Name George Gatis Role Rugby player | Height 1.74 m Weight 89 kg | |
George Gatis (born 25 March 1978 in Townsville, Queensland, Australia) was a professional rugby league player who played in the National Rugby League and Super League competitions. His position of choice was hooker. After a few overcoming injuries, george quit football and took over management of his family business 'Simply Tops Seafood Bar'.
Contents
- Playing career
- North Queensland
- New Zealand Warriors
- Huddersfield
- Retirement
- Representative career
- References
Playing career
Gatis originally played for the Wests Panthers in the Queensland Cup.
North Queensland
He made his first grade début for the North Queensland Cowboys in 2001. Gatis played 24 games for the Cowboys between 2001 and 2003.
A broken arm in 2003 followed by a knee reconstruction kept Gatis out of first-grade for several years.
New Zealand Warriors
When the New Zealand Warriors visited Townsville in 2005, assistant coach Kevin Campion offered Gatis a chance to come and spend the pre-season with the Warriors.
Gatis accepted the offer and, in 2006, he was signed by the New Zealand Warriors. He played in thirty nine games for the club over two seasons.
Huddersfield
In August 2007 Gatis signed for the Huddersfield Giants for the 2008 and 2009 seasons. However, just three months into a two-year contract with Huddersfield, George quit the club due to personal reasons.
Retirement
Gatis returned to Australia and helped his parents fish and chip shop. During the 2008 season he signed with the North Queensland Cowboys and played one NRL match for the club, starting at hooker. For the majority of the season he played with the Northern Pride in the Queensland Cup.
Gatis retired at the end of the season.
Representative career
Gatis, of Greek heritage, has played for the Greek national team several times. He received Greek citizenship in November, 2007.