Geoff Connell (1945-2013) was an 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 who played in the 1970s. He played for

Canterbury-Bankstown Canterbury-Bankstown is a customary region of Sydney, Australia, in the south-western suburbs. The area is located around the Bankstown railway line, to the west of the St George region and to the south of the Inner West region. The suburbs ...

and Balmain 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.

Background

Connell was born in Gundagai, New South Wales but moved to Queensland at a young age. He represented the junior Queensland side before moving back to Sydney and was graded by Balmain.

Playing career

Connell made his first grade debut for Balmain in 1965. He briefly left Balmain in 1967 to complete his national service in Queensland and played for Easts in the Brisbane rugby league competition. Due to being away in Queensland, Connell missed out on playing in Balmain's 1969 premiership winning team. Between 1967 and 1969, he represented Queensland on 8 occasions and also represented Australia in 1967 against New Zealand. Connell returned to Balmain in 1970 but was released at the end of the 1971 season due to recurring injuries. In 1972, he joined Canterbury and became a regular starter in the team and by 1973 was made captain. Connell captained the side in their 1973 semi final defeat against Newtown. In 1974, Canterbury reached their first grade final since the 1967 grand final defeat against South Sydney. Connell played at second-row as

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 ...

defeated Canterbury 19–4 at the Sydney Cricket Ground to win their first premiership since 1945. In 1975, Connell mainly played for the reserve grade side and his final game before retirement was in the reserve grade semi final against Cronulla-Sutherland. In total, he made 83 appearances for Canterbury across all grades including being captain of 20 matches in that time.

Post playing

In 1976, Connell became Canterbury's Under 23 team coach. He then went on to coach the reserve grade team from 1977 to 1980 winning the reserve grade premiership in his final year. In 2004, Connell was nominated for the Berries to Bulldogs 70 Year Team of Champions. He died on 16 March 2013.

References

1945 births 2013 deaths Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs players Balmain Tigers players Australian rugby league players Rugby league second-rows Rugby league props Rugby league players from New South Wales Queensland Rugby League State of Origin players Australia national rugby league team players {{Australia-rugbyleague-bio-1940s-stub