Steve Ella
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Stephen John Ella (born 28 July 1960) 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. He was a utility back for 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 ...
,
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 ...
and
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
, playing in 4 Tests for Australia between 1983 and 1985. He is a cousin of the Ella brothers who were prominent in Australian
rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
in the 1980s.


Club career

Steve Ella had a ten-year career with Parramatta playing every position in the Eels' backline, though mostly playing at either or . Nicknamed the "Zip Zip Man", Ella was a member of Parramatta's star studded backline of the early 1980s, alongside
Brett Kenny Brett "Bert" Edward Kenny (born 16 March 1961) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He was a and for the Australian national team and New South Wales Blues representative sides, and ...
, Mick Cronin, Peter Sterling and
Eric Grothe, Sr. Eric Grothe Sr. (born 6 January 1960), also known by the nickname "Guru", is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. A New South Wales rugby league team, New South Wales and Australian Kangar ...
It was only the presence of five-eighth Kenny and the partnership he had with Sterling that saw Ella play most of his first grade games in the centres where alongside Cronin he formed the NSWRL premiership's most lethal pairing. Ella was a member of four Premiership winning sides at Parramatta in
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 ...
,
1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...
,
1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...
and
1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...
and also participated in the 1984 Grand Final loss to Canterbury-Bankstown. Ella scored one try in each of the 1981 and 1982 Grand Final victories over Newtown and Manly-Warringah. After having scored 79 tries for Parramatta between 1981 and 1985, Ella played in England with
Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...
during the 1985–86 season, scoring twelve tries in 23 games. He played in the 14–8 victory over
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 ...
during the 1985 New Zealand rugby league tour of Great Britain and France at
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,
Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...
on Sunday 6 October 1985, played , scored two tries, and was
man of the match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...
in the 34–8 victory over
Warrington Warrington () is an industrial town in the Borough of Warrington, borough of the same name in Cheshire, England. The town sits on the banks of the River Mersey and was Historic counties of England, historically part of Lancashire. It is east o ...
in the 1985 Lancashire Cup Final during the 1985–86 season at
Knowsley Road Knowsley Road is a former football stadium in Eccleston, St Helens, Merseyside. It was the home ground of St. Helens from 1890 until its closure in 2010. St Helens Town FC played their home fixtures at Knowsley Road from 2002 until 2010. For ...
, St. Helens, on Sunday 13 October 1985, and played in the 18–4 victory over
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 the 1985–86 John Player Special Trophy Final during the 1985–86 season at
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,
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on Saturday 11 January 1986. When Ella returned to Parramatta early in the 1986 season, his career took a downturn that began when he suffered a gashed hand in early May, and then a shoulder injury in the Panasonic Cup semi-final against Manly. This shoulder injury recurred in June and again after Ella played two more games in July. After an arthroscope revealed ligament damage in Ella's shoulder, he missed five more games but an intensive course in physiotherapy allowed him to return and participate in a fourth premiership team before a full-scale off-season surgery. However, in his second match of 1987 Ella slipped his shoulder and missed the rest of the season after a series of shoulder problems. There would be an arthroscopy in March featuring the removal of loose bone fragments, and a second full-scale surgery at the end of May. Steve Ella would return for the 1988 season and escape injuries, producing several very good displays for a struggling Parramatta team. Steve Ella finished his career in 1989 as
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
of
Wakefield Trinity Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. The club play their home fixtures at the DIY Kitchen Stadium, Belle Vue (Wakefield), Belle Vue and currently compete in the Super League, the top tier o ...
in 1988–89. Ella did return to Parramatta for the 1989 season, but did not play a single game due to injury. After a specialist advised him not to risk further damage to his shoulder, Ella announced his retirement in July two weeks shy of his twenty-ninth birthday.


First grade matches


Club records and statistics

Ella scored 544 career points for Parramatta in 156 first grade premiership games putting him in third place on the club's all-time points list. In 1982 he was the season's top try-scorer and also set the club record with a total of 23 tries in a season, until Semi Radradra scored a total of 24 tries in the 2015 season thus breaking the record. He scored 92 career tries for Parramatta placing him in fourth place on the club's all time tryscoring table behind
Jarryd Hayne Jarryd Lee Hayne (born 1988) is an Australian semi-professional rugby league footballer who plays for Wentworthville Magpies in the Ron Massey Cup. He briefly moved to the US to play the running back position for San Francisco 49ers in the 2 ...
, Brett Kenny and Luke Burt.


