Gavin Whittaker (13 January 1970 – 6 January 2017) was an Australian professional
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
footballer who played for
Canterbury-Bankstown
Canterbury-Bankstown is a customary region of Sydney, Australia, in the south-western suburbs. The area is located around the Bankstown railway line, to the west of the St George region and to the south of the Inner West region. The suburbs o ...
and the
Gold Coast.
Background
Whittaker was born in
Pittsworth, Queensland
Pittsworth is a rural town and locality in the Toowoomba Region, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Pittsworth had a population of 3,294 people.
Geography
Pittsworth township is south-west of Brisbane via the Warrego Highway, sou ...
.
Playing career
Whittaker made his first grade debut for Canterbury in Round 16 1993 against Balmain. Whittaker played with the club up until the end of 1995 but was not included in the premiership winning side that defeated Manly.
Whittaker joined the Gold Coast to play 31 games from 1996 to 1998.
His son, Shai Whittaker later played for representative teams from 2007 to 2013; such as the Gold Coast Titans U18's and Queensland U17's.
Whittaker died from
stomach cancer
Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a cancer that develops from the Gastric mucosa, lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a number of subtypes, including gastric adenoca ...
on 6 January 2017 at his home in
Parkwood, Queensland
Parkwood is a suburb in the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. In the , Parkwood had a population of 8,702 people.
Geography
Parkwood is about by road north-west of Southport.
The suburb is bounded by Napper Road to the north, Olsen A ...
, a week before his 47th birthday.
References
External links
Bulldogs profile
1970 births
2017 deaths
Australian rugby league players
Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs players
Gold Coast Chargers players
Rugby league props
Rugby league players from Queensland
Deaths from stomach cancer
Deaths from cancer in Queensland
{{Australia-rugbyleague-bio-1970s-stub