Chris Mortimer (born 19 August 1959 in
Wagga Wagga, New South Wales)
[
] is an Australian former professional
rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s for the
Canterbury-Bankstown,
Penrith,
New South Wales and for the
Australian national side.
Playing career
Chris Mortimer was the youngest of the three famous brothers to play for Canterbury during the late 1970s, and 1980s. Glen Mortimer the 4th brother played 26 first grade games for Cronulla-Sutherland between 1983 and 1987 after starting out in the Bulldogs lower grades.
Mortimer played 192 first grade games for Canterbury between 1978 and 1987. He was a member of the Canterbury Premiership winning teams in 1980, 1984 and 1985 and played in Canterbury's Grand Final losses in 1979 and 1986.
Mortimer played for Penrith between 1988–90 and his final game for Penrith was in the 1990 Grand Final and has long been regarded as the best and most important signing made by the club at the time.
Mortimer also enjoyed success at representative level playing eight matches for NSW in 1984, 1985, 1986 and 1986. Mortimer played one Test against Papua New Guinea in 1986 and was a member of the undefeated
Kangaroo Tour
Kangaroo Tour is the name given to Australian national rugby league team tours of Great Britain and France, tours to New Zealand and the one-off tour to Papua New Guinea (1991). The first Kangaroo Tour was in 1908. Traditionally, Kangaroo Tours to ...
squad. His toughness, steel and defence were all very important during NSW's State of Origin series victories in 1985–86 with the 1985 triumph captained by brother Steve.
Regarded as one of the toughest centres during his career, Mortimer enjoyed great success against champions such as
Michael Cronin,
Mal Meninga and
Gene Miles in the big matches.
Chris and his two older brothers
Steve Mortimer and
Peter Mortimer played in four Grand Finals together. Peter was a non-playing reserve in 1986 due to injury and only Steve was around when the 1988 Grand Final was played. No pair of brothers, yet alone trio of brothers have played in four Grand Finals together in the last 30 years. Steve and Chris ended up playing in five Grand Finals together. All three Mortimer brothers are Life Members of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs Football Club.
Post playing
On 24 October 2000, Chris Mortimer was recipient of
Australian Sports Medal.
References
See also
*
Mortimer family
The Mortimer brothers are a rugby league football family.
First generation
Hailing from Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia: Chris Mortimer, Peter Mortimer and Steve Mortimer. The brothers are best known for their relationship with the ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mortimer, Chris
1959 births
Living people
Australia national rugby league team players
Australian rugby league players
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs players
Country New South Wales Origin rugby league team players
Country New South Wales rugby league team players
Chris
New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin players
Penrith Panthers players
Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal
Rugby league centres
Rugby league five-eighths
Rugby league wingers
Rugby league players from Wagga Wagga
Wakefield Trinity players