Noel Goldthorpe (born 25 December 1969) is an Australian 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 who played in the halves in the 1990s. He played most of his career for the

St George Dragons The St. George Dragons is an Australian rugby league football club from St George District in Sydney, New South Wales that played in the top level New South Wales competition and Australian Rugby League competitions from the 1921 until th ...

. Goldthorpe also played for the

Western Suburbs Magpies The Western Suburbs Magpies (legal name: Western Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club Ltd) are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly r ...

Hunter Mariners The Hunter Mariners were an Australian professional rugby league club based in the Hunter Region's largest city, Newcastle. Hunter was formed in mid-1995 and was later disbanded at the end of 1997. The club was formed because of the Super Leag ...

Adelaide Rams The Adelaide Rams were an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Adelaide, South Australia. The team was formed in 1995 for the planned rebel Super League competition. The Rams lasted two seasons, the first in the Super Le ...

and the

North Queensland Cowboys The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest town in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL). Sinc ...

, whom he captained.

Background

Goldthorpe was born in Botany, New South Wales, Australia.

Career

Goldthorpe was originally a South Sydney junior from the

Botany Rams The Botany Rams has been operating for over 75 years under the names of Botany United and Botany RSL, before becoming Botany Juniors (Rams). Henry Morris, was President of Botany prior to his appointment as President of Souths Juniors. Their fir ...

club. Although he also played some junior rugby league in the St George district with the

Kyeemagh Kyeemagh ( ) is a suburb in southern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is 12 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district, on the western shore of Botany Bay. Kyeemagh is in the local government area of the Ba ...

club. Goldthorpe made his first grade debut for Western Suburbs on 1 July 1990, coming off the bench in a loss to Cronulla. It was his only appearance for the season. He made 5 appearances for the Magpies in 1991, 4 off the bench. His sole starting game for the club was in round when regular halfback Jason Taylor was dropped to the bench by coach

Warren Ryan Warren Redman Ryan (born 27 October 1941) is an Australian former professional rugby league football coach and player. He is considered one of the most influential rugby league coaches of the 20th century. Ryan also played in the NSWRFL Premie ...

after a poor game. Having led the Magpies reserve grade team to the semi-finals, Goldthorpe was hoping to re-sign with the team for 1992. He said, "I was shattered They said I could stay if I wanted but there'd be no money. They really didn't want me. I was driving home from Western Suburbs thinking 'what am I going to do?'" He approached St. George coach Brain Smith, and signed a one-year contract. Goldthorpe then went on to play with St George for 5 seasons including 3 grand final losses in 1992, 1993 and 1996. Goldthorpe is notable for breaking the deadlock with a field goal for New South Wales in what was the longest recorded game of rugby league: the final of the 1997 Super League Tri-series against Queensland. In an ironic twist, however, he lost his starting spot at his club due to the impressive debut of

Brett Kimmorley Brett "Noddy" Kimmorley (born 15 September 1976) is an Australian rugby league coach and former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s and is the current interim coach of the Wests Tigers. A New South Wales int ...

who had played in his stead while he was on representative duty with New South Wales. After leaving St George at the end of 1996, Goldthorpe joined the

for their first and only season as a club. The team finished 6th in the Super League competition but were liquidated at the end of the year. Goldthorpe then joined the now defunct

and played in their final ever match as a club, which was a 34–20 loss against Newcastle. In 1999, Goldthorpe joined North Queensland and played two seasons for the club. Goldthorpe later became captain of the team. His final year in first grade ended with a wooden spoon as North Queensland finished last on the table. Goldthorpe was later the captain-coach of the

Noosa Pirates Noosa Pirates Rugby League Football Club is an Australian rugby league football club based in Noosa formed in 1968. In 2017, the Pirates won their first division one title in the Sunshine Coast Rugby League since 2008. Notable Juniors * Rocky E ...

in the Sunshine Coast Rugby League competition.

References

Sources

* 1969 births Living people Adelaide Rams players Australian rugby league players Hunter Mariners players New South Wales rugby league team players North Queensland Cowboys players Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league players from Sydney Sportsmen from New South Wales St. George Dragons players Western Suburbs Magpies players {{Australia-rugbyleague-bio-1960s-stub