Representative career

Steve Ella made seven State of Origin appearances for
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 ...
between 1983 and 1985. He was first selected for the Blues in Game 1 of the
1983 State of Origin series 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...
at
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
Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...
. After originally being named in the starting side, at the last moment Blues coach Ted Glossop decided to start veteran Manly-Warringah pivot Alan Thompson instead and play Ella from the bench. The late change didn't work and after a poor game from Thompson, Ella came on in the second half and scored a try to give NSW a chance at victory, though
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
went on to win the game 24–12. He was then selected in the centres alongside Mick Cronin for Game 2 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 ...
where he scored a try in the Blues' 10–6 triumph in muddy conditions for their sole win of the series. That game was notable because other than fullback Marty Gurr from Eastern Suburbs, the entire NSW backline consisted of Parramatta players (Grothe and Hunt on the wings, Ella and Cronin in the centres and Kenny and Sterling the halves). The NSW side that night was captained by Parramatta captain Ray Price while Eels forward Stan Jurd was on the bench. He retained his place in the side for Game 3 of the series in Brisbane, though Qld, led by their captain and Test 5/8
Wally Lewis Walter James Lewis AM (born 1 December 1959) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 1980s and 1990s. He became a commentator for television coverage of the sp ...
outclassed NSW 43—22 after leading by 33—0 midway through the second half. Ella then played Games 1 and 3 of
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and in all three games of
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when the Blues eventually had a series triumph over Queensland. At the national level, he was selected for the
1982 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France The 1982 Kangaroo tour was the fifteenth Kangaroo tour where the Australian national rugby league team played a number of matches against British and French rugby league teams, in addition to the Rugby league#Competitions, Test matches. The Aust ...
and appeared in twelve minor games, though he didn't play a Test on tour. In the tour match against
Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
in
Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...
, Ella scored four tries equaling the record for an Australian in a full international. On that same tour in a game in
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 ...
against Aquitaine in Villeneuve he scored seven tries equaling a record set by
Cec Blinkhorn Cyril "Cec" Blinkhorn (18 April 1892 – 8 April 1977) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1910s and 1920s. He played in the NSWRFL premiership for the North Sydney Bears, North Sydney and South Sydney Rabbitohs, South S ...
in the 1920s. Steve Ella made his Test début for
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
against
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 ...
in the Second Test of 1983 at Lang Park. After missing the 1984 Ashes Series against the touring
Great Britain Lions The Great Britain national rugby league team represents Great Britain in rugby league. Administered by the Rugby Football League (RFL), the team is nicknamed The Lions. For most of the 20th century, the Great Britain team toured overseas, p ...
, he made his return to the test team for the three test 1985 Trans-Tasman series against New Zealand. This would prove to be the last occasion when Ella represented Australia. Ella also made two appearances for NSW City. He made his first appearance for City in 1983, playing 5/8 and scoring a try in their 30–14 win over NSW Country in
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...
. His last appearance, also in Newcastle, came in City's 18–12 win in 1985 with Ella again playing five-eighth.Steve Ella – NSW City stats at Rugby League Project
/ref> Competition App T G FG Pts W L D Win % NRL NRL 157 93 104 6 548 106 50 1 67.52% NRL Finals 19 7 ‑ ‑ 25 14 5 0 73.68% Australia 13 22 3 ‑ 72 13 0 0 100.00% Where is he now? Steve is a proud Yuin man, and has spent over two decades saving lives as a drug and alcohol counsellor. As of February 2023 Steve heads up the Aboriginal Health Service at Gosford Hospital.


References


Sources

* Andrews, Malcolm (2006) ''The ABC of Rugby League'' Austn Broadcasting Corpn, Sydney * NRL Official 2007 Season Guide, News Magazines Surry Hills Sydney, for the National Rugby League


External links


Statistics at wigan.rlfans.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ella, Steve 1960 births Living people Australia national rugby league team players Australian expatriate rugby league players in England Australian rugby league players City New South Wales rugby league team players Indigenous Australian rugby league players New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin players Parramatta Eels players Rugby league centres Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league players from Fairfield, New South Wales Wakefield Trinity captains Wakefield Trinity players Wigan Warriors players 20th-century Australian sportsmen