Misplaced Pages

#134865

51-548: Gregory Peter Stephen Alexander (born 4 March 1965), also known by the nickname "Brandy", is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, who has since become a radio, television commentator and rugby league journalist. During his playing career, Alexander played primarily as a goal-kicking halfback for the Penrith Panthers and the Auckland Warriors . He also played as

102-464: A daknam (pet name) which is the name used by family and friends and a bhalonam which is their formal name. In England, some nicknames are traditionally associated with a person's surname. A man with the surname 'Clark' will be nicknamed 'Nobby': the surname 'Miller' will have the nickname 'Dusty' (alluding to the flour dust of a miller at work): the surname 'Adams' has the nickname 'Nabby'. There are several other nicknames linked traditionally with

153-409: A fullback , particularly in representative matches for New South Wales and Australia . Alexander was the captain of Penrith's 1991 NSWRL Grand Final winning team. In June 1992, Alexander's younger brother Ben , his teammate at Penrith, died in a car crash that was alcohol-related. As a result, Alexander moved to Auckland in 1995 for two seasons before returning to Penrith. As of 2024, Alexander

204-436: A community, promote civic pride, and build community unity. Titles and slogans that successfully create a new community "ideology or myth" are also believed to have economic value. Their economic value is difficult to measure, but there are anecdotal reports of cities that have achieved substantial economic benefits by "branding" themselves by adopting new slogans. By contrast, older city nicknames may be critical: London

255-595: A goal to convert a late Chris O'Sullivan try, but the Raiders were defeated 18–8 in front of 50,201 in what was the last grand final played at the Sydney Cricket Ground . In 1989 , Belcher scored Canberra's first try in their dramatic 19–14 Grand Final victory over Balmain . The extra-time win securing the club its first premiership. A fortnight later, Belcher started in Canberra's first (and to date only) appearance in

306-512: A majestic sideline conversion of Royce Simmons ' 2nd try of the game sealed the win for the Panthers. The Phil Gould coached Panthers never fell below 4th on the ladder for the season (Round 2) and never lost the competition lead after regaining it following Round 14 of the 22 round season. From Round 14 the Panthers only loss of the season was a 14–12 away loss to Cronulla-Sutherland in Round 20. During

357-599: A media career in both radio and television. He currently works as a host for Foxtel 's Fox Sports station. He also hosts the nightly Sports Today program with John Gibbs on Sydney radio station 2UE . On 24 October 2000, he was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his rugby league achievements. On 25 June 2016, he was inducted into the Penrith Panthers hall of fame alongside Grahame Moran , Royce Simmons , and Craig Gower . On 28 August 2023, Alexander

408-574: A nickname is referred to in French as " blason populaire ". Gary Belcher Gary Belcher (born 28 May 1962) is an Australian rugby league football commentator and former player. An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative, he played club football in the Brisbane Rugby League premiership for the Souths Magpies (winning the 1985 grand final) and in

459-403: A person and they are not always chosen by the recipient themselves. Some nicknames are derogatory name calls . A nickname can be a shortened or modified variation on a person's real name. A nickname may refer to the relationship with the person. This is a term of endearment . Many geographical places have titles, or alternative names, which have positive implications. Paris , for example,

510-439: A person's physical characteristics, such as 'Lofty' for a short person, 'Curly' for a bald man, or 'Bluey' for a redhead. In Chinese culture, nicknames are frequently used within a community among relatives, friends, and neighbours. A typical southern Chinese nickname often begins with a "阿" followed by another character, usually the last character of the person's given name. For example, Taiwanese politician Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁)

561-488: A person's surname, including Chalky White, Bunny Warren, Tug Wilson, and Spud Baker. Other English nicknames allude to a person's origins. A Scotsman may be nicknamed 'Jock', an Irishman 'Paddy' (alluding to Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland) or 'Mick' (alluding to the preponderance of Roman Catholicism in Ireland), and a Welshman may be nicknamed 'Taffy' (from Welsh Dafydd , David). Some nicknames referred ironically to

