Cameron Blair (born 6 July 1966) 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 1980s and 1990s for Western Suburbs, Parramatta, the Western Reds and Adelaide.

Playing career

Blair made his debut 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 ...

in 1988. He played in every game that season (and again in 1989) and was named the competition's Rookie of the Year. Blair started as captain for the 1989 season, before handing over to

Ellery Hanley Cuthwyn Ellery Hanley MBE (born 27 March 1961) is an English former rugby league player and coach. Over a nineteen-year professional career (1978–1997), he played for Bradford Northern, Wigan, Balmain, Western Suburbs and Leeds. He won 36 ...

mid-season. With his contract about to expire, Blair received offers from other clubs. He was offered a substantial contract to join Manly, but re-signed with Wests for a further 2 seasons. In 1990, Blair was again a regular in first grade, but with the arrival of new 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 Premi ...

in 1991 Blair was often playing from the bench behind newly arrived players like

Ron Gibbs Ron Gibbs (born 14 April 1962), also known by the nickname of " Rambo", is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played professionally in Australia and England. An Australian Aboriginal and Country New South Wales representative th ...

David Gillespie David "Cement" Gillespie (born 22 March 1964) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a and forward in the 1980s and 1990s. Gillespie played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Western Suburbs Magpies, ...

and

Bob Lindner Bob Lindner (born 10 November 1962) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 1990s. An Australia national and Queensland State of Origin representative forward, he is on ...

. He played in just 9 games in his last season before leaving the club. Blair totalled 73 games for the Magpies over four years. Blair then spent four seasons with 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 thei ...

before finishing his career with one year spells at two new franchises, the

Western Reds The Western Reds were a rugby league football club based in Perth, Western Australia. Founded in 1992 as the Western Reds, they entered into the Australian Rugby League competition in 1995 before defecting to the rival Super League competition i ...

and the

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 L ...

. Blair once held the record for most first grade games played without featuring in a finals game in NSWRL/NRL history until it was later overtaken by

Luke Brooks Luke Brooks (born 21 December 1994) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in the National Rugby League (NRL) in 2024. He previously played for the Wests Tigers in the Nation ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blair, Cameron 1966 births Living people Adelaide Rams players Australian rugby league players Parramatta Eels players Place of birth missing (living people) Rugby league locks Rugby league second-rows Western Reds players Western Suburbs Magpies captains Western Suburbs Magpies players