William "Greg" Conescu (born 24 May 1960) is an Australian former professional
rugby league footballer. An
Australia national and
Queensland State of Origin representative , he played all of his club football in Queensland with
Norths Devils (with whom he won the
BRL premiership
The Brisbane Rugby League is a rugby league football competition in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was first held in 1922 and for every year until 1997. The competition was reinstated in 2001, known as the FOGS premiership under the Que ...
in 1980) Gladstone Brothers,
Redcliffe and the
Brisbane Broncos.
Playing career
Born to Romanian parents, Conescu achieved
Brisbane Rugby League premiership
The Brisbane Rugby League is a rugby league football competition in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was first held in 1922 and for every year until 1997. The competition was reinstated in 2001, known as the FOGS premiership under the Quee ...
success with the
Norths Devils in 1980 and also played for
Gladstone Brothers and
Redcliffe Dolphins. While playing for Norths, Conescu made his debut for both the
Australian Kangaroos and
Queensland. In 1987 he played for Redcliffe in the BRL grand final.
In 1988, Conescu entered the
New South Wales Rugby 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 ...
with the
Brisbane Broncos, playing in the club's first ever match in
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...
. He continued to represent
Queensland in the
State of Origin series that year, and was again selected in the
Australian Kangaroos side. On 20 July 1988 Conescu played for Australia in their record 62-point win over
Papua New Guinea, scoring a
try. Despite being the incumbent Australian and Queensland hooker, he was surprisingly dropped to reserve grade by coach
Wayne Bennett in favour of a young
Kerrod Walters.
Accolades
In 2000, Conescu was awarded the
Australian Sports Medal for his contribution to Australia's international standing in the sport of rugby league.
As part of State of Origin's 25th anniversary in 2005, the
Australian Rugby League announced the 25 greatest players for both Queensland and New South Wales, with Conescu named for the Queenslanders.
Conescu was named as a reserve in an all-time greatest
Norths Devils team announced in 2008.
References
Sources
*
External links
Greg Conescu at fogs.com.auQueensland Representatives at qrl.com.au
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conescu, Greg
1960 births
Living people
Australian people of Romanian descent
Australian rugby league players
Redcliffe Dolphins players
Norths Devils players
Brisbane Broncos players
Australia national rugby league team players
Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal
Queensland Rugby League State of Origin players
Rugby league hookers
Rugby league players from Brisbane