National Rugby League Premiership winner and Queensland State of Origin winner Chris Flannery has been inducted into the Sunshine Coast Sports Hall of Fame.

His achievements were celebrated at a Sunshine Coast Sports Hall of Fame Induction ceremony in January at the University of the Sunshine Coast.

Certificate of Merit awards were also presented to Col Ackland (tennis) and Barry Elphinston (gymnastics) who have worked tirelessly contributing to the success of their respective sports on the Sunshine Coast.

Chris Flannery's biography

Chris started his rugby league career when he was 10, playing for the Kawana Dolphins. Chris first made his NRL debut in 2000 with the Sydney Roosters. 2002 was a big year for Chris becoming a NRL Premiership winner and debuting for the Queensland State of Origin team.

The Sydney Roosters won the World Cub challenge in 2003 against the Super League champions St Helens. From 2003-2004, Chris was back-to-back NRL Grand Final runner up. Chris became a regular for QLD, representing from 2002-2006, playing 10 games and winning the series in 2006. He played 126 NRL matches, scoring 38 tries and played 11 NRL final games.

From 2007-2012, Chris played in the Super-league competition for St Helens, playing 138 games and scoring 42 tries. Whilst playing in the Super-league competition, Chris played 19 games in the Challenge cup, scoring 10 tries. St Helens were the Super league runners up from 2007-2011. In 2008, Chris was the 2008 Challenge cup winner with St Helens.

Chris retired in 2012, after retirement he became the CEO of the Sunshine Coast Falcons.