John Quayle
Administration
Player Bio
- Inducted:
- 2024
- Date of Birth:
- 14 February 1947
- Birthplace:
- Walgett, NSW
- Nickname:
- -
Career
Milestones
- Former Australian representative player (three Tests, 1975)
- Appointed general manager of the NSWRL in 1983 and served as the game’s leading CEO until 1997
- Oversaw sweeping changes in the 1980s including the expansion of the competition from 13 to 16 teams in 1988 and then the introduction of a salary cap in 1990
- Responsible for the game’s greatest marketing coup via the Tina Turner campaign in 1988
- Approved the further expansion of the competition to 20 teams in 1995
- Stood up to the threat to the game’s establishment with the onset of the Super League war in 1995
Biography
Born in Walgett in 1947, Quayle played three Tests for Australia in 1975 before turning to administration with Eastern Suburbs. Appointed general manager of the NSWRL in 1983 and served as the game’s leading CEO until 1997. He oversaw sweeping changes in the 1980s including the expansion of the competition from 13 to 16 teams in 1988 with the admission of the Brisbane Broncos, Newcastle Knights and Gold Coast Giants.
Quayle's nous: The story behind the importance of Newcastle and the Chief
Under Quayle’s astute guidance, the NSWRL joined forces with rock and roll icon Tina Turner in 1989 as the ‘What You Get is What You See’ campaign signalled a golden era for the game. Turner’s hit song was matched with fast-moving action sequences in a stunning commercial that saw league’s popularity soar before they repeated the dose the following year with the iconic ‘Simply The Best’ ad. The campaign cost the NSWRL $2 million but Quayle was always confident it would pay dividends. “It is impossible to gauge the value to the league, but already we have received national exposure and the ad hasn’t even gone to air yet,” Quayle told Rugby League Week in February, 1990. “She is a true superstar.”
Quayle approved the further expansion of the competition to 20 teams in 1995 with the game spreading to new frontiers in Auckland, Perth and North Queensland, and a second team admitted in Brisbane.
Latest
Hall of Fame Contributors
National Rugby League respects and honours the Traditional Custodians of the land and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and future. We acknowledge the stories, traditions and living cultures of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on the lands we meet, gather and play on.
