Wendell Sailor

Explosive winger, originally from Sarina in North Queensland, represented Queensland U’18s from Wide Bay in 1992. Sailor joined the Broncos in 1993 but after an uneasy start in the top grade (especially at fullback) he was a non-playing reserve in the club’s grand final win over St George. He finally cemented a first grade place after injuries to Test wingers Michael Hancock and Willie Carne in 1994, and despite not playing in a State of Origin match that year gained one of the four wing spots on the Kangaroo Tour. The youngest player in the squad, the 20 year-old electrified English crowds with his early tour form and earned a place in Australia's First Test team. Although dropped in favour of goal-kicker Rod Wishart for the remainder of the Tests, Sailor finished the tour as the most exciting young player in international rugby league. At club level he had a brief stint in the forwards to bring him closer to the action however, the arrival of Super League delayed his debut for Queensland until 1996. Sailor took part in every rep match of the 1997 Super League season and following Brisbane’s win in the Telstra Cup final, he finished the year with three Test appearances against Great Britain. The Broncos faced the real prospect of losing Sailor to English club football but the club averted legal action when they allowed him to play rugby union for Leeds in the 1997-98 off-season. The reunified 1998 season saw Sailor at his most awesome – success with Queensland in State of Origin, three Test appearances against NZ and grand final glory with the Broncos (a feat he repeated in 2000). Further Test series wins against NZ (1999), Great Britain (1999), Papua New Guinea (2000) and the 2000 World Cup made Sailor a target of the ARU in early 2001. His subsequent signing for the Queensland Reds in rugby union prestigious Super 12 competition may have robbed rugby league of one of its unique characters but Sailor’s rugby career with Queensland and the Wallabies was largely inconsistent and he was criticised in the media for his defensive lapses and poor positional play. In 2006 he shifted to the NSW Waratahs but his career came to a shuddering halt when he was suspended for two years for failing a test for recreational drugs.