Coaching Career
Vital Statistics
- Full Name
- Greg Stuart Pierce
- Born
- Saturday, 4th March, 1950
- Died
- Friday, 24th June, 2016 (Aged 66 years and 112 days)
- Place Of Birth
- Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Honours & Awards
Based only on data available in the RLP database. This information should be used as a guide only.
- World Cup
- 1975, 1977
- Test Series
- 1973/74 France vs. Australia, Australia vs New Zealand 1978
- Interstate Series
- 1976, 1977, 1978
- Midweek Cup
- 1979
- Endeavour Cup
- 1971
Known Family Links
- Grandfather
- Arthur Folwell
Biography
The grandson of 1930s Test hooker Arthur Folwell, Greg Pierce was a Newtown junior (Marrickville) who spent two years in the C’bury junior league. He was graded in the late 1960s as a long-haired fullback with battlers Cronulla but under Tommy Bishop's leadership in the early 1970s he switched to lock and, after playing in the 1973 grand final, was selected on the Kangaroo Tour. Pierce became the first Cronulla player to play a Test when selected against France at the end of the tour and played in Australia's 1975 and 1977 World Cup victories. In the First Test of the 1978 Trans Tasman series Pierce became the first Cronulla player to captain Australia but the year proved to be bitter-sweet. Despite winning the Test selectors dropped him from the Second Test to pave the way for Bob Fulton to take over the captaincy (Pearce was reinstated as a player for the Third Test). Pearce then missed Cronulla's second grand final appearance when he was suspended after the club’s semi-final against Wests. Pierce had scored a try to set up victory for the Sharks but was sent off for fighting with John Donnelly. (It was later revealed that Donnelly took a dive and despite Pierce’s impeccable playing record he was suspended for four matches and missed the grand final). Being named as vice-captain of the 1978 Kangaroo Tour was some consolation for Pierce but he played in just four matches before injuring his knee in the international against Wales. Further injuries, and the opportunity to take over as club coach after Tommy Bishop's disastrous return to the club in 1980, led to his retirement with a then club record number of games to his credit. Pierce spent two seasons as Cronulla coach and took the club to the semi-finals in 1981. His reputation as one of the fittest men in rugby league is borne out by the fact that he was still playing lower grade rugby union on the Central Coast well into his forties. In 2003, the year he was named as one of the Sharks’ ‘immortals’, he fought a determined battle against cancer.
- ALAN WHITICKER
Coaching Career Statistics
All statistics shown in this section are based only on data available in the RLP database, and are not necessarily a complete and/or 100% accurate representation of a player's career. This information should be used as a guide only. If you see a question mark (?), it denotes that the figure is not available.
To view a list of corresponding matches, click on the List button.
Competitions | ||||||||||||||
Competition | Games | W | L | D | Win % | |||||||||
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City vs Country | - | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | List | |||||||
NSWRFL Premiership (NRL) | - | 49 | 26 | 21 | 2 | 53.06% | List | |||||||
NSWRFL Finals | - | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00% | List | |||||||
Preseason Cup | - | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0.00% | List | |||||||
Midweek Cup | 1 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 75.00% | List | |||||||
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Australia - By Team | ||||||||||||||
Team | Years | Games | W | L | D | Win % | ||||||||
Combined 1st Div | 2001 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | List | |||||||
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NSWRFL Premiership (NRL) - By Year | ||||||||||||||
Team | Season | Games | W | L | D | Win % | ||||||||
Cronulla | NSWRFL 1981 | 23 | 13 | 9 | 1 | 56.52% | List | |||||||
Cronulla | 1982 Winfield Cup | 26 | 13 | 12 | 1 | 50.00% | List | |||||||
NSWRFL Premiership (NRL) - By Team | ||||||||||||||
Team | Years | Games | W | L | D | Win % | ||||||||
Cronulla | 1981-82 | 49 | 26 | 21 | 2 | 53.06% | List |
Contributions:
Rugby League Tables, Andrew Ferguson, Greg Fiveash, Shawn Dollin, Paul Carter, Alan Katzmann, Max Turner, Tony McCarron, Bill Bates, AJ Lucantonio, Tim Costello
Your Say
14/04/2012
One of the best low tackler's in the game, fearless
30/08/2013
An absolute Cronulla Sharks legend. Along with Steve Rogers, Greg Pierce probably did more as a player for Cronulla than anyone. Had he not been controversially suspended from the 1979 Grand Final replay against Manly, the Sharks probably would have won that year.
21/12/2015
Greg was graded from the gymea football club in the sutherland shire district..
05/11/2017
Sadly passed away on 24 June 2016.
One the finest. RIP Greg
19/09/2022
Greg Pierce was Captain of my U15's Rugby Side at Sydney Technical High School, Sydney. I was the P.E. Teacher at the School who happened to play in the Wallaby Trials at North Sydney Oval the previous Year. Greg was an outstanding Captain, lock forward, a great inspiration to the Team. We were Zone Champions and deservedly so. Howard Boughton BA BEd Dip Phys Ed
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