Lance Thompson

Lance Thompson
Personal information
Born (1978-02-16)16 February 1978
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Died 23 August 2018(2018-08-23) (aged 40)
Cronulla, New South Wales, Australia
Playing information
Height 185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight 100 kg (15 st 10 lb; 220 lb)
Position Second-row, Prop

Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1995–98 St George Dragons 69 4 9 0 34
1999–05 St. George Illawarra 132 20 8 0 96
2006–08 Cronulla Sharks 38 5 1 0 22
Total 239 29 18 0 152
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2001–07 City Origin 5 0 0 0 0
Source: [1]

Lance Thompson (16 February 1978 – 23 August 2018) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. He played for the St. George Dragons, the St. George Illawarra Dragons and the Cronulla Sharks. He primarily played in the second-row, though he also played prop.

Background

While attending Kingsgrove High School, Thompson was selected to play for the Australian Schoolboys team in 1994 and 1995.[2] He played his junior football with Hurstville United.

Professional playing career

Dragons

Thompson made his first grade debut in Round 13, St George v Cronulla at Toyota Park, 24 June 1995 as a 17-year-old. He played for the club until the end of 2006. Thompson played at second-row forward for the St. George Dragons in the 1996 ARL Grand Final loss to Manly Sea Eagles and for St. George Illawarra Dragons in their 1999 NRL Grand Final loss to the Melbourne Storm. During his many years at the Dragons, Lance Thompson was a crowd favourite at Kogarah and Wollongong, and it caused some controversy amongst supporters when he departed at the end of the 2005 season.

Sharks

During 2006, Thompson's appearances for Cronulla against his former side, St George Illawarra, were highly anticipated. The first of these matches saw Thompson scoring two tries, and the second involved Dragon Dean Young being injured in a Thompson tackle, sidelining Young for most of the 2007 season. In 2007 Thompson was selected for the final time for the City side which won the annual City vs. Country match, the NSWRL's precursor to the State of Origin series. Thompson played his final NRL game in Round 6 against the Penrith Panthers after announcing his retirement from Rugby League on Wednesday, 16 April. In a press conference, Thompson explained that the reason for this decision was an ongoing knee injury sustained in 2007 and because he was diagnosed with type one diabetes and that he had "one last game left in him." Cronulla Sharks coach Ricky Stuart gave Thompson his last game in Round 6 for his "last hurrah."[3] Thompson scored a try early in the match but Cronulla lost the game 20–21 in golden point.

Post playing

Thompson later became coach of the Cronulla side in the reserve-grade New South Wales Cup competition. At the time of his death he managed the bistro at the Woolooware Golf which was thriving at the time. [4]

Death

Thompson died in Cronulla on 23 August 2018.[5]

References

  1. ↑ "Lance Thompson - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project.
  2. ↑ "Australian Secondary Schools Rugby League". Sporting Pulse. Retrieved 2008-10-10.
  3. ↑ "Thompson to call time". Fox Sports Australia. AAP. 16 April 2008. Archived from the original on 22 May 2011. Retrieved 16 April 2008.
  4. ↑ Woolooware Golf Club Menu Woolooware Golf Club 2018
  5. ↑ "Lance Thompson: NRL mourns the death of Dragons legend". Fox Sports Australia. 24 August 2018. Archived from the original on 24 August 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
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