Anthony Gelling

Anthony Gelling (born 18 October 1990) is a Cook Islands international rugby league footballer who plays as a second-row forward or centre for the Warrington Wolves in the Betfred Super League.

Anthony Gelling
Personal information
Full nameAnthony Gelling
Born (1990-10-18) 18 October 1990[1]
Auckland, New Zealand
Height196 cm (6 ft 5 in)[1]
Weight102 kg (16 st 1 lb)[1]
Playing information
PositionCentre, Wing, Second-row
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2012–17 Wigan Warriors 115 52 0 0 208
2018 New Zealand Warriors 7 2 0 0 8
2019 Widnes Vikings 18 11 0 0 44
2020– Warrington Wolves 0 0 0 0 0
Total 140 65 0 0 260
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2009–19 Cook Islands 7 2 0 0 8
2019 Cook Islands 9s 3 2 0 0 8
As of 20 October 2019
Source: [2][3]

He has previously played for the Wigan Warriors in the Super League, the New Zealand Warriors in the NRL and the Widnes Vikings in the Betfred Championship.

Background

Gelling was born in Auckland, New Zealand and is of mixed Māori-Cook Island ancestry.

Early career

Gelling was a Howick Hornets junior.[4]

In 2009 and 2010 Gelling played for Sydney Roosters in the Toyota Cup. In September 2010 he was sacked by Roosters along with team mate Samuel Brunton after they were accused of defecating in their hotel room.[5][6][7]

In 2011 Gelling returned to New Zealand, joining Auckland Vulcans and his old club, Howick Hornets. Hornets won the 2011 Fox Memorial competition that year.[4] He was named in the Counties Manukau Stingrays side in the 2011 National Competition.[8]

Club career

At the end of the 2011 season, Gelling signed a contract to play for Wigan Warriors in the Super League.[9] The Daily Mail reported that he had been recommended to the Wigan Warriors head coach, Shaun Wane, by Kevin Iro and Dean Bell, both former Wigan players who were subsequently living overseas.[9]

Gelling was allocated the number 24 jersey on arrival to Wigan Warriors' pre-2012 season training in Florida.[10]

2014

He played in the 2014 Super League Grand Final defeat by St. Helens at Old Trafford.[11][12][13]

2015

Gelling has proven himself to be somewhat of a cult hero at Wigan with his eccentric behaviours which include charging down a penalty goal attempt from Brisbane Broncos Corey Parker in golden point extra time of the World Club Series clash between the Broncos and Wigan on 21 February 2015 and riding to and from Wigan's Good Friday victory over local rivals St. Helens on 3 April 2015 on a BMX that he bought from Cash Converters for £100. On 16 June 2015 Gelling signed a new four-year contract with the Warriors.

2016

In 2016 he refused to apologise for saying that some of the refereeing decisions "pissed me off" in a post match interview on Sky Sports, instead declaring "I speak my mind. I like to think of myself as a man of the people". A nickname which has since stuck.

He played in the 2016 Super League Grand Final victory over the Warrington Wolves at Old Trafford.[14]

2017

Gelling was part of the Wigan Warriors team that beat the Cronulla Sharks in the World Club Challenge. He scored his first tries of the season against the Leigh Centurions with a brace on 3 March. He scored against the Warrington Wolves and the Huddersfield Giants in the next two fixtures. He didn't score again until the match against the Huddersfield Giants on 11 August before finishing the season with a try against rivals St. Helens and a brace against Hull FC.

He played in the 2017 Challenge Cup Final defeat by Hull F.C. at Wembley Stadium.[15]

2018

He reported back in Wigan Warriors for preseason in preparation for the 2018 Super League season but not long after he asked for a release from his contract after his girlfriend was involved in a car crash.[16] He returned home to New Zealand to be closer to his family and signed a one year contract with the New Zealand Warriors.[17]


2020

Gelling returned to play Super League, signing a two year deal with Warrington Wolves after his contract in New Zealand expired.

International career

Gelling was part of the Cook Islands team that made the 2009 Pacific Cup Final. Gelling played for 'the Kukis' in their 28-24 test-match victory over Lebanon, scoring one try in the match. Gelling represented the Cooks in the 2013 Rugby League World Cup playing 2 out of the 3 matches the Cooks played at the Tournament.

On 17 October 2015, Gelling played for the Cook Islands in their Asia-Pacific Qualifier match against Tonga for the 2017 Rugby League World Cup.

References
  1. "Anthony Gelling Wigan Warriors". www.superleague.co.uk. Rugby Football League. 2015. Retrieved 1 August 2015.
  2. loverugbyleague
  3. RLP
  4. Auckland Vulcans 2011 squad aucklandvulcans.co.nz, 18 February 2011
  5. New disgrace as Rooster rookies defecate in hotel The Daily Telegraph, 10 September 2010
  6. "Roosters sacked for defecating over hotel". Stuff.co.nz. 10 September 2010. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  7. "NSW Cook Islands profile". NSW Cook Islands rugby league. 2009. Archived from the original on 15 February 2010. Retrieved 16 March 2010.
  8. Counties Manukau nzrl.co.nz
  9. "Wigan snap up Cook Island international Gelling in time for pre-season in Florida". Daily Mail. 12 December 2011. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
  10. "Anthony Gelling Joins Wigan". Wigan Warriors. 12 December 2011. Archived from the original on 5 June 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2011.
  11. "St Helens 14 Wigan Warriors 6: Moment of madness from Wales international Ben Flower costs Wigan dear". Daily Telegraph. 11 October 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  12. "St Helens win Grand Final after Wigan's Ben Flower is sent off". Guardian. 11 October 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  13. "St Helens 14–6 Wigan Warriors". BBC Sport. 11 October 2014. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
  14. "Warrington 6-12 Wigan: Super League Grand Final – as it happened!". Guardian. 8 October 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  15. "Hull FC 18-14 Wigan recap as the Black and Whites claim back-to-back Challenge Cup triumphs". Mirror. 26 August 2017. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  16. "Michael McIlorum and Anthony Gelling released by Wigan Warriors". Sky Sports. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  17. "Warriors sign former Wigan centre Anthony Gelling to one-year-deal". Newshub. 12 January 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
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