Stanley Gene

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Stanley Gene
Gene playing for PNG in 2008
Personal information
Born (1974-05-11) 11 May 1974 (age 50)
Goroka, Papua New Guinea
Playing information
Height5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Weight87 kg (13 st 10 lb)
PositionUtility
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1993–94 Goroka Lahinas 10 21 84
1995 Lae Bombers 15 16 64
1996–00 Hull Kingston Rovers 111 94 0 0 376
2000–01 Hull FC 28 6 0 0 24
2001–05 Huddersfield Giants 76 27 0 0 108
2006–07 Bradford Bulls 22 7 0 0 28
2007–09 Hull Kingston Rovers 55 10 0 0 40
2010 Halifax 11 3 0 0 12
Total 328 184 0 0 736
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1995–08 Papua New Guinea 16 6 0 1 25
Coaching information
Club
Years Team Gms W D L W%
2013–14 Newcastle Thunder
Source: [1]

Stanley Gene (born 11 May 1974) is a Papua New Guinean former rugby league Kumul (#166) player who has previously coached Gateshead Thunder. He has also coached the academy team at Hull Kingston Rovers and served as the Papua New Guinea Kumuls head coach in 2010. Having moved to England following an impressive showing for PNG in the 1995 Rugby League World Cup, Gene enjoyed a long career in the British game with spells at Hull Kingston Rovers, Huddersfield Giants, Bradford Bulls, Hull F.C. and Halifax.

Gene was a versatile player with the ability to cover virtually any position on the pitch, though he spent most of his test career playing at stand off (off-half). He was a regular for the PNG Kumuls for 14 years between 1994 and 2008, and captained the side on at least three occasions, including being the PNG captain during the 2008 Rugby League World Cup, before retiring from international rugby league following the 2008 tournament. Gene is considered a hero in his home country and almost universally regarded as a rugby league legend.

Career

Club career

Gene was born in Goroka. After playing in the 1995 Rugby League World Cup for Papua New Guinea, Gene was offered a contract to play for Hull Kingston Rovers in the old Second Division. After moving to the United Kingdom, Gene played for Hull KR from 1996 to 2000. He scored 94 Tries in 111 matches during that period, and was a massively popular figure at the club. He moved to Gateshead and was then forced to play for rivals Hull F.C. when they merged. However, he had a frustrating time there, mainly featuring as a substitute. He was granted a release from his contract midway through 2001 and allowed to look for another club.

Gene signed with Huddersfield Giants midway through 2001, but was unable to save them from relegation. However, he was instrumental in the club's unbeaten run and promotion back into Super League the following year. He went on to establish himself as one of Huddersfield's most important players.

Gene moved to the Bradford Bulls for the 2006 Season. Along with fellow Papua New Guinea national Marcus Bai, Gene's first match for the club was their win the 2006 World Club Challenge against the Wests Tigers.[2] He played from the interchange bench and scored a try in the Bradford Bulls' 30-10 victory. After only one season with the Bradford Bulls, he was allowed to rejoin Hull Kingston Rovers.

Gene returned to Hull Kingston Rovers, his first English club, following their promotion to Super League in 2007. He provided experience and a steadying influence as the club established itself in Super League, before being allowed to leave at the end of the 2009 season.

Following his release from Hull Kingston Rovers, Gene signed for Cooperative Championship side Halifax for the 2010 season along with fellow countryman and close friend Makali Aizue.

PNG

Gene's representative career lasted over a decade. He made his test début for PNG against France at the Lloyd Robson Oval in Port Moresby during the France's tour of Oceania in 1994. Selected as a substitute for his first test, Gene contributed a field goal in PNG's 29-22 win.. He then went on to play for the Kumuls during the 1995 Rugby League World Cup in England, and also played in the 2000 and 2008 World Cups. In addition, he represented his country in numerous test matches before announcing his intention to retire from international rugby league following the 2008 World Cup.

Following PNG's exit from the tournament, he was tearfully carried from the field by his team mates and given a standing ovation by the 16,239 strong crowd at the Dairy Farmers Stadium in Townsville, Australia (his last game was a 46-6 defeat by the Kangaroos). He is regarded in Papua New Guinea as a sporting legend.[citation needed]

Coaching

In 2010, Adrian Lam stepped down as the coach of the PNG national team. Within a few days, it was announced that Gene would be installed as his replacement. The first game under Gene's leadership was the annual fixture between PNG and the Australian PM's XIII. Gene went on to coach the team for the 2010 Four Nations in Australia and New Zealand, failing to register a victory over tournament winner New Zealand, runner up Australia, and England.

