Keith Galloway (born 2 September 1985) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a prop in the 2000s and 2010s.

Keith Galloway
Personal information
Full nameKeith Joseph Galloway
Born (1985-09-02) 2 September 1985 (age 39)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Playing information
Height195 cm (6 ft 5 in)
Weight119 kg (18 st 10 lb)
PositionProp
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2003–05 Cronulla Sharks 37 4 0 0 16
2006–15 Wests Tigers 173 6 0 0 24
2016–18 Leeds Rhinos 42 2 0 0 8
Total 252 12 0 0 48
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2009–11 City Origin 3 0 0 0 0
2011 New South Wales 1 0 0 0 0
2011 Australia 5 1 0 0 4
Source: [1][2][3]

He played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and the Wests Tigers in the NRL, and the Leeds Rhinos in the Super League. Galloway played for City Origin, New South Wales in the State of Origin series and Australia at international level. He was known for his size and power.[4]

Background

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Galloway was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is of Scottish descent.

Biography

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While attending Marist College Kogarah, Galloway played for the NSW under 17s and 19s[5] and then Australian Schoolboys team in 2002.[6] Galloway played junior football with the Brighton Seagulls in the St George District, then Mascot Juniors in the South Sydney Juniors before being enticed to switch to the Yarrawarrah Tigers by mentor Robert Stone as a teenager.[7]

Playing career

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Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks

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Galloway made his NRL début for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in 2003 while still attending high school, a few months before his 18th birthday. He made 8 appearances from the bench in the second half of the 2003 season, scoring a try in his second match.

Starting the 2004 season on the bench, Galloway scored the Sharks' sole try in the opening game of the season, a 6–12 loss to Wests Tigers. He played in 14 games for the season, including some mid-season appearances in the starting side in the second-row.

Galloway was on the receiving end of a John Hopoate leaping elbow charge in 2005, leaving the 19-year-old unconscious on the field. The event led to a 17-week suspension for Hopoate.[8] He was again a regular on the bench for the Sharks, but in the qualifying final match against St. George Dragons he was promoted to starting prop, in what was his last game for the club.

 
Galloway playing for Wests in 2009
 
Galloway in 2010

Wests Tigers

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2006-2011
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Galloway joined the Wests Tigers in 2006, having signed with them halfway through the 2005 season. He said, "I'd played with a few of those boys with schoolboys and junior rep teams. It was a really young squad then. I thought it would probably be a good opportunity to grow with this team."[9] He played 12 games in his first season, mostly off the bench, failing to score a try. In 2006, he spent more time as the starting prop and made 17 appearances. He scored his first try for the club in round 3 against Parramatta.

He was named in the Scotland training squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.[10]

He was selected for City in the City vs Country match on 8 May 2009.[11] Before the 2009 State of Origin series Galloway was named in the 40 man New South Wales preliminary squad but was ultimately not available for selection due to injury.[12] Later that year he was named in Australia's Four-Nations train-on squad.[13] He was also picked for the Prime Minister's XIII to play Papua New Guinea,[14] but had to withdraw due to an injury to his left knee.[15]

In 2010, he signed a contract to remain at the club until the end of the 2013 season.[16]

In 2011, Galloway made his State of Origin début, coming off the bench in game 3 of the series, but had little time on the field.[17] At the end of the season, Galloway became the first Wests Tigers' prop to be chosen in an Australian squad. He said of the selection, "I'm super stoked to be there. I was happy with my form this year, I didn't have many injuries and I got through 23 games, which is the most I've played. Consistency-wise it was my best year."[18]

Galloway made his test début against New Zealand, coming off the bench to score a try in the second half, in a game won easily by Australia. He later said, "I just ran off Billy Slater. I didn't have to run far for the try."[9] He went on to play in all four of Australia's Four Nations matches. He was awarded the Noel Kelly Medal for Best Forward at the Wests Tigers for the year.[19]

2012-15
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Injuries hampered Galloway's chances of playing representative football in 2012.[20] He made 18 appearances for the Wests Tigers throughout the season, with the club losing every game that he was unable to play in.

