Greg Alexander played a test on the 1990 Tour against France on the wing, scoring a try and capping it off with a memorable gymnastics style backflip in celebration.
19 Facts About Greg Alexander
1.
2.
Greg Alexander suffers from Duypetrens Contracture, in March 2023 he had his little finger of his right hand amputated.
3.
Greg Alexander began his career at a schoolboy level where he quickly established himself as a star player for his side.
4.
Greg Alexander attended Patrician Brothers' College, Fairfield he played for the Australian Schoolboys rugby league team in 1983.
5.
Greg Alexander was later signed on as a junior to his local club side the Penrith Panthers.
6.
Greg Alexander made his first-grade debut for the Panthers in the 1984 season as a half-back.
7.
Greg Alexander continued playing with the Panthers for the next several years and become known for his unique ability to score and set up tries, his excellent attacking kicking and his solid defence.
8.
Greg Alexander would go on to play in 10 matches on tour with the Kangaroos, scoring 10 tries and kicking 5 goals.
9.
Greg Alexander finished ahead of other noted try scorers including Andrew Ettingshausen, Ricky Walford and Phil Blake.
10.
Greg Alexander failed to get off the bench in the third game of the tour against Wigan.
11.
Greg Alexander was the leading point scorer for the Kangaroos on tour, playing 17 games, scoring 14 tries and kicking 50 goals for a total of 156 points.
12.
Greg Alexander had performed the backflip several times at training while in England and had wanted to do it after scoring a try in a game, but with Australia, in a battle to retain The Ashes, he felt the circumstances were never right.
13.
Whilst the Panthers form was up and down at the beginning of the season, Greg Alexander was named as captain and fullback of the City Origin side, ahead of incumbent NSW captain Benny Elias.
14.
On 21 June 1992, his younger brother and fellow Panthers teammate Ben Greg Alexander was killed in a car accident.
15.
Greg Alexander spent most of the first half of his first season for the Warriors at halfback and began to recapture some of his previous form.
16.
Greg Alexander eventually returned to Penrith in 1997 after his stint in New Zealand and stayed on until his retirement in 1999.
17.
In total, Greg Alexander played 228 games for the Panthers, scored 100 tries, kicked 343 goals and 14 field goals, tallying 1,100 career points for the club.
18.
Greg Alexander is the brother-in-law of fellow former Penrith, NSW and Australian teammate Mark Geyer, and of former Penrith, Western Reds and Newcastle second rower, Peter Shiels, both of whom married his sisters.
19.
Greg Alexander is the brother-in-law of former St George Illawarra Dragons hooker Cameron King, who is the younger brother of his wife Tanya.