Steve Georgallis (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: Σταυρος Γεωργάλλης; born 17 June 1968) is an Australian 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 ...

football coach who is the head coach of

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, an assistant coach for the

North Queensland Cowboys The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest city in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL). Sinc ...

in the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

(NRL), Head Coach of the Parramatta Eels Womens team (NRLW), and former professional rugby league footballer. A half or , he played for the

Eastern Suburbs Roosters Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club, known as the Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Eastern Suburbs. The club competes in the National Rugby Lea ...

Western Suburbs Magpies The Western Suburbs Magpies (legal name: Western Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club Ltd) is an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as the club is commonly ...

and the

Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers is an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West of Sydney and South Western Sydney. The Tigers have competed in the National Rugby League (NRL) since being formed at the end of the 1999 N ...

, as well as in England for

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

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 ...

and the

Warrington Wolves Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league club based in Warrington, England. They play home games at the Halliwell Jones Stadium and compete in Super League, the top tier of British rugby league system, British rugby league. Warringto ...

. As a coach, he has served as interim head coach for 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

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 ...

Playing career

Georgallis made his début with Eastern Suburbs in 1989 playing . Over the four seasons with the club he had spells playing as a and without being able to cement a position, making only 38 appearances. Joining Western Suburbs in 1993, he proved just as adaptable, and was a cornerstone of the team for seven seasons, playing in 148 games. During this time he also spent an off-season in England playing for

. By 1999, Georgallis had started making appearances as a , and was captaining the struggling Western Suburbs club. He played a season mostly from the bench for the

after the merger with Balmain including their final ever game as a stand-alone entity which came in round 26 of the

1999 NRL season The 1999 NRL season was the 92nd season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the second to be run by the National Rugby League. With the exclusion of the Adelaide Rams and Gold Coast Chargers, and the joint venture of the S ...

against the

Auckland Warriors The Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as the Aucklan ...

which ended in a 60–16 loss. In round 1 of the

2000 NRL season The 2000 NRL season was the 93rd season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the third to be run by the National Rugby League. Fourteen teams competed from February until August for the NRL Premiership, culminating in the 200 ...

, Georgallis played for the Wests Tigers in their inaugural game against

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 ...

which ended in a 24–24 draw. Georgallis was cheered from the field at the completion of his last Australian game which was a 36–26 loss against

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Campbelltown Stadium Campbelltown Sports Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Leumeah, a suburb in South Western Sydney, Australia, owned by Campbelltown City Council. Formerly known as Orana Park and Campbelltown Sports Ground, it is currently the home ground ...

. In 2001, Georgallis joined the

for a season. Wolves' coach Darryl van der Velde said at the time, "He knows what Rugby League's all about. He is very strong, has good hands and is always busy on the field." Unfortunately, Georgallis only lasted six games before the end of his professional career, though he did make later appearances as captain of

Coaching career

In 2003, Georgallis became the head coach of the Greece national rugby league team and the

SG Ball Cup The S. G. Ball Cup is a junior rugby league football competition played predominantly in New South Wales, between teams made up of male players aged under 19. Teams from Canberra and Melbourne, and Auckland also participate. Prior to the COVID ...

team. On 31 August 2003, he coached Greece in their first rugby league Test match, a 26–10 win over

New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. In 2004, he became head coach of the Magpies

NSWRL Premier League The NSW Cup, currently known as the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales. The competition has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserve ...

team. In 2006, Georgallis joined the

as an assistant coach and head coach of their NSWRL Premier League feeder club, the St Marys Cougars. In 2008, he became coach of Penrith's National Youth Competition under-20s team, finishing fourth and taking them to the finals. On 20 June 2011, it was announced that Georgallis would take over as interim head coach of the

following the resignation of Matthew Elliott. He had immediate success, defeating the

30–20 in his first game in charge. Georgallis had won his first two games when it was announced that Phil Gould had chosen Ivan Cleary to be the Penrith coach from 2012 onwards. The Penrith club won just two of the remaining nine games of the season. In 2012, Georgallis joined his former club, the

, as an assistant coach. In 2014, Georgallis joined the

Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 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 ...

as an assistant coach, spending two years at the club. In 2016, he re-joined Penrith as the club's