A torn pectoral muscle in the round two game saw Galloway miss seventeen weeks of football in 2013, playing just 9 games. In July, he re-signed with the club for another three seasons. Coach Mick Potter said, "Keith consistently makes the most metres which gives the team that much needed go forward. He definitely has a presence on the field, being a big man he stops people on contact."[21] Galloway was expected to play for Scotland in the 2013 World Cup, but withdrew with after sustaining a stress facture in his foot in Wests last game for the season.[22]

Galloway played in 22 games in 2015, the most appearances he had made in a regular season. In round 7 against the Canberra Raiders, he scored his first try since the middle of 2012. He made 502 tackles for the year and averaged over a hundred metres per game with the ball. In round 25, with Wests Tigers well ahead on the scoreboard and regular time over, Galloway attempted his first conversion, which narrowly missed.[23] Galloway said, "I didn't want to do it, but everyone in the team egged me on to do it. Obviously I'm not a goal-kicker. I sort of knew it was my last home game but it probably didn't hit me until we were out there. I've had a great 10 years – I really enjoyed it."[24]

Leeds Rhinos

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On 24 July 2015, Keith signed a three-year contract to play for the Super League heavyweights the Leeds Rhinos beginning in the 2016 season.[25]

After travelling to the UK, Galloway said that he intended to represent Scotland in 2016 Four Nations, and would have liked to have played for them in the past if not for injuries. He said, "My father came over to Australia when he was in his 20s. I'm Australian but I'm proud of my Scottish ancestry and it would mean a lot to my family and myself if I could pull on that jersey."[26]

Career highlights

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References

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  1. ^ loverugbyleague
  2. ^ League Central
  3. ^ RLP
  4. ^ Glenn Jackson (28 April 2009). "Every magician needs a prop, and for every spellbinding Marshall there's a Galloway". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 30 October 2010.
  5. ^ Josh Rakic (2 July 2011). "Big red feels right at home with the Blues, thanks to some familiar faces". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  6. ^ "SportingPulse Homepage for Australian Secondary Schools Rugby League". SportingPulse. Archived from the original on 31 January 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2008.
  7. ^ Glenn Jackson (30 October 2010). "Galloway won't let sentiment get in way". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 20 September 2010.
  8. ^ "Hopoate sacked after 17-match suspension". ABC News. 23 March 2005. Retrieved 5 September 2008.
  9. ^ a b "Episode 115 – Keith Galloway". Talking With TK.
  10. ^ "Henderson trio in Scots cup squad". BBC. 29 August 2008. Retrieved 3 October 2008.
  11. ^ Balym, Todd (3 May 2009). "Blues halfback duel in two as Mitchell Pearce misses selection". Australia: Fox Sports. Archived from the original on 5 December 2012. Retrieved 3 May 2009.
  12. ^ "Anasta and Mason left out of 40-man Origin squad". The Sydney Morning Herald. 21 April 2009. Retrieved 26 May 2009.
  13. ^ "Kangaroos selectors stick with tried and tested". livenews.com.au. 7 September 2009. Retrieved 10 September 2009.[permanent dead link]
  14. ^ "Penrith's Petero Civoniceva named captain of Prime Minister's XIII". Australia: Fox Sports. 14 September 2009. Archived from the original on 27 September 2009. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
  15. ^ "Matt Scott called into Prime Minister's XIII". The Daily Telegraph. Australia. 23 September 2009. Retrieved 10 October 2009.
  16. ^ Christian Nicolussi (17 March 2010). "Queensland State of Origin selectors to keep eye on Lote Tuqiri's progress". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney. Retrieved 27 March 2010.
  17. ^ Ryan O'Connell (7 July 2011). "Origin 3: NSW Blues player ratings". The Roar. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
  18. ^ Christian Nicolussi (4 October 2011). "Keith Galloway ends Tiger prop curse". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
  19. ^ "Gareth Ellis is Wests Tigers Player of the Year". Ozzie News. 17 October 2011. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
  20. ^ Greg Prichard and Michael Chammas (30 May 2012). "Pride and passion the key as Galloway awaits a call-up". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 15 September 2012.
  21. ^ "NRL: Wests Tigers re-sign Keith Galloway for three more seasons". ABC News. 7 June 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  22. ^ "Rugby League World Cup: Keith Galloway and James McManus withdraw from Scotland squad". Sky Sports. 22 September 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  23. ^ Alicia Newton and Dan Talintyre. "2015 Season Review: Keith Galloway". weststigers.com.au. Archived from the original on 12 October 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  24. ^ Chris Barrett (30 August 2015). "End of an era as Pat Richards and Keith Galloway farewell Wests Tigers fans". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  25. ^ "Galloway signs three-year deal at Rhinos". The Yorkshire Post. 25 July 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  26. ^ "Former Australian prop Keith Galloway set to play for Scotland Bravehearts". The Sydney Morning Herald. 30 January 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
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