 From the time of his retirement in early 1989 to mid-1994 he held the record for the most career New South Wales Rugby League premiership first-grade games until overtaken by Terry Lamb.Born in Sydney, Gerard attended Liverpool Boys High School and played his junior football with Cabramatta Two Blues.Gerard was a local Parramatta junior and began his career as a with the team in 1974 and, in a disappointing side that only just avoided a third wooden spoon in five years, won the club's rookie of the year award.