NSW Cup The NSW Cup, currently known as the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales. The competition has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserve ...

head coach. On 15 December 2016, Georgallis was named as head coach of the

for the 2017 season. Georgallis led the side to a Top 4 finish and a finals appearance. On 26 October 2017, he was promoted to assistant coach of the Canterbury

NRL The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

side while remaining as their

head coach. In 2018, Georgallis led Canterbury-Bankstown to Intrust Super Premiership and the

NRL State Championship The NRL State Championship is a rugby league match contested by the premiers of the two elite second-tier competitions in Australia, the New South Wales Cup and the Queensland Cup. The match has been played as a curtain-raiser to the NRL Grand ...

victories. On 6 November 2018, he was named as an assistant coach of Canterbury-Bankstown on a full-time basis. In November 2019, Georgallis'

side qualified for the

2021 Rugby League World Cup The 2021 Rugby League World Cup (RLWC2021) was a collection of world cups in the sport of rugby league, held in England from 15 October to 19 November 2022. England won hosting rights for the competition on 27 October 2016. The bid received � ...

, the country's first

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 ...

qualification. On 14 July 2020, following Canterbury's Round 9 loss to the

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Red Hill, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos compete in the National Rugby League (NRL) and play their home games at ...

, Georgallis was named as the club's interim head coach for the remainder of the

2020 NRL season The 2020 NRL season was the 113th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 23rd season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 14th consecutive year. ; Notes : : : Pre-season ...

, following

Dean Pay Dean Pay (born 3 June 1969) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and former head coach of the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the National Rugby League (NRL), a professional player who played in the late 1980s and 1990s ...

's resignation. In Round 11, Georgallis earned his first win as Canterbury-Bankstown head coach, defeating the

Newcastle Knights The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league team based in Newcastle, New South Wales that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, the Knights joined the top-tier competition in New ...

18–12 in his second game in charge. In Round 19, Canterbury-Bankstown defeated South Sydney 26–16, helping them to avoid the

wooden spoon A wooden spoon is a Kitchen utensil, utensil commonly used in food preparation. In addition to its culinary uses, wooden spoons also feature in folk art and culture. History The word ''spoon'' derives from an ancient word meaning a chip of woo ...

. Following the appointment of

Trent Barrett Trent Barrett (born 18 November 1977) is an Australian professional rugby league football coach who is currently the assistant coach of the Brisbane Broncos and a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2 ...

as Canterbury head coach for the

2021 NRL season The 2021 NRL season was the 114th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 24th season run by the National Rugby League. Teams The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 15th consecutive year. Regular season Ladd ...

, Georgallis left the club. On 30 October 2020, Georgallis joined the

as an assistant coach under head coach

Todd Payten Todd Payten (born 18 January 1979) is an Australian professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League (NRL) and former professional rugby league footballer. As a player he played ...

. Georgallis coached Greece at the

where

were placed in the hardest group of the Minnows with semi finalists

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and finalists

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa and known until 1997 as Western Samoa, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania, in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu), two smaller, inhabited ...

in their pool, failing to win a match but playing valiantly against all especially the French who have played rugby league at the top level for over 70 years. On 22 November 2023, 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 ...

announced the appointment of Georgallis in a dual role as their NRLW coach and Coaching Director of the club's Elite Pathways program.

References

Sources

External links

Staff at penrith.panthers.com.auRooster Rigon now a BullWarrington stun LeedsWoodsy on… Warrington Wolves
{{DEFAULTSORT:Georgallis, Steve 1968 births Living people 20th-century Australian sportsmen Australian expatriate rugby league players in England Australian people of Greek descent Australian rugby league coaches Australian rugby league players Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs coaches Carlisle RLFC players Greece national rugby league team captains Greece national rugby league team coaches Greece national rugby league team players Greek expatriate sportspeople in England Greek rugby league players Parramatta Eels (NRLW) coaches Penrith Panthers coaches Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league locks Rugby league players from Sydney Sportspeople of Greek descent Sydney Roosters players Wakefield Trinity players Warrington Wolves players Western Suburbs Magpies coaches Western Suburbs Magpies players Wests Tigers players