George Gatis


George Gatis is a former rugby league footballer who played as a in the 2000s in the National [Rugby League|NRL] and the Super League.
He played for the New Zealand Warriors, and the North [Queensland Cowboys] in two separate spells in the National Rugby League, and the Huddersfield Giants in the European Super League.

Background

He was born in Townsville, Queensland, Australia and is of Greek heritage.

Playing career

In his junior years playing Rugby League Gatis would play for Souths Townsville and Centrals in the TDJRL.
Gatis originally played for the Wests Panthers and the Easts Tigers in the Queensland Cup.

North Queensland

He made his first grade début for the North Queensland Cowboys in 2001. Gatis played 24 games for the Cowboys between 2001 and 2003.
A broken arm in 2003 followed by a knee reconstruction kept Gatis out of first-grade for several years.

New Zealand Warriors

When the New Zealand Warriors visited Townsville in 2005, assistant coach Kevin Campion offered Gatis a chance to come and spend the pre-season with the Warriors.
Gatis accepted the offer and, in 2006, he was signed by the New Zealand Warriors. He played in thirty nine games for the club over two seasons.

Huddersfield

In August 2007 Gatis signed for the Huddersfield Giants for the 2008 and 2009 seasons. However, just three months into a two-year contract with Huddersfield, George quit the club for personal reasons.

Retirement

Gatis returned to Australia and helped his parents fish and chip shop. During the 2008 season he signed with the North Queensland Cowboys, and played one NRL match for the club, starting at hooker. For the majority of the season he played with the Northern Pride in the Queensland Cup. He retired at the end of the season.

Post-retirement

Following retirement, Gatis continued to work in his family's business. He later became a prison officer with Queensland Corrective Services.

International career

Gatis, of Greek heritage, played for the Greece national team several times in non-test fixtures. He received Greek citizenship in November 2007.