Peter Smith 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 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He played for the

Gold Coast Gold Coast may refer to: Places Africa * Gold Coast (region), in West Africa, which was made up of the following colonies, before being established as the independent nation of Ghana: ** Portuguese Gold Coast (Portuguese, 1482–1642) ** Dutch G ...

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 o ...

, South Sydney and

Illawarra The Illawarra is a coastal region in the Australian state of New South Wales, nestled between the mountains and the sea. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast region. It encompasses the two cities of Wollongo ...

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. Smith also played for

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

in England.

Playing career

Smith made his first grade debut for Canterbury-Bankstown in round 13 1979 against North Sydney at

North Sydney Oval North Sydney Oval is a multi-use sporting facility in North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, owned and operated by North Sydney Council. First used as a cricket ground in 1867, it is also used for Australian rules football, rugby league, rug ...

. Canterbury would go on to reach the 1979 NSWRL Grand Final against

St. George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

but were defeated 17–13 at the

Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and as ...

. Smith played at second-row in the match. In 1980, Smith missed out on playing in Canterbury's premiership winning team which defeated

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 ...

in the grand final but he did play in the reserve grade premiership team which defeated

Parramatta Parramatta () is a suburb and major Central business district, commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney, located in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district on the ban ...

. In 1982, Smith joined South Sydney after finding opportunities limited at Canterbury. Smith spent two years at Souths where he found more game time before signing with Illawarra. Smith spent three seasons at Illawarra, in two of those three seasons the club finished last on the table. During the off season, Smith spent one year with Leeds in England before returning to Australia and signing with the new Gold Coast team which were admitted into the competition for the 1988 season. Smith played in the club's first game which came against his former club Canterbury in round 1 1988 at the

Seagulls Stadium Seagulls Stadium was a rugby league stadium located on Gollan Drive in West Tweed Heads, New South Wales. Originally known as Chris Cunningham Field, it was the home ground of the Gold Coast-Tweed Giants rugby league franchise, who entered the ...

and ended in a 21–10 loss. Smith spent two years at the Gold Coast where they narrowly avoided the wooden spoon before retiring.

References

1958 births Living people Australian rugby league players Gold Coast Chargers players Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs players South Sydney Rabbitohs players Illawarra Steelers players Leeds Rhinos players Place of birth missing (living people) Rugby league second-rows Rugby league props {{Australia-rugbyleague-bio-1950s-stub