Ben Alexander (rugby league)

Ben Alexander (13 September 1971 – 21 June 1992) was an Australian rugby league footballer for the Penrith Panthers in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership. He was the younger brother of Australian Rugby League international Greg Alexander. His position of choice was at hooker, or as a five-eighth, or halfback.

For other people named Ben Alexander, see Ben Alexander (disambiguation).

Ben Alexander
Personal information
Born(1971-09-13)13 September 1971
Penrith, New South Wales, Australia
Died21 June 1992(1992-06-21) (aged 20)
Colyton, New South Wales, Australia
Playing information
PositionHalfback, Hooker
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1990–92 Penrith Panthers 36 7 3 1 35

Football

Ben Alexander made his first grade debut in the 1990 season and was a non-playing reserve in the Panthers inaugural Grand Final winning team in 1991 (the Panthers were captained by his brother Greg).

Career playing statistics

Point scoring summary
GamesTriesGoalsF/GPoints
3673135

Matches played
TeamMatchesYears
Penrith Panthers361990 - 1992

Death

On 21 June 1992, at the age of just 20, Alexander was killed in a car crash in Colyton, a suburb in western Sydney. It was later reported that his blood alcohol level was 0.148, almost three times the legal limit of 0.05.[1][2] The tragic event occurred on a night that was meant to be one of celebration for the Panthers, as it was the night they had been presented with premiership blazers for their 1991 success.[3]

Alexander's death had a profound effect on not only his family, but also the Penrith Panthers. While the Panthers form in their premiership defence was inconsistent prior to 21 June, the Panthers then failed to reach the 1992 Finals series, finishing in 9th place with an 11–11 record. For Ben's older brother, Greg, his death had a longer term effect. Greg missed most of the second half of the season, and endured (by his lofty standards) run of the mill 1993 and 1994 seasons. He then decided he needed time away from Sydney and joined a new club, the New Zealand-based Auckland Warriors for both 1995 and 1996, before returning to the Panthers for the inaugural Super League season in 1997. Ben and Greg's brother-in-law, Panthers international second-rower Mark Geyer (who is married to their sister), also decided he needed a change and left the Panthers after 1992 to join the Balmain Tigers in 1993.

References
  1. Allison, Col (9 July 1992). "Death of innocence: The truth about Ben's crash". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 1. In an unusual step, the Westmead Coroner, Mr John Hiatt, released details yesterday of the post-mortem examination on the 20-year-old Penrith rugby league player. It showed that he had a blood alcohol reading of 0.148 - nearly three times the legal limit of 0.05 - when his Honda collided with another car and then hit a power pole in Colyton on the night of June 21.
  2. Allison, Col (26 June 1992). "Penrith weeps for a kid called Bood". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 1.
  3. Dodds, Troy (25 June 2017). "25 years since Panthers lost Ben". The Western Weekender. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
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