Wally Lewis

Wally Lewis

Lewis in 2004
Personal information
Full name	Walter James Lewis
Nickname	The King, The Emperor of Lang Park
Born	(1959-12-01) 1 December 1959 (age 57) Hawthorne, Queensland, Australia
Playing information
Height	182 cm (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Weight	95 kg (14 st 13 lb; 209 lb)
Position	Five-eighth, Lock
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1978–83 Fortitude Valley 135 4 0 0 16 1983–84 Wakefield Trinity 10 6 0 0 24 1984–87 Wynnum-Manly 76 0 0 0 0 1988–90 Brisbane Broncos 46 20 11 0 102 1991–92 Gold Coast 34 6 3 0 30 Total 301 36 14 0 172 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 197?–8? Brisbane 1979–91 Queensland 38 10 2 2 44 1981–91 Australia 34 11 0 2 45
Coaching information
Club Years Team Gms W D L W% 1986–87 Wynnum-Manly 1992–93 Gold Coast 44 7 1 36 16 Total 44 7 1 36 16 Representative Years Team Gms W D L W% 1993–94 Queensland 6 2 0 4 33
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Walter James "Wally" Lewis AM (born 1 December 1959) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and coach of the 1970s, 80s and 90s, who has become a commentator for television coverage of the sport. A highly decorated Australian national captain, Lewis is widely regarded as one of the greatest ever players of rugby league. His time as a player and coach was followed by a career as a newsreader for the Nine Network.

Nicknamed The King and also The Emperor of Lang Park, Lewis represented Queensland in thirty-one State of Origin games from 1980 to 1991, and was captain for thirty of them. He also represented Australia in thirty-three international matches from 1981 to 1991 and was national team captain from 1984 to 1989. Lewis is perhaps best known for his State of Origin performances, spearheading Queensland's dominance in that competition throughout the 1980s. He captained at State of Origin level 30 times, winning a record 8 man of the match awards.

Lewis has since been inducted into the Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame and in 1999 he became the sixth member of 'The Immortals'. In 2000, he was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his contribution to Australia's international standing in the sport of rugby league.

In February 2008, Lewis 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. Lewis went on to be named in the halves in the Kangaroos' Team of the Century. Announced on 17 April 2008, the team is the panel's majority choice for each of the thirteen starting positions and four interchange players. In June 2008, he was also chosen in the Queensland Rugby League's Team of the Century at five-eighth and captain. In October 2016, he became the 38th Legend of Australian Sport at the Sport Australia Hall of Fame awards.