Tony Gordon

Anthony Ralph "Tank" Gordon (c. 1948/49 – 25 March 2012) was a New Zealand rugby league and rugby union footballer and coach who represented the New Zealand Kiwis in the 1975 World Cup and coached them to the 1988 World Cup final.

Early years Anthony was born in Rotorua. He made the New Zealand national rugby league team after only 14 rugby league matches. The team couldn't repeat the feat in 1988 as they lost the final of the World Cup in front of 47,000 fans at Eden Park. The Kiwis toured Britain and France in 1989 before Gordon was replaced as Kiwis coach.

Gordon became coach of the London Crusaders in 1993 before joining Hull F.C. for the 1994–1995 season.

Halfway through the 1995 Lion Red Cup Neil Joyce resigned as the coach of the Bay of Plenty Stags. Gordon became a co-coach alongside Lawrence Brydon for the remainder of the season. In 1996 he remained with the Stags as the business Manager while Brydon became the head coach. During the season he was suspended and investigated by the New Zealand Rugby League over accusations of fraud. He was later cleared of all charges.

Between 1996 and 2001 he coached the Coastline Mariners.

Later years In 2006 Gordon was the coach of Kahukura in the Baywide rugby union competition. He died on 25 March 2012 after a long illness.