About Peter

With the family moving from Brisbane to Newcastle in the early 1960s, Peter’s love for soccer began in Newcastle at the age of nine. He played his junior football for Kotara South and Adamstown Rosebud, before playing senior football, initially for Adamstown Rosebud and then for a number of Sydney-based clubs as a midfielder.

It was the very beginning of a stunning soccer career that would see him play at the highest level of Australian soccer and take him around the world, including a stint playing for Tottenham Hotspur in 1980.

Peter made the difficult yet courageous decision at the young age of 18 to leave home and move to Sydney to further his soccer career and put himself in front of the state and national selectors. After several years of hard work on and off the field, he enjoyed great success at state level, then went on to play at the highest level of club soccer in Australia — and then at the highest level, as a midfielder for the Australian Socceroos.

Peter played in, and later captained, the NSW State representative team in the mid-1970s. He then had seasons with two National Soccer League clubs — APIA Leichhardt and St George, where he became captain.

He first represented Australia in 1976, in a ‘B’ international against Bologna of Italy, and made his full international debut against Hong Kong. He went on to represent Australia 15 times before his retirement in 1983, including international matches in Taiwan, Fiji, Kuwait, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, Iran, Italy and Greece during 1976, 1977 and 1978 alone.

Peter Stone in later years

Family, learning and leadership

After retiring from professional football in 1983, Peter had much more time to focus on his young family. It is no surprise that he became heavily involved in the sporting and academic pursuits of his two children, David and Kate. David also found a love for the game, and was strongly supported by his dad as an enthusiastic parent, mentor and team coach.

While still a primary school teacher, Peter went back to university at the age of 30. After four gruelling years of balancing family and career, he completed a degree in marketing. He went on to become a senior executive at NRMA Group Ltd, where he held several senior roles, including in various countries in Asia. Like their father, both of Peter’s children have gone on to achieve great success in the corporate world.

In retirement, Peter moved from Sydney back to his hometown of Newcastle. He quickly became involved in the local soccer scene again and returned to where it all began at Adamstown Rosebud to help wherever he could, including sharing his vast knowledge with young up-and-coming players. That was one of Peter’s lifelong traits: to give back and help others wherever he could.

In recognition of his brilliant soccer career, the club has for some time presented an annual award called The Peter Stone Scholarship Award. Living locally once again, it was Peter’s great privilege to present the award each year.