Lil coppers in the blue...my bloke an his team in the front, 2004.
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[font=Times New Roman, Times, serif]Wayne Pearce[/font][/font]
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[font=Times New Roman, Times, serif]NSW [/font][/font][font=Times New Roman, Times, serif]
RECORD[/font]
[font=Times New Roman, Times, serif]15 GAMES, 3 TRIES, 12 POINTS [/font]
[font=Times New Roman, Times, serif]AUSTRALIAN RECORD [/font]
[font=Times New Roman, Times, serif]18 TESTS, 6 TRIES, 21 POINTS [/font]
Wayne Pearce was born in Balmain in 1960. In the years that followed, Junior would become a part of Balmain and a local hero. He would lead his beloved Tigers onto Leichhardt Oval, a ground he once sold food on as a youngster whilst watching the Tigers in battle. Junior as he is known around Balmain would also lead the NSW Blues onto the Origin cauldron on 9 occasions and donned the green and gold jersey of Australia 18 times. He would also be honoured in 1986 with the Australian vice captaincy. In 1988 Junior retired from representative football to concentrate on winning a Premiership with the Balmain Tigers. Unfortunately this dream came to an end after two heart wrenching Grand Final losses in 1988 and 1989.
When his playing career was tragically cut short by chronic knee injuries, Junior watched helplessly as his once Mighty Tigers struggled to rebuild without their inspirational leader. After sitting on sidelines for 4 years Junior would take the reigns as coach and build a side of wooden spooners into a competitive outfit devoid of big name players and salaries but strong on spirit and determination.
No words can adequately describe the contribution Wayne Pearce has made to rugby league and the Balmain Tigers.
There is no greater representative of the Balmain spirit than Wayne Pearce. Junior has been a Tiger all his life. His loyalty to the club is unwavering and unconditional. Over the years Balmain have had many players come and go but none are held in higher regard than Junior. As a player he gave everything he had and was a fantastic role model for kids. Now as a coach he has instilled a work ethic and spirit into a side that has grown and improved every season. His coaching ability has also been recognised by the Origin selectors who have chosen him to coach the 1999 NSW State of Origin side after just 4 seasons of first grade coaching.
1984 Harry Sunderland Medal Winner
1985 Rothmans Medal for Best and Fairest
1987 Dally M Lock of the Year
Benny Elias on Wayne Pearce: "Of all the players I ever saw, he was the closeset to consistently playing up to his full
potential. Albert Einstein once said that human beings only use five per cent of their capacity. Albert did not meet Junior."
Steve Roach on Wayne Pearce: "Junior was the toughest bloke I ever saw. He had an inner strength of character and a never say die spirit that was indomitable."
