Anthony Ralph "Tank" Gordon (''c.'' 1948/49 – 25 March 2012) was a New Zealand

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 ...

and

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

footballer and coach who represented the

New Zealand Kiwis The New Zealand national rugby league team (Māori language, Māori: Tīma rīki motu Aotearoa) has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the ...

in the 1975 World Cup and coached them to the 1988 World Cup Final. He was known for his strong kick

Early years

Anthony was born in Rotorua. Later he would become a

New Zealand Army , image = New Zealand Army Logo.png , image_size = 175px , caption = , start_date = , country = , branch = ...

PT Instructor. While in the army Gordon was the

player-coach A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

of the Wairau army and played

for

King Country The King Country (Māori: ''Te Rohe Pōtae'' or ''Rohe Pōtae o Maniapoto'') is a region of the western North Island of New Zealand. It extends approximately from the Kawhia Harbour and the town of Otorohanga in the north to the upper reaches of ...

Playing career

Gordon then switched to

in 1975 and joined the Maritime club in the

Auckland Rugby League The Auckland Rugby League (ARL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is responsible for rugby league in the region, including both club and school rugby league. It began in 1910 when the fi ...

.''1986 Lion Red Rugby League Annual'',

New Zealand Rugby Football League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year.Coffey and Wood ''T ...

, 1986. p. 66 He made the

New Zealand national rugby league team The New Zealand national rugby league team (Māori: Tīma rīki motu Aotearoa) has represented New Zealand in rugby league since 1907. Administered by the New Zealand Rugby League, they are commonly known as the Kiwis, after the native bird of ...

after only 14 rugby league matches. He played in thirteen test matches for the Kiwis, including at the 1975 World Cup.

Coaching career

After retirement Gordon turned his attention to coaching. He had a brief spell with Mangere East before he was convinced to become Central's head coach in the

Bay of Plenty Rugby League Bay of Plenty Rugby League is the local sporting body responsible for the administration of Rugby league in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand. Following the restructuring of the New Zealand Rugby League they are part of the Upper Central Zone ...

competition. Gordan was met with immediate success, taking control of the

Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runawa ...

and

Northern Districts The Northern Districts men's cricket team are one of six New Zealand first-class cricket teams that make up New Zealand Cricket. They are based in the northern half of the North Island of New Zealand (excluding Auckland). They compete in the ...

sides. In 1987 he became coach of the

. The Kiwis toured Australia and Papua New Guinea in 1987 and Gordon was involved in an upset win of Australia. The team couldn't repeat the feat in 1988 as they lost the final of the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

in front of 47,000 fans at

Eden Park Eden Park is New Zealand's largest sports stadium, with a capacity of 50,000. Located in central Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, it is three kilometres southwest of the CBD, on the boundary between the suburbs of Mount Eden and King ...

. The Kiwis toured Britain and France in 1989 before Gordon was replaced as Kiwis coach. Gordon became coach of the London Crusaders in 1993 before joining

Hull F.C. Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league football club established in 1865 and based in West Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The club plays in the Super League competition and were ...

for the 1994–1995 season. Halfway through the

1995 Lion Red Cup The 1995 New Zealand rugby league season was the 88th season of rugby league that had been played in New Zealand. The main feature of the year was the second season of the Lion Red Cup competition that was run by the New Zealand Rugby League. The ...

Neil Joyce resigned as the coach of the

Bay of Plenty Stags The Bay of Plenty rugby league team (also known as the Bay of Plenty Lakers) are a New Zealand rugby league team who represents the Bay of Plenty Rugby League in New Zealand Rugby League competitions. Between 1994 and 1996 they competed in the L ...

. Gordon became a co-coach alongside Lawrence Brydon for the remainder of the season. In 1996 he remained with the Stags as the business Manager while Brydon became the head coach. During the season he was suspended and investigated by the

New Zealand Rugby League The New Zealand Rugby League (NZRL) is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. SPARC, 2009: 13 The NZRL was founded on 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year.Coffey and Wood ''T ...

over accusations of fraud. He was later cleared of all charges. Between 1996 and 2001 he coached the

Coastline Mariners The Coastline rugby league team are New Zealand rugby league team that represents the Coastline Rugby League. They have been nicknamed the ''Mariners''. History The first time Coastline competed as an independent district was in 1995, previousl ...

Later years

In 2006 Gordon was the coach of Kahukura in the Baywide

competition.'Tank' happy to coach Rotorua club side
''The Daily Post'', 31 March 2006 He died on 25 March 2012 after a long illness.‘Tank’ Anthony Ralph Gordon dies
''3 News'', 25 March 2012

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Tony 1940s births 2012 deaths Bay of Plenty rugby league team coaches Bay of Plenty rugby league team players Coastline rugby league team coaches Harlequins Rugby League coaches Hull F.C. coaches London Broncos coaches Mangere East Hawks coaches Maritime rugby league team players New Zealand Army personnel New Zealand national rugby league team coaches New Zealand national rugby league team players New Zealand rugby league coaches New Zealand rugby league players New Zealand rugby union coaches New Zealand rugby union players Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league players from Rotorua Rugby league wingers Rugby union players from Rotorua