Bob Lindner (born 10 November 1962) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s, and coached in the 1990s. An Australia national and QueenslandState of Origin representative forward, he is one of a handful of players to be named man-of-the-match in State of Origin football more than once. Fifteen years after his retirement from football in Australia, he had made the most appearances and scored the most tries of any forward in State of Origin history.
Lindner won his only BRL premiership in 1986 as the Seagulls defeated Past Brothers 14–6 in the Grand Final at Lang Park.[3]
New South Wales rugby league
Following his successful Kangaroo tour, Lindner signed with reigning NSWRL premiers, the Parramatta Eels as a much-anticipated [citation needed] replacement for club captain Ray Price, who had retired following the Eels 1986 Grand Final win over Canterbury-Bankstown.
Back in Australia in 1988 following his stint at Wheldon Road (Castleford's home ground), Lindner played in Queensland's 3–0 Origin series sweep of New South Wales before being selected for all three Ashes series tests against the touring Great Britain side. The Australian's defeated the Lions 2–1 to retain The Ashes that they had not lost since 1970.[5][6]
After 28 games over two seasons for the Eels in which they failed to play finals football, Lindner signed with newly created expansion team, the Gold Coast Giants for the 1989 NSWRL season.
Following his year on the Gold Coast, Lindner signed with Sydney team Western Suburbs for the 1990 NSWRL season. He was named man-of-the-match in the Game III of the 1990 State of Origin series, and at the end of the season was selected to his secondKangaroo Tour. His performances for the 1990 Kangaroos saw him named the player of the tour. Lindner suffered another broken leg in early 1991 but made a strong recovery before breaking the leg again playing in the first test of the 1991 Trans-Tasman series against New Zealand in Melbourne.[8]
Wests' salary cap problems [citation needed] saw him join his fourth NSWRL club, the Illawarra Steelers, in 1993, but after playing for Australia in the mid-season test series against New Zealand, and for Queensland in the Origin series (including a try-scoring performance in the Maroons' 24–12 game 3 win, his last game for his state), he announced his intention to leave Australia and play abroad. Lindner's player agent, the Sydney businessman Michael Saad, received many offers and the 24-Test veteran subsequently announced that he had signed for Oldham (Heritage No. 1017).[citation needed]
During the 1993–94 Rugby Football League season, Lindner took over as captain-coach of Oldham following the departure of fellow Australian forward, Peter Tunks and successfully averted the team's relegation to Second Division.[10]
Post-playing career
Lindner then returned to Australia and linked with the short-lived South Queensland Crushers where he was originally recruited as a player but retired in order to replace Bill Gardner as club coach in 1995–96. [citation needed] He stood down as coach in 1997, the Crushers' final year in the Australian Rugby League premiership.
He has also been a qualified Optometrist since 1985. Lindner's university exams actually fell during both his début State of Origin series in 1984, and again in 1985, causing him to have to miss team bonding sessions so he could study.[13]