Ben Walker (born 13 September 1976) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. A five-eighth or halfback, he played in Australia's National Rugby League for the Brisbane Broncos, Northern Eagles, Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles and the South Sydney Rabbitohs, as well as in the Super League for the London Broncos[2] and Leeds Rhinos.
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| Born | 13 September 1976 Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Height | 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 89 kg (14 st 0 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Five-eighth, Halfback | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Background
editWalker was born in Toowoomba in Southern Queensland on 13 September 1976, and is the eldest of a trio of brothers who would all become rugby league footballers. While attending St Mary's Christian Brothers College in Toowoomba in 1993, Walker was selected in the Australian Schoolboys team.[3]
Playing career
editWalker, along with his brothers, Shane Walker and Chris Walker, all began their careers with the Brisbane Broncos. His premiership début was in round 13 of the 1995 ARL season against the Parramatta Eels at Parramatta Stadium on 25 June 1995. Walker was selected to play for the Brisbane Broncos in the 1997 Super League Grand Final from the interchange bench.
In the 1998 NRL season, Walker made 23 appearances for Brisbane and played in the club's preliminary final victory over the Sydney City Roosters but missed out on selection for the grand final team which defeated Canterbury-Bankstown at the Sydney Football Stadium.
In the 2000 NRL season, Walker was limited to only 11 games for Brisbane and missed out on playing in the club's premiership victory over the Sydney Roosters at Stadium Australia.
Playing for the Northern Eagles in the 2001 National Rugby League season, Walker was the equal competition leading point scorer (along with Newcastle's Andrew Johns) with 279 points (17 tries, 102 goals, 1 field goal) in 26 games,[4] receiving the Dally M Award for Top Points Scorer. Walker had kicked 102 of his 125 shots on goal, a percentage of 82.40 for the season. This stands as the most ever points scored by a five-eighth in a single National Rugby League season. Walker's 279 points is also the most points ever scored for the short lived Northern Eagles (2000–02) and the most points in a season by an Eagles player. Even though he only played for the Eagles in 2001, Walker's 279 points for the season remains the club record (The Northern Eagles played from 2000 to 2002). The next highest scorer for the club is Brendon Reeves who scored 130 points (30 tries, 5/10 goals) in 66 games from 2000 to 2002.
Walker was the first player in the NRL to score during golden point (extra-time). He kicked a penalty goal for Manly against Parramatta at Brookvale Oval on 18 May 2003.[5]
Walker later joined his brother Shane at South Sydney.[6]
Walker spent two years at Souths and his last in the 2006 NRL season saw the club finish last on the table and claim the wooden spoon.[7]
Post playing
editHe resides in Toowoomba and is a real estate agent.[8]
References
edit- ^ "Ben Walker – Career Stats & Summary – Rugby League Project". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- ^ Ben Walker profile Archived 18 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine at leedsrugby
- ^ "Australian Secondary Schools Rugby League". Sporting Pulse. Archived from the original on 31 January 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2008.
- ^ "Factbox on Northern Eagles five-eight Ben Walker". AAP Sports News (Australia). 29 August 2001. Archived from the original (fee required) on 16 May 2011. Retrieved 24 November 2007.
- ^ "Broncos farewell QEII in style, Manly win golden point thriller". Australia: ABC News. 18 May 2003. Retrieved 24 November 2007.
- ^ "Rabbitohs sign Ben Walker". Australia: ABC News. 18 April 2005. Archived from the original on 22 November 2010. Retrieved 24 November 2007.
- ^ "The worst teams in NRL history". Sporting News. 28 June 2016.
- ^ Round 1 Queensland Intrust Super Cup Preview Archived 3 April 2011 at the Wayback Machine rleague.com, 18 March 2011
External links
edit- (archived by web.archive.org) Ben Walker at NRL Stats
- (archived by web.archive.org) Profile at leedsrugby