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David Peachey (born February 21 1974 in Dubbo, NSW ) is an Australia n Rugby League player for the Widnes Vikings and previously for the Cronulla Sharks in the National Rugby League competition. He has also played representative games for Australia & New South Wales , his position of choice is at Fullback . PLAYING CAREER He began playing Rugby League for his local junior club out at Dubbo the Dubbo Macquarie Raiders . Two other well known league exports were in or around his age group at the same time at the Raiders being, Preston Campbell and Nathan Blacklock . After several seasons in the country with Dubbo he was scouted and bought along to the Cronulla Sharks . Cronulla Sharks He started out playing for the Cronulla Sharks in the reserve squad but quickly made his way into the first grade side after many dazzling performances in the lower grades. He made his debut on March 12, 1994 in Round 1 against the Canberra Raiders at Toyota Park . Over the next few seasons David quickly established himself as a first team regular in the Sharks first grade side. His broken running and unexpected flashes of magic consistently dazzled not only home but also away crowds and he soon became a strong fan favourite within the League . In 1999, David Peachey was awarded the Dally M fullback of the year, and the next season, he was rewarded with his first representative honour, being selected at fullback for NSW in the State Of Origin . Unfortunately, a Hamstring injury kept him out of the rest of the series, but not before he could cross for the match winning try in the first game. After attaining several awards of recognition with the NRL and being awarded with representative jerseys for both New South Wales and Australia, Peachey started to go through a patch of bad form and what seemed like bad luck. When long time coach John Lang left soon after and Chris Anderson came in, Peachey looked as if he seemed to lose some of his desire for the game and on one occasion went missing for a short period. Niggling injuries of the hamstring started to plaque him as he started to get on in age and it seemed as if the Sharks veteran could have possibly been put aside in the hope of finding some younger blood. Though after a slow start to 2004 Peachey found some of his best form towards the later part of the year and when contract negotiations were settled mid year he seemed to re-focus his mind back on football, played with the trademark skills and excitement that Sharks fans had become accustomed to. As the 2005 season got underway rumours started to surface that new Cronulla coach Stuart Raper wanted to go in a new direction with his fullback and would subsequently cast Peachey aside. For several months his future seemed uncertain until he announced on the Footy Show that the club would no longer be retaining his services after twelve years of loyalty. Widnes Vikings After hearing the Cronulla boards decision not to retain his services after the 2005 season, Peachey began to negotiate with several clubs for the start of the 2006 season. Many speculated within the media where he would eventually end up but one thing became certain after he made an announcement that he would move overseas to continue his career as he did not want to turn out against his old club anytime in the future. Peachey was then signed by the English Super League club, Widnes Vikings though after their relegation the club claimed it would not be able to afford his services. The club and fans however still desperate to acquire the services of the Australian organised several fundraiser events which allowed Peachey to join the club for the beginning of the new season. Representative Games
CAREER PLAYING STATISTICS Point scoring summary Matches played DAVID PEACHEY FOUNDATION The David Peachey Foundation was founded because of David's continual interaction with indigenous communities throughout Australia and the many enquiries that he had to field from talented young kids about living their dreams of making it to the top leagues of sport and becoming professional athletes. The current focus of the foundation is to helpling out indigenous kids from rural and remote areas that excel or show potential in rugby league, with a long-term view to extending to other sports. The foundation goes about their mission by providing small grants and support mechanisms for Indigenous children who participate in sport representing their state and or country. This support usually comes from financial aid to the children. EXTERNAL LINKS |
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