Peter Sterling

Peter Maxwell John Sterling (born 16 June 1960) nicknamed Sterlo, is an Australian former rugby league commentator, television personality and player.

He commenced his playing career at the age of fourteen when he joined the Wagga Wagga Kangaroo Panthers in 1974.

As a teenager Sterling spent several years living at RAAF Base Wagga, where his father was serving as a dental technician.

Sterling then moved to Sydney, where he attended the Patrician Brothers' College on a scholarship.

Sterling compensated for a lack of size and pace with control and organisational skills that allowed Parramatta's all-star back line of Brett Kenny, Mick Cronin, Steve Ella and Eric Grothe a great deal of ball.

His kicking, backed up by Kenny and Ray Price's superb chasing, often gave Parramatta an advantage in territory.

His fast mind meant that he rarely made a wrong decision..

He was an effective defender who rarely missed tackles, and was often in position to secure a loose ball.

Sterling joined the Parramatta Eels in 1978, making his first appearance as a during the 1978 finals series, in the 17–11 minor semi-final replay loss to eventual premiers Manly.

After a few games at in 1979, Sterling shifted to halfback and established himself as a player to watch in 1980.

He was one of the all-time great halfbacks and a major contributor to Parramatta Eels' dominance of the New South Wales Rugby League premiership in the 1980s.

Sterling played in four premiership-winning sides with Parramatta in 1981–1983 and 1986 and has been inducted into the Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame.

His time spent playing for English club Hull F.C. also earned him membership in their hall of fame.

Sterling was born in Toowoomba, Queensland, and raised in Raymond Terrace and Wagga Wagga, New South Wales.

He attended Kooringal High School.

1981 saw the Jack Gibson-coached Eels win their first Grand Final with a 20–11 win over the Tommy Raudonikis-led Newtown Jets, with Sterling's superb skill and control one of the decisive factors.

He made his State of Origin début for NSW in the 1981 State of Origin game, setting up a try for Mick Cronin, though the Wally Lewis-captained Queenslanders turned a ten-point half time deficit into a seven-point, 22–15 win.

Sterling himself admitted he was a surprise choice for NSW as he had only made his representative début a few weeks earlier when he played for City Seconds and rated himself as fifth in line for the NSW job.

He was ultimately selected over his long-time rival for the NSW halfback spot, Canterbury-Bankstown's Steve Mortimer who had debuted for Australia in their two-Test series win over France only weeks before the Origin game.

Sterling played eighteen Tests for the Australian national team between 1982 and 1988.

In 1982, Parramatta could seemingly do no wrong, winning the minor premiership by four games over Manly.

Though they were beaten 20–0 by Manly in the major semi-final, the Eels then thrashed Eastern Suburbs 33–0 in the preliminary final, before going on to turn the tables on the Sea Eagles with a 21–8 victory in the Grand Final at the Sydney Cricket Ground to win their second successive premiership.

Sterling was then chosen for the 1982 Kangaroo tour, and along with Queensland halfback Mark Murray was back-up to incumbent Test halfback Mortimer, despite having not played in the 1982 State of Origin series.

After travelling with part of the team to Perth to face a Western Australian team and thus missing a place in Australia's first ever Test against Papua New Guinea, Sterling was presented a golden opportunity by coach Frank Stanton when he was chosen for the first game of the tour against English club side Hull Kingston Rovers.

Sterling went about cementing his place in the Kangaroos’ "A" side and went on to make his Test début for Australia in the first Ashes Test against Great Britain at Boothferry Park in Hull.

The 1982 Kangaroos went on to become the first team to go through Great Britain and France undefeated, earning them the nickname "The Invincibles", and was a personal success for Sterling who played in all five Tests against Great Britain and France, and cemented his place as the world's best halfback.

Following the 1982 Kangaroo Tour, Sterling had been highly sought after by English clubs and he went on to play for Hull F.C. in the 1983–84 English season.

In 1983, Sterling played in Australia's win in the first Test against New Zealand at Carlaw Park in Auckland, but wasn't selected for Australia's shock 12–19 second Test loss at Lang Park when Murray was preferred.

He was named man-of-the-match in Game 2 of the State of Origin series at the SCG, a game which saw the NSW side host an almost all-Parramatta backline, with Neil Hunt and Eric Grothe (wings), Mick Cronin and Steve Ella (centres) and Sterling and Brett Kenny (halves), while the Blues, who defeated Queensland 10–6, were also captained by Eels forward Ray Price.

Sterling then helped Parramatta to a third successive Grand Final win with an 18–6 win, again over runaway minor premiers Manly.

Following his third successive premiership and his fifth overall, Jack Gibson, a man Peter Sterling held high praise for as both a person and a coach, shocked the establishment and resigned as Parramatta coach.

Sterling played, and was man of the match in winning the White Rose Trophy with a 29–12 victory over Hull Kingston Rovers in the 1984 Yorkshire Cup Final during the 1984–85 season at Boothferry Park, Kingston upon Hull, on Saturday 27 October 1984.

He was then chosen for Game 1 of the 1984 State of Origin series, but lost his place to Steve Mortimer for the rest of the series.

Sterling was then overlooked for the home Ashes series against Great Britain in 1984, but would still go on to win the Rugby League Week Player of the Year award for the first time.

In the 1984 Grand Final, Sterling and longtime halves partner Brett Kenny had few opportunities against Mortimer's Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs whose forwards dominated the Eels pack and gave the star pairing little room to move.

The narrow 6–4 loss to the Bulldogs ended the John Monie-coached Parramatta's bid for a fourth successive premiership.

Sterling did not play for Parramatta, in the first half of 1985 as he returned to England to again link with Hull.

Peter Sterling played in Hull FC's 0–12 defeat by Hull Kingston Rovers in the 1984–85 John Player Special Trophy Final during the 1984–85 season at Boothferry Park, Kingston upon Hull on Saturday 26 January 1985.

Though he was relatively quiet upon his return to Parramatta, at the end of the season Sterling's skill allowed Parramatta to defeat Balmain (twice, the second a 32–4 win in the Minor-Semi) and Penrith (Minor Preliminary-Semi), to move from doubtful finalists to the Preliminary Final – where a ruthless Canterbury side on their way to a second successive premiership, easily accounted for the Eels 26–0.

He also played in thirteen State of Origins for New South Wales, winning man of the match on four occasions (one of them being the 1987 exhibition match played in the USA).