SECTION 10

#1732858969135

612-586: A series won 3-0 by Queensland , before being selected as the first choice halfback for Australia's mid-season tour of New Zealand. After making his test debut in the 26-6 first test win against New Zealand at the Queen Elizabeth II Park in Christchurch , and playing in the 8-0 second test win at Rotorua , Alexander lost his place in the side with coach Bob Fulton preferring his 1987 premiership winning halfback from Manly-Warringah , Des Hasler , in

663-551: A total of 156 points. The closest a teammate got in points was team captain Mal Meninga who scored 64 points (8 tries, 16 goals) from his 11 games. He scored a record 46 points in the tour match against France B (5 tries, 13 goals) in Lyon and continued that form into the first test against France 3 days later in Avignon when after coming on to replace an ill Ricky Stuart at halfback early in

714-463: Is a commentator and analyst on Fox League , and a co-host (with Andrew Voss ) of the radio show "Breakfast with Vossy & Brandy" on Sports Entertainment Network . Alexander began his career at a schoolboy level where he quickly established himself as a star player for his side. He attended St Dominic's College, Penrith until year 11 (1981) then went on to complete year 11 (again) and year 12 at Patrician Brothers' College, Fairfield he played for

765-434: Is sometimes referred as "阿扁" (A-Bian). In many Chinese communities of Southeast Asia, nicknames may also connote one's occupation or status. For example, the landlord might be known simply as Towkay ( simplified Chinese : 头家 ; traditional Chinese : 頭家 ; Pe̍h-ōe-jī : thâu-ke ) Hokkien for "boss") to his tenants or workers while a bread seller would be called "Mianbao Shu" 面包叔 (literally, Uncle Bread). In

816-550: Is still occasionally referred to as "The Smoke" in memory of its notorious "pea-souper" smogs (smoke-filled fogs) of the 19th and early 20th centuries, and Edinburgh was "Auld Reekie" for the same reason, as countless coal fires polluted its atmosphere. Besides or replacing the demonym , some places have collective nicknames for their inhabitants. Many examples of this practice are found in Wallonia and in Belgium in general, where such

867-465: Is the "City of Light", Rome is the "Eternal City", Venice is "La Serenissima", and New Jersey is the "Garden State". These alternative names are often used to boost the status of such places, contrary to the usual role of a nickname. Many places or communities, particularly in the US, adopt titles because they can help in establishing a civic identity, help outsiders recognize a community or attract people to

918-523: Is the younger brother of his wife Tanya. He is uncle to Penrith Panthers second rower Mavrik Geyer . Alexander has appeared in several road safety awareness campaigns with his former Penrith teammate Brad Fittler . As of 2024, Alexander's son Braith plays for the Sydney Roosters in the New South Wales Cup . Nickname The compound word ekename , literally meaning "additional name",

969-534: Is written after the full name followed by vulgo or between parenthesis (e.g. Edson Arantes do Nascimento, vulgo Pelé / Edson Arantes do Nascimento (Pelé)) and Slovenian represents nicknames after a dash or hyphen (e.g., Franc Rozman – Stane ). The latter may cause confusion because it resembles an English convention sometimes used for married and maiden names . In Viking societies, many people had heiti , viðrnefni , or kenningarnöfn (Old Norse terms for nicknames) which were used in addition to, or instead of,

1020-489: The 1994 season after playing in just 13 games for the Panthers (mostly at fullback as the club had signed New Zealand test halfback Gary Freeman from Easts ), Alexander joined the Auckland Warriors ahead of their inaugural season in the league as a way of dealing with his grief over Ben's death. He spent most of the first half of his first season for the Warriors at halfback and began to recapture some of his previous form. In

1071-602: The Australian Schoolboys rugby league team in 1983. He was later signed on as a junior to his local club side the Penrith Panthers . Alexander made his first-grade debut for the Panthers in the 1984 season as a half-back. His talent quickly became clear and by the end of the season he took out the Rookie of the Year award. The following year Greg continued his good form throughout the season tallying up 194 points (a club record at

