Lew Platz (born 2 October 1952) 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 1970s and 1980s. In his career he played for and 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 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 ...

clubs and also represented Australia and Queensland on several occasions. Platz's position for the majority of his career was at but he also played at . His brother Greg Platz was also a top grade rugby league player.

Playing career

Platz initially played in the Brisbane competition with Wynnum-Manly and while at the club represented Queensland and also played for Australia in the 1975 rugby league world cup. In 1978, Platz made the move to Sydney and played with Parramatta. In 1979, he was a member of the Parramatta side which made it to the preliminary final but were defeated by eventual premiers St George. At the end of 1980, Platz was told to find a new club by the newly appointed coach Jack Gibson. In 2017, Platz recalled being told the news he was no longer wanted at Parramatta saying “I played all the pre-season, including the last trial against Manly, when I had conjunctivitis, something I had never had before and have not had since,” Platz said. “I got a phone call at midnight after the game. ‘Jack here’. I thought it was captain

Steve Edge Steve Edge (born 2 November 1972) is an English actor, writer and former stand-up comedian. He is most famous for his work on '' Starlings'', '' Phoenix Nights'', '' The Cup'', '' The Visit'', '' Peep Show'', ''Benidorm'', ''The Madame Blanc ...

laying a trick “He said, "No, it’s Jack". I was an import, and you were only allowed 12. Jack said: "I thought I should ring you before you get tomorrow’s paper. I never graded you. I regard you as a first grader, but I’ve got a couple of blokes here I’m going to use more than you and I don’t think you want to play reserve grade. “I said "Jack, what a thing to do when I’m an import!". "He said, "I’ve been sacked by plenty of places and I’ve always come back, and you will. Somebody will find you", and he hung up. In 1981, Platz signed with Penrith and played there for three years before retiring at the end of the 1983 season.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Platz, Lew 1952 births Living people Australia national rugby league team players Australian rugby league players Parramatta Eels players Penrith Panthers players People from the Darling Downs Queensland rugby league team players Rugby league hookers Rugby league players from Queensland Rugby league second-rows Wynnum Manly Seagulls players 20th-century Australian sportsmen