Nathan Gibbs (born 22 December 1959) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal A ...

sports physician and former 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. He played for the

South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a professional Australian rugby league club based in Redfern, a suburb of inner-southern Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and are one of nine existing tea ...

and

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 ...

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.

Early life and sports career

Gibbs was a South Sydney junior but was graded by Eastern Suburbs during his final year at school. He returned to South Sydney and made his first-grade debut in 1978. Gibbs went on to captain the club and was the Dally M ''Second Rower of the Year'' in 1980.

Medical career

During the 1990s, he was team doctor for Manly Warringah,

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 ...

and the

Australian Kangaroos The Australian National Rugby League Team, the Kangaroos, have represented Australia in senior men's rugby league football competition since the establishment of the 'Northern Union game' in Australia in 1908. Administered by the Australian ...

. In 1990, it was Gibbs that made the decision, controversial at the time, to rule

Wally Lewis Walter James Lewis AM (born 1 December 1959) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 1980s and 1990s. He became a commentator for television coverage of the sp ...

unfit to play for the Kangaroos. Following the appointment of

Chris Anderson Chris Anderson may refer to: Sports * Chris Anderson (baseball) (born 1992), American baseball player * Chris Anderson (cheese roller), 22-time winner of annual cheese rolling * Chris Anderson (footballer, born 1925) (1925–1986), Scottish footb ...

as coach of the Kangaroos in 1999, Gibbs was replaced by then

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

doctor, Hugh Hazard. Gibbs continues to work in the rugby league arena and was also club doctor for the Sydney Swans where he was appointed Life Membership on 1 October 2010. He was one of the inaugural Fellows of the

Australasian College of Sport and Exercise Physicians The Australasian College of Sport and Exercise Physicians (ACSEP) is a not-for-profit professional organisation responsible for training, educating, and representing over 350 doctors in Australia and New Zealand. These doctors practise medicine ...

References

External links

''Nathan Gibbs'' at ''Yesterday's Hero''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbs, Nathan 1959 births Living people 20th-century Australian medical doctors 21st-century Australian medical doctors Australian rugby league players Australian sports physicians Parramatta Eels players Rugby league second-rows Rugby league locks Place of birth missing (living people) South Sydney Rabbitohs captains South Sydney Rabbitohs players University of New South Wales Medical School alumni University of Sydney alumni