.
In Pay's final season at Parramatta, the club finished 2nd and reached the preliminary final against Melbourne. Parramatta lead 16-0 at halftime but lost the match 18-16. The loss was also Pay's final game as a player.
In 2002, Pay was inducted into 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 ...
hall of fame.
Coaching career
Pay launched his coaching career in 2007, at the helm of
Dubbo CYMS who went on to claim the
Group 11 Rugby League
Group 11 is a rugby league competition in the surrounding areas of Dubbo, New South Wales, Australia. The competition is played in four grades, these being First-Grade, Reserve-Grade, Under 19s and Ladies League Tag.
Current clubs
First grade a ...
premiership title. Pay coached CYMS again in 2008 before being named as the
Catalans Dragons
The Catalans Dragons (French: ''Dragons Catalans'', Catalan: ''Dracs Catalans'') are a professional rugby league club from Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales department, France. The team competes in the Super League and are the only team from outs ...
' new assistant coach in 2009 under
Kevin Walters
Kevin David Walters (born 20 October 1967) is an Australian professional rugby league football coach who is the Head Coach of the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL and a former professional rugby league footballer who played as a premiership-winning ...
. In 2010, Pay started coaching the Melbourne Storm's under-20 side in the
NYC
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
competition.
A year later, Pay was named as the coach of
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
in the inaugural under-20s
State of Origin
A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Ov ...
match. During 2012 Pay signed as Parammatta Eels assistant coach for the
2013 NRL season
The 2013 NRL season was the 106th season of professional rugby league club competition in Australia. The National Rugby League's main competition, named the 2013 Telstra Premiership after major sponsors Telstra Corporation, was contested by sixte ...
under incoming head coach
Ricky Stuart
Ricky John Stuart (born 7 January 1967) is an Australian professional rugby league football coach who is the head coach of the Canberra Raiders in the NRL and a former rugby league footballer who played as a in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s.
H ...
. In 2014, Pay coached the NSW Under-20s to their third consecutive victory.
In September 2017, Pay signed a two-year deal as Head Coach of 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 facilit ...
. On 7 May 2018, following a 22-20 loss to Brisbane, Pay was fined $25,000 by the NRL after saying the officiating during the game was "ridiculous" and "disgraceful". Pay went on to say "it's like we're not supposed to win". On 6 June 2018, Pay said to the media that he felt sorry for the supporters of the club after Canterbury suffered a humiliating 32-10 loss against the
Gold Coast Titans
The Gold Coast Titans are a professional rugby league football club, based on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australia and New Zealand's national rugby league club competition. The ...
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 ...
. The loss also confirmed it was Canterbury's worst start to a season since 1964.
On 19 July 2018, Pay came under fire yet again when Canterbury were defeated by arch rivals Parramatta in what the media dubbed the "Spoon Bowl". Both sides came into the game sitting second last and last respectively. The match attracted only 8437 spectators which would turn out to be one of the lowest crowds of the year. Pay eventually guided Canterbury to a 12th place finish. At one point the club had only won 4 of 18 matches but won 4 out of the final 6 matches to avoid the wooden spoon.
In March 2019, Pay signed a 12 month contract extension to remain as Canterbury coach until the end of 2020. Canterbury had started the 2019 season suffering heavy defeats against the
New Zealand Warriors
The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...
and arch rivals
Parramatta
Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...
and there was speculation that Pay might be relieved of his duties. After signing the contract extension, Canterbury produced an upset victory over an in form
Wests Tigers
The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a joint-venture ...
outfit.
By the midway part of the
2019 NRL season
The 2019 NRL season was the 112th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 22nd season run by the National Rugby League. The Sydney Roosters became the first team to win back-to-back Premierships since the Brisbane Broncos in 1992 ...
, Canterbury-Bankstown found themselves sitting last on the table and in real danger of finishing with the wooden spoon. However, for the third straight season, Canterbury achieved four upset victories in a row over
Penrith, the
Wests Tigers
The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a joint-venture ...
,
South Sydney and
Parramatta
Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...
who were all competing for a place in the finals series and were higher on the table. Pay was credited with the late season revival as the side focused heavily on defence.
On 14 July 2020, Pay quit as head coach of Canterbury-Bankstown. He left the club sitting bottom of the table with just one win after the first nine matches of the
2020 NRL season
The 2020 NRL season was the 113th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 23rd season run by the National Rugby League.
Teams
The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 14th consecutive year.
; Notes
:
:
:
Pre-seaso ...
.
References
External links
Canterbury Bulldogs profileBulldogs profile* http://www.centralwesterndaily.com.au/story/4955282/pay-day-coach-goes-from-dubbo-cyms-to-nrl-bulldogs-in-a-decade/
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pay, Dean
1969 births
Living people
Australia national rugby league team players
Australian rugby league coaches
Australian rugby league players
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs coaches
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs captains
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs players
Country New South Wales Origin rugby league team players
New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin players
Parramatta Eels players
Rugby league players from Dubbo
Rugby league props
Rugby league second-rows