Nigel Gaffey (born 5 January 1970) is an Australian former

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 1990s and 2000s. He played at club level for 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 ...

, the

Sydney City Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby league, Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won ...

, the

South Queensland Crushers The South Queensland Crushers were an Australian rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. In 1992 it was decided that the team would be admitted into the New South Wales Rugby League competition, along with three other teams, a ...

and the

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith that competes in the NRL. The team is based west of the centre of Sydney, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Penrith ...

, as a and . He is the son of former

Cronulla Sharks The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Cronulla, in the Sutherland Shire, Southern Sydney, New South Wales. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL), Australasia's premier rugby league ...

player Len Gaffey.

Playing career

A Canberra junior, Gaffey made his first grade debut for the Raiders as a replacement in their 22-16 loss against the

Seiffert Oval Seiffert Oval is an enclosed rectangular playing field in Queanbeyan, New South Wales. It has a grass playing surface and an official capacity of 15,000, 1,500 of which is seated capacity in the grandstand. The oval boasts lighting, toilets, k ...

in round 16 of the 1989 season. Gaffey replaced the injured

Bradley Clyde Bradley Clyde (born 27 January 1970) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s who, at the peak of his playing career was widely acknowledged as the best in the game. He represented b ...

in the Raiders' victory over the

in the 1990 Grand Final. Gaffey's stint with Raiders ended at the conclusion of the 1991 season. Gaffey joined the

Eastern Suburbs Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won fifteen New S ...

in 1992, and in what was a season that produced mixed fortunes for the Roosters, Gaffey starred, playing in all 22 games, and scored 8 tries and finished the season as the team's equal top try scorer along with fellow Roosters 1992 newcomers Gary Freeman and David Seidenkamp. Gaffey also starred in the Roosters' 1993 season campaign, he once again played in all 22 games, and scored 9 tries and finished the season as the team's top try scorer on his own. In addition, Gaffey was also selected in the

Country Origin The Country New South Wales rugby league team is a representative rugby league football team. Between 1987 and 2017 there were two tiers: the Origin team that consisted of professional players who originated from clubs of the Country Rugby Leagu ...

side in the 1993

City vs Country Origin City vs Country Origin was an annual Australian rugby league football match that took place in New South Wales between City and Country representative sides. The City side represented the Sydney metropolitan area. While technically it was Sydne ...

match.1993 City vs Country Origin
/ref> After a few poor seasons in 1994 and 1995 in which the Roosters finished 14th and 9th respectively, Gaffey decided to leave the Roosters at the end of the 1995 season. In 1996, along with fellow Roosters Jason Hudson,

Graham Mackay Graham Mackay (born 12 October 1968) is a former international and state representative rugby league footballer whose club career spanned Ten Australian and English clubs, including Western Suburbs, Penrith, Gold Coast Chargers, Hull FC and ...

Clinton O'Brien Clinton O'Brien (born 10 January 1974) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. A Queensland State of Origin representative forward, he played club football in Australia for the Sydney Roos ...

and Mark Protheroe, Gaffey joined the ill-fated

. Despite playing in 20 of their 21 games in 1996, The Crushers finished with the wooden spoon. Gaffey left the Crushers at the end of the 1996 season. In 1997, Gaffey returned to the Roosters. In his second stint with the Roosters, they were much more of a dominant force in the competition. They went from being easybeats (having not made a finals appearance since 1987) to title contenders. In 1997 and 1998, they went within one game of making their first grand final appearance since 1980, losing both preliminary finals to the

Manly Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rugb ...

and the

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite com ...

respectively. Gaffey left the Roosters at the end of the 1998 season. In 1999, Gaffey joined the

. Gaffey played in the first 8 games of the 2000 season before announcing his retirement. He finished his career playing 177 games, and scoring 37 tries, and 1 goal.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaffey, Nigel 1970 births Living people Australian rugby league players Canberra Raiders players Penrith Panthers players South Queensland Crushers players Sydney Roosters players Country New South Wales Origin rugby league team players Rugby league locks Rugby league players from Canberra Rugby league second-rows