Geoffrey Robinson (14 December 1957 – 3 July 2024), also known by the nickname of "Robbo", 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 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He played for Canterbury-Bankstown in the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) competition. Robinson primarily played at .

Playing career

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and

Maltese Maltese may refer to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to Malta * Maltese alphabet * Maltese cuisine * Maltese culture * Maltese language, the Semitic language spoken by Maltese people * Maltese people, people from Malta or of Malte ...

descent, At 18, Robinson was graded by Canterbury from the

Chester Hill Hornets Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Local ...

in 1976. He made his first-grade début 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 ...

on 28 May 1977, aged 19. Robinson stood out on the field with his long dark hair, bushy beard and socks around his ankles, he was renowned for his devastating runs at the line. Robinson was a member of Canterbury-Bankstown's 1980 Premiership winning team in their 18–4 win over

and their 1984 Premiership win over Parramatta (6–4). Robinson played 30 games in all competitions in Halifax's victory in the Championship during the 1985–86 season, before re-joining Canterbury in round 12 of the

1986 NSWRL season The 1986 New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the seventy-ninth season of professional rugby league football in Australia. Thirteen clubs competed for the J J Giltinan Shield and Winfield Cup during the season, which culminated in a gran ...

. Robinson played in the 1986 Grand Final for Canterbury against Parramatta in which the club lost 4–2.

Coaching career

After retiring from first-grade at the end of 1986, Robinson went on to coach the Canterbury U-23 side to a premiership in 1991. Robinson served as coach with the now defunct

Chester Hill Rhinos The Chester Hill Rhinos were a rugby league team based in the suburb of Chester Hill, New South Wales, Chester Hill in Sydney's south-west. From 2007 to 2009 the club fielded a side in the semi-professional NSWRL Jim Beam Cup competition in NSW ...

in the

Jim Beam Cup Jim or JIM may refer to: * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy * OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism * ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring * ''Jim' ...

from 2007 to 2009.

Illness and death

Robinson had battled throat and tongue cancer for several years. He died of a suspected heart attack on 3 July 2024, at the age of 66.

Footnotes

References

* *

External links

Geoff Robinson at the ''Rugby League Project''Geoff Robinson at ''NRL Stats''

Geoff Robinson at the ''Bulldogs''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Geoff 1957 births 2024 deaths Australian rugby league players Australian rugby league coaches Australian people of English descent Australian people of Maltese descent Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs players Halifax R.L.F.C. players Rugby league second-rows Rugby league props Rugby league players from Sydney