Playing Career
Vital Statistics
- Full Name
- Samson Neale Backo
- Nickname(s)
- Slammin
- Born
- Sunday, 1st January, 1961
- Current Age
- 63 years and 109 days
- Place Of Birth
- Ingham, Queensland, Australia
Awards & Accolades
Biography
Cairns forward (originally from Ingham) matured like vintage wine at Canberra, progressing from lower grade player to Test star. Backo was actually playing in the Group 8 competition in 1981 but returned to Queensland to play with Yeppoon before venturing back to Canberra in 1983. A member of the Raiders’ team that lost to Manly in the 1987 grand final Backo made his State of Origin debut the following year. Chosen for the Test series against Great Britain, he created history by becoming the first Australian forward to score tries in all three Tests of an Ashes series. The massively framed prop was simply unstoppable close to the line but English fans did not see him at his best in his time with Leeds in 1988-89. At the end of the 1988 season he moved back to Brisbane and again starred in Queensland's State of Origin success before touring NZ with the Australian side. A chronic knee injury limited his appearances in 1990, resulting in his withdrawal from the Test side that took on France, and forced his eventual retirement at the end of the season.
- ALAN WHITICKER
Playing Career Statistics
All statistics shown in this section are based only on data available in the RLP database, and are not necessarily a complete and/or 100% accurate representation of a player's career. This information should be used as a guide only. If you see a question mark (?), it denotes that the figure is not available.
To view a list of corresponding matches, click on the List button.
Competitions |
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| Competition | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NRL | 134 | 18 | - | - | 72 | 70 | 61 | 3 | 52.24% | List | ||||
| National Panasonic Cup | 5 | 1 | - | - | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 60.00% | List | ||||
| NRL Finals | 6 | 2 | - | - | 8 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 33.33% | List | ||||
| State of Origin | 7 | 3 | - | - | 12 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 85.71% | List | ||||
| Tour Matches | Australia | 9 | 4 | - | - | 16 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 77.78% | List | |||
| Test Series | 6 | 3 | - | - | - | 5 | 1 | 0 | 83.33% | List | ||||
| The Ashes | 3 | 3 | - | - | 24 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 66.67% | List | ||||
| World Cup | 2 | 1 | - | - | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.00% | List | ||||
| English Championship | 13 | - | - | - | - | 9 | 4 | 0 | 69.23% | List | ||||
| Yorkshire Cup | 3 | 1 | - | - | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | List | ||||
| Challenge Cup | 2 | - | - | - | - | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | List | ||||
| Tooheys Challenge Cup | 1 | - | - | - | - | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00% | List | ||||
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Test Matches - By Team |
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| Team | Years | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | |||
| Australia | 1988-89 | 6 | 3 | - | - | 12 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 83.33% | List | |||
International Matches - By Team |
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| Team | Years | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | |||
| Australia | 1988 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00% | List | |||
| Rest Of The World | 1988 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.00% | List | |||
| Overall | 1988 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.00% | List | |||
World Cup Matches - By Team |
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| Team | Years | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | |||
| Australia | 1988-89 | 2 | 1 | - | - | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 50.00% | List | |||
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Australia - By Team |
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| Team | Years | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | |||
| QLD | 1988-90 | 7 | 3 | - | - | 12 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 85.71% | List | |||
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NRL/NSWRL - By Year |
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| Team | Season | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | |||
| Canberra | NSWRFL 1983 | 7 | - | - | - | - | 3 | 4 | 0 | 42.86% | List | |||
| Canberra | NSWRL 1984 | 17 | 4 | - | - | 16 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 58.82% | List | |||
| Canberra | NSWRL 1985 | 21 | 2 | - | - | 8 | 8 | 11 | 2 | 38.10% | List | |||
| Canberra | NSWRL 1986 | 20 | 1 | - | - | 4 | 7 | 12 | 1 | 35.00% | List | |||
| Canberra | NSWRL 1987 | 27 | 6 | - | - | 24 | 16 | 11 | 0 | 59.26% | List | |||
| Canberra | NSWRL 1988 | 22 | 2 | - | - | 8 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 63.64% | List | |||
| Brisbane | NSWRL 1989 | 15 | 3 | - | - | 12 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 60.00% | List | |||
| Brisbane | NSWRL 1990 | 5 | - | - | - | - | 3 | 2 | 0 | 60.00% | List | |||
NRL/NSWRL - By Team |
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| Team | Years | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | |||
| Canberra | 1983-88 | 114 | 15 | - | - | 60 | 58 | 53 | 3 | 50.88% | List | |||
| Brisbane | 1989-90 | 20 | 3 | - | - | 12 | 12 | 8 | 0 | 60.00% | List | |||
| Overall | 1983-1990 | 134 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 72 | 70 | 61 | 3 | 52.24% | List | |||
English Career - By Year |
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| Team | Season | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | |||
| Leeds | 1988/89 | 18 | 1 | - | - | 4 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 77.78% | List | |||
English Career - By Team |
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| Team | Years | App | T | G | GK % | FG | Pts | W | L | D | Win % | |||
| Leeds | 1988 | 18 | 1 | - | - | 4 | 14 | 4 | 0 | 77.78% | List | |||
Contributions: AJ Lucantonio, Paul Carter, Rugby League Tables, Andrew Ferguson, Shawn Dollin, Alan Katzmann, Steven Russo, Greg Fiveash, Max Turner, Bill Bates
Sources: NSWRL Rugby League Yearbook 1989-90, Match Video, NSWRL Rugby League Yearbook 1987-88, NSWRL Rugby League Yearbook 1988-89, NSWRL Rugby League Yearbook 1990-91, Irvin Saxton's Record Keepers' Club, Rothmans Rugby League Yearbook 1989-90
Your Say
24/05/2018
Thanks for the memories of a Man that played the game for the game brilliant Sam.
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