About George Peponis
George Peponis (born Georgios Peponis, Greek: Γιώργος Πεπόνης; born 3 September 1953) is a Greek Australian company director and former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. An Australia national and New South Wales state representative hooker, he played in the NSWRFL Premiership for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, with whom he won the 1980 Grand Final. He also captained the Bulldogs and New South Wales, and played in eight Test matches for Australia between 1978 and 1980, captaining the side on five consecutive occasions between 1979 and 1980. == Background == Peponis was born on 3 September 1953, in the town of Tripoli, Arcadia in the Peloponnese region in Greece, to Greek parents who originally came from the small Arcadian village of Levidi, on the outskirts of Tripoli. He emigrated with his family to Australia when he was just 18 months old in 1954 like many other Greeks in those days. He attended Sydney's Canterbury Boys' High School where he played rugby union and was a Canterbury rugby league junior with the St George Dragons JRLFC at Clemton Park before being graded in 1973 to the under-23's side in which year he played in the Preliminary Final against the Balmain Tigers. == Professional playing career == === 1970s === Peponis started the 1974 season in reserve grade and that year debuted in first grade against South Sydney when Barry Phillis was injured. He stayed in first grade for that year's finals series including Canterbury's Grand Final 1974 loss to the Eastern Suburbs. After a 1975 season interrupted by a broken leg injury, for the next five seasons from 1976 he was Canterbury's regular first grade hooker. The Canterbury club maintained a scholarship scheme for its juniors at the time which supported him financially while he conducted his medical studies.
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