SECTION 20

#1732858969135

1122-573: The Canberra Raiders , making his début in Round 1 of the season against Manly-Warringah at Brookvale Oval . He also made his State of Origin début for Queensland in 1986 , the first year the Maroons lost the series 3–0. Belcher had replaced long-serving Qld fullback Colin Scott . He won the Raiders 1986 player of the year award and was also selected for the season-ending 1986 Kangaroo tour . However, as

1173-651: The NSWRL Premiership for the Canberra Raiders (winning the 1989 and 1990 grand finals). He also played in England for Castleford ( Heritage No. 667 ). Belcher's position of choice was fullback , though he began his career in the centres . Belcher in 1985 played for the Wayne Bennett coached Magpies in the 10-8 BRL grand final win over Wynnum Manly at Lang Park , alongside the centre pairing of Mal Meninga and Peter Jackson . In 1986 he and Meninga signed with

1224-850: The Super League Tri-series . After starring in NSW's 38–10 win over Queensland in the first game of the series. In total, Alexander played 228 games for the Panthers, scored 100 tries, kicked 343 goals and 14 field goals, tallying 1,100 career points for the club. To date, he is one of only seven players ever score over 100 tries and over 1,000 points for a single club in top grade Australian rugby league. The others being Terry Lamb ( Canterbury-Bankstown ), Ryan Girdler ( Penrith Panthers ), Hazem El Masri ( Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs ), Darren Lockyer ( Brisbane Broncos ), Luke Burt ( Parramatta Eels ) and Jarrod Croker ( Canberra Raiders ). After his retirement from football in 1999, Alexander embarked on

1275-519: The World Club Challenge , which the Raiders would lose 30–18 to Widnes . In 1990 , Belcher was again at fullback for Canberra as they beat Penrith 18–14 in the Grand Final to secure back to back premierships. Belcher was one of five Canberra players selected for the 1990 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France , and played in all three tests against Great Britain, with Australia winning

1326-564: The 1986 tour, Alexander, along with the Kangaroos' other replacements that day ( David Gillespie , Des Hasler and Mark Sargent ), did not get off the bench in the 14–10 second test win against Great Britain at Old Trafford that kept The Ashes series alive. He also failed to get off the bench in the third game of the tour against Wigan . Alexander was the leading point scorer for the Kangaroos on tour, playing 17 games (4 tests but selected for all 5 tests), scoring 14 tries and kicking 50 goals for

1377-644: The Panthers to England in October for the 1991 World Club Challenge , which was lost to Wigan 21–4 at the Anfield Stadium. 1992 was a year of huge expectation for Alexander and the reigning premiers Penrith. Whilst the Panthers form was up and down at the beginning of the season, Alexander was named as captain and fullback of the City Origin side, ahead of incumbent NSW captain Benny Elias . This led to Alexander being

1428-404: The back. On 21 June 1992, his younger brother and fellow Panthers teammate Ben Alexander was killed in a car accident. The tragic loss of the younger Alexander had an adverse effect on the close-knit Panthers club and the team's form dropped off in the second half of the year which saw them miss the finals. Greg Alexander, who had been sidelined with a knee injury since April of that year, missed

1479-490: The backflip in front of the TV cameras. Alexander captained the Panthers to their maiden premiership in 1991 , the Panthers reversing the result of the 1990 Grand Final with a 19–12 win over Canberra. From halfback, Alexander took control of the game in the 2nd half with his kicking game which included a 38-metre field goal to give Penrith a 13–12 lead following a Brad Izzard try under the posts which were converted by Alexander. Later

1530-515: The backflip several times at training while in England (claiming it was something he had learned in gymnastics while still in school) and had wanted to do it after scoring a try in a game, but with Australia, in a battle to retain The Ashes, he felt the circumstances were never right. However, as the second test against the French was also the final game of the Kangaroo tour, he allowed himself the luxury of

