Russel Gartner (born 16 September 1955), also known by the

nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

of "Frog eyes", is an Australian former

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. An international representative three-quarter, He played for

Manly-Warringah The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL). The Manly club debuted in the 1947 New South Wales Rugby Football League seaso ...

, Eastern Suburbs and Balmain in the

NSWRFL 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 ...

Biography

Gartner came from a family with a strong rugby league background with his father Jim and uncle Clive playing for the

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilitated by ...

(all three were pacey outside backs), while his cousin

Daniel Gartner Daniel Gartner (born 15 October 1972 in Sydney, New South Wales) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. His position was second row forward and he played in Australia with the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagl ...

, a back rower, would later also play for Manly-Warringah (winning a Premiership in

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

) and represent Australia. A fast and tall or er, Russel Gartner started playing first grade in the

New South Wales Rugby Football 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 ...

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

with the

club. The following year he won his first premiership when he was part of the Sea Eagles' team that defeated

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 ...

in the

Grand Final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Synonymous with a championship game in North Ameri ...

. In

1977 Events January * January 8 – 1977 Moscow bombings, Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (no ...

Gartner was the League's top try-scorer with 17, three more than any other player in the premiership (

North Sydney North Sydney is a suburb and commercial district on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. And is the administrative centre for the local government area of North Sydney Council. History The Indigenous people on the s ...

's Barry Wood and Gartner's former centre partner at Manly

Bob Fulton Robert Fulton (1 December 1947 – 23 May 2021), also nicknamed "Bozo", was an Australian rugby league footballer, coach and later commentator. Fulton played, coached, selected for and commentated on the game with great success at the highest ...

who had joined Eastern Suburbs following Manly's 1976 premiership). During the 1977 season, Gartner played two games for Australia in the

Rugby League World Cup The Rugby League World Cup is an international rugby league competition contested by senior men's national teams who each represent member nations of the International Rugby League who run and administer the tournament. The tournament has be ...

. After making his debut for Australia from the bench in a 21-9 win over

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

at the

Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in the Moore Park, New South Wales, Moore Park suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australi ...

on 11 June, Gartner was selected in the centres alongside

Michael Cronin Michael or Mick Cronin may refer to: Sports * Mick Cronin (hurler) (1902–1982), Irish hurler * Mick Cronin (footballer) (1911–1979), Australian rules football player, umpire and television commentator *Mick Cronin (rugby league) (born 1951), Au ...

for the World Cup final two weeks later against a strong

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 ...

side, again at the Cricket Ground. There he scored a spectacular 65-metre solo try which was a catalyst to Australia's eventual victory. Surprisingly his two

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

games in 1977 would prove to be Gartner's only appearances in the green and gold. Gartner is listed on the ''Australian Players Register'' as Kangaroo No.501.ARL Annual Report 2005, page 55 In

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

, Gartner was again a stand out performer for the Sea Eagles, scoring 10 tries for the season (second only in the team to winger

Tom Mooney Thomas Joseph Mooney (December 8, 1882 – March 6, 1942) was an American political activist and labor leader, who was convicted with Warren K. Billings of the San Francisco Preparedness Day Bombing of 1916. It quickly became apparent that M ...

who crossed for 11), and playing in their drawn Grand Final against Cronulla-Sutherland, before scoring two tries, the second being a 70-metre effort where Manly threw the ball wide from a scrum and Gartner easily out paced the Cronulla chasers despite going into the match having torn his hamstring while scoring in the Preliminary final win over Western Suburbs, in the 16-0 rout of the Sharks in the Grand Final replay played just two days later. Following his two try performance in the Grand Final replay, Gartner was a shock omission from the

1978 Kangaroo tour The 1978 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France comprised the Australia national rugby league team's fourteenth tour of Great Britain and ninth tour of France and took place from September to December 1978. Coached by Frank Stanton and capt ...

in which 7 of his team mates (fullback

Graham Eadie Graham "Wombat" Eadie (born 25 November 1953), is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He has been named amongst Australia's finest of the 20th century. A New South Wales State of Origin and Australia ...

, halfbacks John Gibbs and

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and musician. Known for Steve Martin filmography, his work in comedy films, television, and #Discography, recording, he has received List of awards a ...

, hooker and Sea Eagles captain

Max Krilich Max Krilich (born 25 October 1950 in Sydney, New South Wales) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He was a hooker for the Australia national team, playing in thirteen Tests from 1978 to 1983 and a ...

, five-eighth Alan Thompson, and forwards Ian Thomson and Bruce Walker) were selected to tour. An eighth team mate, hard hitting second rower

Terry Randall Terry William "Igor" Randall (born 5 February 1951 in Sydney, New South Wales) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played for the Manly-Warringah club in the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership. He is regularly nam ...

, was also selected but declined to tour citing exhaustion due to injuries and Manly's arduous finals campaign which saw the Sea Eagles play 6 finals games in just 24 days (as well as the Grand Final Replay, Manly also had to play a replay of their Semi-Final against Parramatta which was originally drawn 13–all). The coach of the Kangaroos was Manly coach Frank Stanton. At the end of the

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

season, Gartner transferred to the Eastern Suburbs club where he played for two years before moving to Balmain. He played on the wing for the Tigers in their 24-12 loss to

Canterbury-Bankstown Canterbury-Bankstown is a customary region of Sydney, Australia, in Inner South-Western Sydney. The region is located to the north of the St George region (from which it is separated by Wolli Creek) and to the south of the Inner West region ...

in the 1988 Grand Final, and was a non-playing reserve in their dramatic extra time loss to the

Canberra Raiders The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugb ...

in the 1989 Grand Final. Russel Gartner retired from playing following the 1989 Grand Final.

References

External links

Russel Gartner at yesterdayshero.com.auRussel Gartner at nrlstats.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gartner, Russel 1955 births Living people Australia national rugby league team players Australian rugby league players Balmain Tigers players

Russel Russel is an alternate spelling of Russell. Russel may also refer to: People with the given name *Russel Arnold (born 1973), Sri Lankan cricketer *Russel Crouse (1893–1966), American playwright *Russel Farnham (1784–1832), American front ...

Manly Warringah Sea Eagles players New South Wales rugby league team players Rugby league centres Rugby league players from Sydney Rugby league wingers Sydney Roosters players 20th-century Australian sportsmen