Garry Jack

Garry Jack (born 14 March 1961 in Wollongong, New South Wales) is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He was a representative in the Australian national team and star player with the Balmain Tigers. Jack was a Fullback for the Tigers during the late 1980s, and early 1990s, under the captaincy of Wayne Pearce and the coaching of Warren Ryan. Jack also represented the New South Wales State of Origin side on 17 occasions.

His junior football was played in Wollongong with Wests Illawarra and in 1980 he was graded with them. He trialled with the Western Suburbs Magpies in 1981 and debuted in first grade in the latter part of that season aged 20.

His association with English rugby league began at the end of the 1986 Kangaroo tour when he stayed on to play for Salford before returning to the Tigers. He was member of the consecutive Balmain sides which fell at the final hurdle to firstly Canterbury-Bankstown in the 1988 Grand Final and then to Canberra in 1989.

1991 saw the departure of Warren Ryan as Balmain coach and the arrival of former Wallaby coach, Alan Jones. The years playing under Jones at Balmain were unhappy ones for Jack and eventually after he had left the club in 1992 and launched an attack on Jones’ ability as a coach following his ‘surprise’ reappointment for a third year.