1581-439: The bearer's first and last names (e.g., Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower and Daniel Lamont "Bubba" Franks ). It is also common for the nickname to be identified after a comma following the full real name or later in the body of the text, such as in an obituary (e.g., Frankie Frisch, "The Fordham Flash" ). Any middle name is generally omitted, especially in speech. Like English, German uses (German-style) quotation marks between

Greg Alexander - Misplaced Pages Continue

1632-424: The context of information technology, nickname is a common synonym for the screen name or handle of a user . In computer networks it has become a common practice for every person to also have one or more nicknames for pseudonymity , to avoid ambiguity , or simply because the natural name or technical address would be too long to type or take too much space on the screen . Nicknames are usually applied to

1683-517: The favourite to take over the Blues captaincy for that year's State of Origin series against Queensland. However, a knee injury lead to Alexander being withdrawn from the match, and Country Origin captain Laurie Daley would go on to successfully captain the NSW side to a 2–1 series win, with Alexander missing all three games due to his knee injury. Selectors stuck with Stuart at half and Ettingshausen at

1734-534: The final two games when selectors chose Andrew Ettingshausen . With Origin halfbacks Ricky Stuart and Allan Langer also in good form (Langer played) and Des Hasler in the team as a utility reserve, Alexander was only considered a chance of playing fullback in the tests. Following the Panthers Grand Final win over Canberra, Alexander was selected for Australia's 5 game tour to Papua New Guinea but withdrew through injury. He recovered from injury in time to lead

1785-514: The first and last names (e.g., Andreas Nikolaus “Niki“ Lauda ). Other languages may use other conventions; for example, Italian writes the nickname after the full name followed by detto "called" (e.g., Salvatore Schillaci detto Totò ), in Spanish the nickname is written in formal contexts at the end in quotes following alias (e.g. Alfonso Tostado, alias «el Abulense» ), in Portuguese the nickname

1836-535: The first name. In some circumstances, the giving of a nickname had a special status in Viking society in that it created a relationship between the name maker and the recipient of the nickname, to the extent that the creation of a nickname also often entailed a formal ceremony and an exchange of gifts known in Old Norse as nafnfestr ('fastening a name'). In Bengali society, for example, people will often have two names:

1887-603: The game he went on to score 3 tries and kick 7/8 goals in the Kangaroos 60–4 win giving him a personal haul of 28 points. In the 34–10 second test win a week later at the Stade Gilbert Brutus in Perpignan , a hamstring injury ruled out Laurie Daley . This saw Dale Shearer move from the wing to the centres and Brandy was selected on the wing where he kicked 3 goals to go along with his memorable try which resulted in his gymnastics style backflip celebration. He had performed

1938-597: The knockout Minor Semi-Final before ending their season with a 27–18 loss to Canberra. With Alexander in great form at both halfback and fullback for the Panthers, the club made it to their first ever Grand Final in 1990 against the defending premiers Canberra. The Panthers went down 18–14 to the Raiders and despite a solid performance, Alexander's goalkicking let him down on the day, only kicking one of his four attempts compared to Canberra captain Mal Meninga who landed all three of his attempts. Despite his good form, Alexander

1989-399: The latter half of the season he moved between fullback, halfback and five-eighth due to the depth the Warriors had in the halves – with Gene Ngamu , Stacey Jones , Phil Blake and Frano Botica all spending some time at halfback or five-eighth. In his second season with the club, he was awarded the captaincy after Dean Bell retired, and again began the season at halfback. However, after he

2040-450: The majority of fixtures that year, playing only 9 games for the season (including two from the bench) and following his brother's death would not return to the side until their Round 20 match against Manly-Warringah at Brookvale Oval in August. After his return, he continually fell below his usual playing weight of 84 kg and ended the season ten kilograms lighter than usual. At the end of

2091-442: The position for the third and final test. During the 1989 NSWRL season , his pace and skill had made Penrith the second most dangerous attacking team in the competition behind the eventual premiers, the Canberra Raiders and Alexander was the Panthers leading try and point scorer and for much of the year led the league in try-scoring – scoring ten tries in eight games at one point, eventually finishing with 15 tries from 18 games for