In September 2013 Gene was appointed head coach of Gateshead Thunder (now Newcastle Thunder) for the 2014 season.[3]

Personal life

Gene lives in Yorkshire , Gene has two sons, Elliott and Leo.[4] In 2006, he paid for the installation of electricity in his home village of Segu, located on the outskirts of Goroka.[5] In 2012, he set up the Stanley Gene Foundation, aiming to supply donations to the deprived areas of Papua New Guinea.[6]

Pronunciation of 'Gene'

There has been confusion over the pronunciation of 'Gene'. "When I first arrived in England people called me Gene (Jean) and I thought it sounded quite posh, so I got used to it, but it is Gene (Gennay), that's how it is pronounced back home."[7]

Stanley Gene's age

Stanley Gene's age was a major talking point about the player for many years. Although his date of birth registered with the Rugby Football League (RFL) was 11 May 1974,[8] many of his former team mates and coaches insisted he was considerably older than this.

In the Independent Newspaper's review of Stanley Gene's life events [9], his true age was investigated. According to villagers he was born during a full moon several months after a successful kau kau (sweet potato) crop harvest in Goroka, but just before a plague of taro beetle decimated almost all of the region's taro crop [10]. However, what this equates to in the Gregorian calendar has always been debated among scientists and tribal elders. Scientists from PNG’s National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) have attempted to trace back the various taro beetle plagues that have hit the Goroka region over the past sixty years to more accurately calculate Gene's age, but the results to date have proven inconclusive or possibly even contradictory to initial village reports [11]. Although no record of taro beetle destruction could be found before 1984, scientists and researchers were able to conclude that taro leaf blight caused by Phytophthora colocasiae struck regions near Goroka in 1958, 1962 and 1970 [12]. With this, it is possible that the taro crop decimation stated by villagers was actually caused by this disease and not the taro beetle as originally believed. If this is true then it is highly probable that Gene was born in either 1962 or 1970, making him either 46 or 38 years old as at 2008. Following the 2008 Rugby League World Cup the PNG National Parliament instructed the National Agricultural Research Institute and the Department of Family and Church Affairs to continue research into Gene's age as a matter of national importance. It has also been rumored that Gene was even a WWII veteran having fought along the Kokoda Trail as a child solider during the Japanese invasion of Papua New Guinea in 1942. The Rugby League Project website launched an independent investigation of the issue and have confirmed:-

"Stanley Gene's exact date of birth is not officially known. It is being researched as a "matter of national importance" by both the Papua New Guinean National Agricultural Research Institute and the Department of Family and Church Affairs."[13]

Following the Independent Newspaper investigation, in 2008 Gene himself stated that he was 34, and explained that some people believe that Papua New Guineans "look older in the face" than in other countries.[14] Despite this explanation, it was rumoured that he was unable to provide a birth certificate to prove his age,[14][15] and that he allegedly held several passports with different dates of birth.[16] Former Wigan player Bryan Fletcher predicted that Gene could be as old as 45.[14]

On 11 May 2013, Gene confirmed that it was his 39th birthday. He showed guests at his birthday dinner his birth certificate, which confirmed that his date of birth is 11 May 1974.[17]

References

  1. ^ Rugby League Project
  2. ^ "Gene's fashion a style of his own - leaguehq.com.au". Archived from the original on 11 December 2008. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
  3. ^ [1]
  4. ^ "'Ageless' Stanley Gene gets ready to roll back the years". Yorkshire Post. Johnston Press. 21 October 2008. Archived from the original on 29 July 2018. Retrieved 13 August 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  5. ^ Wilson, Andy (2 February 2008). "Gene machine a favourite in Hull and powerhouse in a Papuan village". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  6. ^ "Help Hull rugby legend Stanley Gene set up charity for his native Papua New Guinea". Hull Daily Mail. 5 December 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  7. ^ Woods, Dave (23 April 2004). "The 'Jean' Genie". BBC Sport. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  8. ^ "Golden oldies prove quality can be lasting". Yorkshire Post. Johnston Press. 5 February 2007. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  9. ^ "Stanley Gene How Old A Man Is Stan". 23 October 2008. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  10. ^ "Warrior Genes Make Stanley a Modern Day Marvel". 23 October 2010. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  11. ^ "Taro beetle management in PNG and Fiji". 1 January 2002. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  12. ^ "Studies on the taro leaf blight fungus Phytophthora colocasiae in Solomon Islands: control by fungicides and spacing". 1 September 1980. Retrieved 20 November 2017.
  13. ^ "Stanley Gene - Career Stats & Summary - Rugby League Project". 28 November 2017. Retrieved 28 November 2017.
  14. ^ a b c Ritchie, Dean (16 October 2008). "Ageless warrior credits genes". The Daily Telegraph. Fox Sports. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  15. ^ Hadfield, Dave (24 October 2008). "Stanley Gene: How old a man is Stan?". The Independent. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  16. ^ "Brian Noble on England's narrow win". BBC Sport. 25 October 2008. Retrieved 13 August 2014.
  17. ^ "Hull and Papua New Guinea rugby league legend Stanley Gene holds birthday bash at Bilton's Swiss Cottage pub". Hull Daily Mail. Retrieved 28 May 2014.

External links

Preceded by Coach
Papua New Guinea
2010–2010 		Succeeded by
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