Ben Galea (born 16 August 1978) 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. A City New South Wales representative forward, he previously played in Australasia's

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

for the

Balmain Tigers The Balmain Tigers (also known as the Sydney Tigers from 1995–96) are a rugby league club based in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Balmain. They were a founding member of the New South Wales Rugby League and one of the most successful i ...

and the

Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a joint-venture ...

(with whom he won the

2005 NRL Premiership The 2005 NRL season was the 98th season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the eighth run by the National Rugby League. The lineup of clubs remained unchanged from the previous year, with fifteen teams contesting the 2005 Telst ...

) and also for English club the

Hull Kingston Rovers Hull Kingston Rovers are a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England, that competes in the Super League, the top tier of British rugby league. The club has won five league championships, and one Challen ...

and

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 wer ...

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of w ...

Background

Galea was born in

Parramatta, New South Wales Parramatta () is a suburb and major 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 banks of the Parramatta Riv ...

, and is of Maltese descent. While attending Marayong John Paul II, he played for the Australian Schoolboys team in 1996.

Playing career

After struggling to make an impact in the lower grades at the

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 ...

, Galea signed with the newly merged

National Rugby League

In 2000 Galea in made a handful of NRL appearances for the Tigers from the bench. In 2001, Galea became a regular member of the Tigers' team. He represented City and was named the club's player of the year. After missing the first 2 games of the season, he played in every other game. In 2003, Galea played 14 games before his season ended when he needed a shoulder reconstruction. Galea played at second-row forward in the 2005 NRL grand final victory over 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 ...

. In the moments after the grand final victory, Galea was interviewed by Channel 9 sideline commentator

Matthew Johns Matthew James Johns (born 27 July 1971) is an Australian rugby league media personality, commentator and former professional player. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative , Johns played his club footbal ...

and was asked how it felt to be a premiership winner. Galea replied, "This is unbelievable, fucking all the boys have stuck together all year, we won the comp, we’re number one, fucking ..." In the following days, the Wests Tigers club issued an apology for the inappropriate language used by some of their players. As NRL Premiers, Wests travelled to England to play against

champions

Bradford Bulls The Bradford Bulls are a professional rugby league club in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, playing in the Championship. They have won five Challenge Cups, six league championships and three World Club Challenges. The team jersey is predom ...

in the

2006 World Club Challenge The 2006 World Club Challenge was a Rugby league match held on Friday, 3 February 2006, at Galpharm Stadium, Huddersfield, UK. The game was contested by Bradford Bulls and Wests Tigers. Qualification Bradford Bulls Bradford Bulls qualified f ...

. Galea played at lock forward in the Tigers' 30-10 loss. When Galea moved from the Wests Tigers at the end of the

2007 NRL season The 2007 NRL season was the one hundredth season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the tenth run by the National Rugby League. Sixteen teams contested the NRL's 2007 Telstra Premiership, and with the inclusio ...

, he was the joint venture's second most capped player with 150 games, and second highest try scorer, with 32 tries. In 2017, Galea was made a Wests Tiger Life Member.

Super League

From 2008 to 2012 Galea played in the

for

. On 13 September 2012, Galea confirmed that he had reversed his decision to retire in order to sign a one-year deal for former West Tigers assistant Peter Gentle at Hull FC.

Highlights

*''Junior Club:'' Penrith and Blacktown Workers *''First Grade Debut:'' 1999 - Round 14, Balmain v

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 ...

Campbelltown Stadium Campbelltown Stadium, formerly Orana Park and Campbelltown Sports Ground, is a multi-use stadium in Leumeah, New South Wales, Australia, owned by Campbelltown City Council. It is the home ground of the Western Suburbs Magpies and the Wests Ti ...

, 6 June *''Premierships:'' Member of Wests Tigers 2005 Premiership team

Referee

As of the 2014

NRL The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

season, Galea works regularly as a video referee in the Australian competition.

References

External links

Hull KR profileBen Galea Official Player ProfileBen Galea at ''Superleague.co.uk''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Galea, Ben 1978 births Living people Australian people of Maltese descent Australian expatriate sportspeople in England Balmain Tigers players Blacktown Workers players Hull F.C. players Hull Kingston Rovers players New South Wales City Origin rugby league team players Rugby league locks Rugby league players from Parramatta Rugby league second-rows Wests Tigers players