Bryan Niebling (born 18 July 1960) 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 in the 1980s and 1990s. Niebling played in the forwards. After a successful

Brisbane Rugby League premiership The Brisbane Rugby League premiership was a rugby league football competition in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was first held in 1922 and for every year until 1997. The competition was reinstated in 2001, known as the FOGS premiership und ...

, and representative career for both his state and country, Niebling played 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 ...

for the

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Red Hill, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos compete in the National Rugby League (NRL) and play their home games at ...

from their first ever game.

Playing career

Nicknamed 'Horse', Niebling was a constant thorn in the side of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

forwards during the titanic State of Origin clashes of the early 1980s. His career in the State of Origin arena saw him make 9 appearances while playing for Brisbane Valleys and Redcliffe. Niebling made his Test début in the second row against

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

in 1984, and ultimately played in all three matches of Australia's Ashes whitewash. Named Redcliffe's player of the season and co-winner of the

Rothmans Medal The Rothmans Medal was the premier individual award in the New South Wales Rugby League and Brisbane Rugby League competitions, and later in the Australian Rugby League, which was given to the player voted by referees as the best and fairest in ...

in 1986, Niebling toured with the unbeaten Kangaroos and played in 10 matches including all five Tests. The last of Niebling's 13 Test appearances was in Australia's 13-6 loss to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Lang Park Brisbane Stadium (Lang Park), currently known as Suncorp Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in the suburb of Milton, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Nicknamed The Cauldron, it is a three-tiered rectangular sporting st ...

in 1987. Niebling captained Redcliffe in the 1987 Woolies pre-season, but missed most of the regular season due to injury. He was succeeded as captain of the side by Steve Bleakley, but returned to play in Redcliffe's Grand Final loss to

Past Brothers The Past Brothers Rugby League Football Club, or Brisbane Brothers Rugby League Football Club nicknamed the Leprechauns, or more commonly known as Brothers, or as The Brethren, was a rugby league club based in the city of Brisbane, Australia, ...

. By the time the Broncos had entered the

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

, his career was winding down because of injury. He later played for

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 ...

in 1989-91.

References

External links

Player Details at stateoforigin.com.auPlayer Profile at yesterdayshero.com.au
{{DEFAULTSORT:Niebling, Bryan 1960 births Living people Australia national rugby league team players Australian rugby league players Brisbane Broncos players Brisbane rugby league team players Fortitude Valley Diehards players Hull Kingston Rovers players Queensland Rugby League State of Origin players Redcliffe Dolphins players Rugby league second-rows Rugby league players from Queensland Rugby league props People from Murgon 20th-century Australian sportsmen