Trevor Gillmeister
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Trevor Gillmeister | |
| Date of birth | 13 March, 1964 | |
| Place of birth | Brisbane, Australia | |
| Nickname | The Axe | |
| Position | Second row | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| Brisbane Norths | ||
| Professional clubs* | ||
| Years | Club | Apps (points) |
| 1986-90 1991-93 1994 1995-96 |
Eastern Suburbs Brisbane Penrith South Queensland |
98 (36) 72 (32) 22 (4) |
| Representative teams** | ||
| 1987-96 1995 |
Queensland Australia |
22 (0) 3 (0) |
|
* Professional club appearances and points |
||
Trevor Gillmeister (born 13 March 1964 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia is a former Australian rugby league player who is now currently signed on as an assistant coach at the Gold Coast Titans. During his playing days Gillmeister played for the Sydney Roosters, Brisbane Broncos, Penrith Panthers and the South Queensland Crushers as well as representing Queensland and Australia.
Contents |
[edit] Early life and childhood
Growing up Gillmeister's rugby league childhood heroes were Arthur Beetson and Rod Reddy.
[edit] Playing career
[edit] Sydney Roosters
In 1986, Gillmeister moved from the Brisbane Norths side to sign with the Sydney Roosters. Early on in his career, he forged a reputation for being a fearless and tough tackler, which later earnt him the nickname 'The Axe'.
[edit] Brisbane Broncos
After his spell at the Roosters, Gillmeister switched clubs to sign for his hometown club the Brisbane Broncos. He put in an impressive defensive display in the clubs 28 points to 8 Grand Final victory over the St. George Dragons in 1992. After their premiership victory, the club was involved in the World Club Championship match, in which Gillmeister again put in a magnificent display in his sides victory. The following year in 1993, Gillmeister again helped his side to another Grand Final win against, ironically the same opponents from the previous year, the St. George Dragons. Although this time the score was much closer, with the Broncos winning 14 points to 6. Prior to the 1993 Grand Final victory, the club announced that they couldn't re-sign Gillmeister due to salary cap restrictions. He moved on to the Penrith Panthers after playing 72 games for the club and scoring 8 tries which is a total of 32 points.
[edit] Penrith Panthers
Penrith signed Gillmeister after he was not resigned by the Broncos. His stay was however a brief one, only making 22 appearances for the club and scoring 1 try in his time at the club. He was released from the second year of his contract, and he signed for the South Queensland Crushers.
[edit] South Queensland Crushers
Gillmeister had the honour of scoring the club's first ever try in the 24-8 season opening loss at Suncorp Stadium against the Canberra Raiders. In 1995, he became the first and only ever South Queensland Crushers player to be selected for Australia. At the end of 1996, Gillmeister decided to retire from playing rugby league. In his time as a player, Gillmeister named his most respected opponents as David Gillespie and Les Davidson
[edit] Representative career
[edit] Queensland
Gillmeister made his Queensland State of Origin debut in 1987. He made 22 State of Origin appearances for Queensland between 1987 and 1996. Gillmeister captained the Queenlsand team to a 3-0 series victory in 1995 under the guidance of friend and coach Paul Vautin. Gillmeister battled against a blood disorder prior to the third and final match of the series in Melbourne. After Queensland's victory Gillmeister was rushed back to hospital to be treated again. In 1996 he captained Queensland in the first State of Origin match but he did not play at all in the remainder of the two games.
At the State of Origin level Gillmeister defied his stature by hurting the Blues with stinging defence. He is remembered for his ongoing fiery attacking and defensive clashes with NSW hardman Paul Harragon.
[edit] Australia
In 1995, Gillmeister was selected for the first and only time of his career. He was selected as a reserve for the first test match against New Zealand. At 31 years of age, he became the oldest ever forward to make his international debut at Test level.
[edit] Coaching career
In 2006 it was announced that Trevor Gillmeister had been signed as an assistant coach by the newly formed Gold Coast Titans, who were to enter the NRL competition at the start of the 2007 season. Upon his signing at the club, Gillmeister commented, "It's a thrill and honour to be part of a brand new organisation. It's also a huge challenge but something I'm looking forward to."
