Name Ben Galea Role Rugby player | Height 1.78 m Weight 95 kg | |
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Ben Galea & Mich Vella
Ben Galea (born 16 August 1978) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. A City New South Wales representative forward, he previously played in Australasia's National Rugby League for the Balmain Tigers and Wests Tigers (with whom he won the 2005 NRL Premiership) and also for English club Hull Kingston Rovers and Hull F.C. of Super League.
Contents
- Ben Galea Mich Vella
- Ben Galea MOM
- Background
- Playing career
- National Rugby League
- Super League
- Highlights
- Referee
- References
Ben Galea. MOM.
Background
Galea was born in Parramatta, New South Wales, and is of Maltese descent. While attending Marayong John Paul II, he played for the Australian Schoolboys team in 1996.
Playing career
After Struggling to make an impact in the lower grades at the Parramatta Eels, Galea signed with the newly merged Wests Tigers.
National Rugby League
In 2000 Galea in made a handful of NRL appearances for the Tigers from the bench. In 2001, Galea became a regular member of the Tigers' team. He represented City and was named the club's player of the year. After missing the first 2 games of the season, he played in every other game.
In 2003, Galea played 14 games before his season ended when he needed a shoulder reconstruction.
Galea played at second-row forward in the 2005 NRL grand final victory over the North Queensland Cowboys. As NRL Premiers Wests travelled to England to play against Super League champions Bradford Bulls in the 2006 World Club Challenge. Galea played at lock forward in the Tigers' 30-10 loss.
When Galea moved from the Wests Tigers at the end of the 2007 NRL season, he was the joint venture's second most capped player with 150 games, and second highest try scorer, with 32 tries. In 2017, Galea was made a Wests Tiger Life Member.
Super League
From 2008 to 2012 Galea played in Super League for Hull F.C. KR. On 13 September 2012, Galea confirmed that he had reversed his decision to retire in order to sign a one-year deal for former West Tigers assistant Peter Gentle at Hull F.C..
Highlights
Referee
As of the 2014 NRL season, Galea works regularly as a video referee in the Australian competition.