Brett Kenny

Brett Kenny

Personal information
Full name	Brett Edward Kenny
Born	(1961-03-16) 16 March 1961 Gerringong, New South Wales
Playing information
Height	181 cm (5 ft 11 in)
Weight	84 kg (13 st 3 lb)
Position	Five-eighth, Centre, Lock
Club
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
1980–93	Parramatta Eels	265	110	0	0	410
1984–85	Wigan	25	19	0	0	76
	Total	290	129	0	0	486
Representative
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
1982–87	New South Wales	17	2	0	0	8
1982–87	Australia	17	10	0	0	36
1983–87	City NSW	4	1	0	0	4
Source: RLP Official Wigan Website on Brett Kenny

Brett Edward Kenny (born 16 March 1961 in Gerringong, New South Wales) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s and 90s. He was a Five-eighth and Centre for the Australian national team and New South Wales Blues representative sides, and the Parramatta Eels. He played in 17 Tests, made 17 State of Origin appearances and won 4 premierships with Parramatta. He is considered one of the nation's finest footballers of the 20th century.

Wigan

After the ban on foreign imports was lifted, the '82 invincibles were in high demand. Wally Lewis had a spell at Wakefield whilst Peter Sterling moved to Humberside with Hull, but it was Kenny who made a lasting impression on the British game. He arrived in Wigan on 3 December 1984 and made his debut in the 22-8 win against Warrington. In the next 4 months Kenny went on to become an immortal at the club, scoring 19 tries and forming an elusive partnership with John Ferguson, who had been signed for a 3-month spell.

His finest moment came at Wembley as he led Wigan to their first Rugby League Challenge Cup victory in 20 years. Having flown back John Ferguson for the game, the club were confident of a win. But all doubters were proved wrong as Kenny became the first Australian to be awarded the Lance Todd Trophy for his Man-of-the-Match performance in the 1985 Challenge Cup final during the 1984–85 season, commonly regarded as the greatest final in Challenge Cup history (played before 99,801 spectators). His solo try scored when Hull had full cover defence across the field was memorable but so too was his marshalling of the Wigan defence and his own tackle count contribution.

Golden Boot

Kenny was acclaimed as the best player in rugby league history by former GB and Wigan great Billy Boston. In 1986 - when the Eels were hit by injuries to most of their top players - the Kenny/Sterling partnership reached its zenith, with the two stars regularly winning matches for the Eels. In the Grand Final, though Kenny was disallowed two tries the Eels won 4-2. That year Kenny won the Golden Boot as the best player in the world.

At the end of 1986 with the retirement or absence through injury of former Eels champions, things went downhill. Kenny was hit by injury in 1987 and was never at his best. His 1988 season was wiped out by a serious knee injury leading to a decision to retire from representative rugby league. Between 1989 and 1992 he missed only three games for the Eels, constantly standing out in a struggling side after Sterling succumbed to severe shoulder problems. His tackling ability was so good that he was successfully moved to lock forward in 1991 despite his lack of kilograms. Back at five-eighth, his testimonial year in 1992 was again superb, and he recovered from contractual disputes and shoulder problems to finish his career on a high note in 1993.

Statistical highlights

He held the Parramatta club record for the most first grade games (265) from 1993 to 2010, and also held the record for most tries for the club (110), which was surpassed by Luke Burt during the 2011 NRL season. His 21 tries in the 1983 season stands second behind Steve Ella's 23 for most tries in a season.

Brett Kenny holds the record feat of being the only player to have scored 2 tries in 3 (consecutive) grand finals, from 1981 to 1983. In the 1986 Grand Final against Canterbury, Kenny looked to have scored 2 tries, but had them disallowed in controversial circumstances.

Post playing

In 2000, he was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his contribution to Australia's international standing in rugby league.

Kenny made a cameo appearance in the 2006 film, Footy Legends.

In February 2008, Kenny was named in the list of Australia's 100 Greatest Players (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the NRL and ARL to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia.

In 2010, Kenny became the coach of the Wentworthville Magpies in the NSW Cup competition, taking over from Rip Taylor.

In 2012, Kenny took over the coaching of The Entrance Tigers, Central Coast

External links

• Brett Kenny at stateoforigin.com.au
• Brett Kenny Wigan Playing Career Page on the Wigan RL Fansite.
• Whiticker, Alan and Hudson, Glen; The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players (1998, 3rd ed) Gary Allen Pty. Ltd
• Kenny, Brett with Cardigan, Neil The Natural: Brett Kenny's Life in League (1993) Ironbark Press, Randwick, N.S.W.
• Andrews, Malcolm (2006) The ABC of Rugby League Austn Broadcasting Corpn, Sydney