Ryan Tandy

Ryan Tandy (20 September 1981 – 28 April 2014)[4] was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. An Ireland international representative forward, he played in the National Rugby League for the St. George Illawarra Dragons, South Sydney Rabbitohs, Wests Tigers, Melbourne Storm, and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, and in the Super League for Hull Kingston Rovers. He was banned from playing professional rugby league in Australia after being found guilty of spot-fixing during a match in 2010, and in 2014 died of a suspected drug overdose.

Ryan Tandy
Personal information
Born(1981-09-20)20 September 1981
Gosford, New South Wales, Australia
Died28 April 2014(2014-04-28) (aged 32)
Saratoga, New South Wales, Australia
Playing information
Height185 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Weight98 kg (15 st 6 lb)
PositionProp
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2003 St. George Illawarra 3 0 0 0 0
2003 South Sydney 3 0 0 0 0
2007 Hull Kingston Rovers 12 2 0 0 8
2008 Wests Tigers 2 0 0 0 0
2009–10 Melbourne Storm 16 1 0 0 4
2010 Canterbury Bulldogs 12 1 0 0 4
Total 48 4 0 0 16
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2006–08 Ireland 5 1 0 0 4
As of 15 July 2010
Source: [1][2][3]

Background

Of Irish heritage,[5] Tandy was born in Gosford, New South Wales, Australia on 20 September 1981.[1] He played Junior rugby league for the Kincumber Colts on the Central Coast of New South Wales.

Playing career

Tandy's career covered stints with the St. George Illawarra Dragons, South Sydney Rabbitohs, Wests Tigers, Melbourne Storm, and the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the NRL. He also played for the Hull Kingston Rovers in the Super League.[6] In the National Leagues system he played for Doncaster, Widnes Vikings, Whitehaven and Barrow.[7][8] He was an Ireland international.[9]

Tandy débuted for the Wests Tigers first grade team against the Brisbane Broncos in Round 15 2008.

Tandy was selected in the Ireland national team for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup,[10] which led to a contract with Melbourne Storm for 2009.[11] He played for Melbourne in the 2009 NRL Grand Final victory against Parramatta,[12] but the premiership title was later stripped from the Storm due to salary cap breaches.

He signed with the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs on 12 June 2010,[13] and was sacked by them on 18 March 2011.[14]

Betting scandal

After the 21 August 2010 Canterbury-Bankstown match against the North Queensland Cowboys Tandy became embroiled in a betting scandal. The Totalisator Agency Board (TAB) announced that 95 per cent of bets placed on the first scoring play of this match were for the unusual option of a Cowboys penalty goal. Friends and associates of Tandy placed a large number of bets[15] and then taken action in the match to allow the opposing side to score a penalty goal. Tandy gave away possession to the Cowboys in the opening moments of the match by knocking on, and then gave away a penalty. These actions put the Cowboys in a position where a penalty goal was a likely outcome. However, the Cowboys decided on an attacking option and scored a try instead.

Tandy strongly denied the accusations of deliberately giving away possession and a penalty to allow the exotic option on the bets to be successful. Despite this, he was arrested on 2 February 2011[16] for providing false evidence to a law enforcement agency during the investigation of the betting scandal.[17] He received an intensive correction order for six months. It required: community service, supervision and curfew, but he could have been jailed for two years.[4]

On 6 October 2011, Tandy was found to be guilty of manipulating the first scoring point of the game.[18] He appealed the charge in January 2014 but lost the case.[19]

Tandy received a lifetime ban from NRL rugby league over the spot fixing.[20]

Death

On 28 April 2014 Tandy was found dead due to a suspected drug overdose at his parents' home in Saratoga, New South Wales.[4]

References
  1. Rugby League Project
  2. NRL Stats
  3. loverugbyleague
  4. "Controversial former NRL player Ryan Tandy found dead in parents' apartment of suspected overdose". The Daily Telegraph (Australia). www.daily telegraph.com.au. 28 April 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  5. "Ryan Tandy: Rugby league player whose career was overshadowed by personal demons and who was banned for match-fixing". Independent. 29 April 2014. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  6. "Ryan Tandy". Rugby League Project. 29 April 2008. Retrieved 29 April 2008.
  7. "Hull KR sign Tandy from Doncaster". BBC. 8 May 2007. Retrieved 29 April 2008.
  8. "Tandy completes switch to Widnes". BBC. 21 December 2005. Retrieved 29 April 2008.
  9. "Ireland 18-18 Lebanon". BBC. 5 November 2006. Retrieved 29 April 2008.
  10. "Cassidy included in Ireland squad". BBC. 7 October 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2008.
  11. "Tandy set to build a connection with Storm". Central Coast Express Advocate. 19 March 2009. Retrieved 16 June 2009.
  12. "Storm v Eels Grand Final 2009". nrl.com. Archived from the original on 3 October 2009. Retrieved 5 October 2009.
  13. "Bulldogs sign Ryan Tandy". SportsAustralia.com. 12 June 2010. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  14. Read, Brent (19 March 2011). "Bulldogs make outcast of Ryan Tandy". The Australian.
  15. 7.30 ABC Australia, 9 May 2014 Gambling led to NRL footballer Ryan Tandy's life unravelling
  16. "Ryan Tandy arrested in NRL match fixing scandal". TripleM.com.au. 2 February 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2016.
  17. Ben Horne (30 August 2010). "NRL won't speculate on punting penalty". Sydney Morning Herald. News.smh.com.au. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  18. "Tandy guilty in NRL fixing scam". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). Abc.net.au. 6 October 2011. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  19. "Tandy loses appeal over betting scandal". ABC News (Australia). Abc.net.au. 19 January 2012. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  20. "Former NRL player Ryan Tandy found dead from reported drug overdose". ABC News (Australia). Abc.net.au. 28 April 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
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