Greg Alexander - Misplaced Pages Continue

2142-575: The season he was selected at fullback for NSW in Games I and III of the 1991 State of Origin series , only missing Game II at the Sydney Football Stadium through injury. Despite his good form for Penrith and NSW and the absence of Gary Belcher through injury, Alexander was overlooked for the first test of mid-season Trans-Tasman Test series against New Zealand in favour of boom Brisbane and Qld fullback Paul Hauff , while he also missed selection in

2193-411: The season. Alexander would eventually finish second on the try-scoring list finishing behind Canberra fullback Gary Belcher who scored 17 tries. Alexander finished ahead of other noted try scorers including Andrew Ettingshausen ( Cronulla ), Ricky Walford ( St George ) and Phil Blake ( South Sydney ). Penrith's form saw them reach the finals for the first time since his rookie year in 1984, reaching

2244-459: The series 2–1. Belcher also played in the first test against France, scoring two tries in the comfortable 60–4 victory for Australia. In 1991 , Belcher played in his, and Canberra's, fourth Grand Final in five years, as Penrith beat Canberra 19–12. Despite still being good enough to represent Queensland during the State of Origin series of 1993 , a combination of injuries and salary cap constraints at

2295-400: The time) and earning himself the 1985 Dally M. player of the year award. Greg continued playing with the Panthers for the next several years and become known for his unique ability to score and set up tries, his excellent attacking kicking and his solid defence. At the end of the 1986 NSWRL season , he went on the 1986 Kangaroo tour , gaining selection after Parramatta winger Eric Grothe

2346-448: The understudy to incumbent fullback Garry Jack , he played no test matches on the tour, though he did play in ten matches on the tour scoring 6 tries. Early in the tour Belcher often joined the Channel 10 commentary team for games in which he did not play. In 1987 , Belcher again won the Raiders' player of the year award and played in the grand final against Manly-Warringah. Belcher kicked

2397-492: Was attested as early as 1303. This word was derived from the Old English word eac , meaning "also", related to eacian , meaning "to increase". By the 15th century, the misdivision of the syllables of the phrase "an ekename" led to its rephrasing as "a nekename". Though the spelling has changed, the meaning of the word has remained relatively stable ever since. English nicknames are generally represented in quotes between

2448-412: Was controversially ruled out with a knee injury. Alexander would go on to play in 10 matches on tour with the Kangaroos, scoring 10 tries and kicking 5 goals. Alexander and test hooker Royce Simmons became the first Panthers selected for a Kangaroo Tour . 1989 saw him rise to selection for New South Wales in the 1989 State of Origin series , being one of the few Blues players regarded as playing well in

2499-587: Was informed by the NSWRL board that his contract would not be renewed as advisor to the New South Wales coaching staff. Alexander had been in the role since 2018. Alexander is the brother-in-law of fellow former Penrith, NSW and Australian teammate Mark Geyer , and of former Penrith, Western Reds and Newcastle second rower, Peter Shiels , both of whom married his sisters. He is also the brother-in-law of former St. George Illawarra Dragons hooker Cameron King , who

2550-549: Was injured in Round 10, New Zealand halfback Stacey Jones regained the halfback role, and upon returning to the side Alexander was moved to the fullback position – where he would remain for most of the remaining season. Alexander eventually returned to Penrith in 1997 after his stint in New Zealand and stayed on until his retirement in 1999. His early-season form for the Panthers in the new Super League competition saw him selected at halfback for his first game for NSW since 1991 in

2601-475: Was only selected to the bench for game 3 of the 1990 State of Origin series and missed selection in Australia's mid-season tests against France and New Zealand. At the end of the season he was selected for his second Kangaroo Tour as the back up fullback to Canberra and Queensland custodian Gary Belcher and went on to be selected for every game on tour, although unlike Terry Lamb who played in every game on

SECTION 50

#1732858969135
#134865