Ben Galea (born 16 August 1978) is an Australian

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. A City New South Wales representative forward, he previously played in Australasia's

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

for the

Balmain Tigers The Balmain Tigers (also known as the Sydney Tigers from 1995 to 1996) are a rugby league club based in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Balmain, New South Wales, Balmain. They were a founding member of the New South Wales Rugby League and on ...

and the

Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers is an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West of Sydney and South Western Sydney. The Tigers have competed in the National Rugby League (NRL) since being formed at the end of the 1999 N ...

(with whom he won the 2005 NRL Premiership) and also for English clubs

Hull Kingston Rovers Hull Kingston Rovers (often abbreviated to Hull KR) are a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, England. The club play home games at Craven Park, Hull, Craven Park and compete in Super League, the top tier of B ...

and Hull F.C. of the

Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

Background

Galea was born on 16 August 1978, in

Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...

, 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 (NRL). The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and ...

, 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 The 2005 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the National Rugby League's 2005 NRL season, 2005 Telstra Premiership season. It was played on the night of Sunday, 2 October at Sydney's Telstra Stadium between the W ...

victory over the

North Queensland Cowboys The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest city 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 footb ...

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, and compete in the Championship, the second tier of British rugby league. The club have won the League Championship six times, the Challenge Cup f ...

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 fo ...

. 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 inclusi ...

, 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 Peter Gentle (born ) is a former Australian rugby league coach and former footballer who played in the 1980s. Gentle is currently the Recruitment Manager of Manly Warringah Sea Eagles. Club career A halfback and St. George junior, Gentle playe ...

Hull FC Hull Football Club, commonly referred to as Hull or Hull F.C., is a professional rugby league club based in Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, England. Hull play their home games at the MKM Stadium and compete in Super League, the t ...

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) is an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as the club is commonly ...

Campbelltown Stadium Campbelltown Sports Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Leumeah, a suburb in South Western Sydney, Australia, owned by Campbelltown City Council. Formerly known as Orana Park and Campbelltown Sports Ground, it is currently the home ground ...

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

Referee

As of the 2014

NRL The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

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 rugby league players in England Balmain Tigers players 20th-century Australian sportsmen 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