Anthony Xuereb (born 28 June 1970) is an Australian former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who played for the

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Greater Western Sydney suburb of Penrith, New South Wales, Penrith that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL). The team is based west of the cen ...

and Western Suburbs in the

New South Wales Rugby League premiership The New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the first rugby league football club competition established in Australia and contributor to today's National Rugby League. Run by the New South Wales Rugby League (initially named the New Sout ...

. To date, he is one of only two players in the history of the NRL (the other being Bronson Xerri) with a last name beginning with the letter "X".

Background

Xuereb was born in

Penrith, New South Wales Penrith is a city in New South Wales, Australia, located in Greater Western Sydney, 55 kilometres (31 mi) west of the Sydney central business district on the banks of the Nepean River, on the outskirts of the Cumberland Plain. Its elevati ...

. He grew up living in the suburbs of Tregear and

Mount Druitt Mount Druitt is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is located west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Blacktown, and is part of the Greater Western Sydney regio ...

. He attended Tregear Primary School and Dunheved High School.

Playing career

Xuereb made his first grade debut for Penrith in round 10 1991 against

St. George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

Penrith Park Penrith Stadium, currently known as BlueBet Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league and association football stadium located in Penrith, New South Wales, Australia. The 22,500 capacity venue is the home ground for the Penrith Panthe ...

. Following their 1991 grand final victory, Xuereb traveled with the Penrith to England for the

1991 World Club Challenge The 1991 World Club Challenge (marketed as the Foster's Lager, Foster's World Club Challenge due to sponsorship from the brewer) was contested by 1990–91 Rugby Football League season, 1990–91 RFL Championship winners, Wigan Warriors, Wigan and ...

which was lost to Wigan. In 1992, Xuereb joined Western Suburbs but only played two games for the club before heading back to Penrith.Alan Whiticker/Glen Hudson: The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players. (1995 edition) Xuereb's final game in the top grade came against Eastern Suburbs in round 18 1994 at the

Sydney Football Stadium Sydney Football Stadium may refer to: * Sydney Football Stadium (1988), the original stadium which was demolished in 2019. * Sydney Football Stadium (2022) Sydney Football Stadium, currently known as Allianz Stadium for sponsorship reasons, i ...

which Penrith lost 30–8. He was released by the Penrith club at the end of the 1994 season and subsequently never played first grade again.

International

Eleven years after his final first grade game, Xuereb gained one international cap for

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

in the 24–22 win over

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, playing at , at

Fairfax Community Stadium Landen Stadium (previously Gabbie Stadium, Fairfax Community Stadium, Lily Homes Stadium, Lily's Football Centre, Blacktown City Sports Centre) is a multi-purpose stadium located in Sydney, Australia. It is the home ground of Blacktown City FC ...

in Sydney on Sunday, 8 October 2005.

Career playing statistics

Point scoring summary

References

1970 births Living people Australian people of Maltese descent Australian rugby league players Malta national rugby league team players Penrith Panthers players Rugby league players from Penrith, New South Wales Western Suburbs Magpies players Rugby league fullbacks {{Australia-rugbyleague-bio-1970s-stub