Jason Stafford (born 5 July 1967) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played for the Western Suburbs Magpies and Past Brothers.
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 5 July 1967 Queensland, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Centre | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Club career edit
Stafford made his first-grade debut with Past Brothers in the Brisbane Rugby League premiership in 1987 as a 19-year-old. He scored 2 tries over the course of the season, playing in the centres, but was not a member of the team that won the grand final that year.[2]
In 1988, Stafford joined the Western Suburbs Magpies in the NSWRL. He made his debut from the bench on 27 March against the Balmain Tigers. A week later he made his debut in the centres against the North Sydney Bears, also scoring a try. He scored a double in round 7 and again in round 8, where he received attention when he scored an 80 metre try with one shoe missing.[3] Stafford finished the season with 9 tries from his 15 games, making him the club's highest tryscorer - the next closest with 4. Failing to score in his 4 games on the wing, he had 9 from 11 in the centres.
For the 1989 season, Stafford was described as one of the "nobodies" who provided "great hope for the future" for Wests.[4] In the starting team from round 1 this year, he played in 19 games but only scored 2 tries. He was still said to have "revelled" alongside the club's English imports Ellery Hanley and Garry Schofield.[5]
The 1990 season started with Stafford being awarded Man of the Match in the first round of the pre-season Challenge Cup[6] After missing the start of the regular season, the "big stylish centre" returned with another double in "spectacular fashion" in round 4. Scoring 4 tries in his first 3 matches of the season, club coach John Bailey was saying that Stafford had a chance of forcing his way into the Queensland State of Origin team for that year.[7] He soon after suffered a cruciate ligament injury[8] and never played in the competition again, despite being taken by St. George Dragons in the 1991 draft.[9]
References edit
- ^ "Jason Stafford - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project.
- ^ Chris Garry. "Best 10 Brisbane or QRL grand finals in past 50 years". Courier Mail.
- ^ "Match Reviews". Rugby League Week. No. 11. 27 April 1988.
- ^ David Middleton (1988). Rugby League 1988-89. Letter-Townsend Publishing. p. 140. ISBN 0949853194.
- ^ David Middleton (1989). Rugby League 1989-90. Letter-Townsend Publishing. p. 136. ISBN 0949853321.
- ^ "Rugby League Week". 21 (3). 21 February 1990: 24.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ "Stafford given chance to impress". Sydney Morning Herald. 15 April 1990. p. 74.
- ^ "Injured Garry Jack has good news for the in form Tigers". Sydney Morning Herald. 3 June 1990. p. 65.
- ^ "Draft drama: just look behind the scenes". Sydney Morning Herald. 21 February 1991. p. 55.
- Whiticker, Alan and Hudson, Glen; The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players; published 2005 by BAS publishing, f16/171 Collins St, Melbourne, Vic., 3000