GREG Inglis was born in Kempsey, New South Wales, Australia to a family of Indigenous Australian heritage. A once in a generation talent, Greg Inglis burst onto the scene as a skinny teenager with the Storm in 2005 and retired from the NRL in 2019 as a legend. Injuries hampered the latter stages of the champion player's time in the NRL, but he still produced breathtaking moments of brilliance. He began playing rugby league at a very young age for the Bowraville Tigers in New South Wales. While living in Macksville, he grew up with fellow local, close friend and future Australian cricket player Phil Hughes.

At 15 years old, after being seen playing at a junior carnival on the NSW North Coast, Inglis signed his first professional contract with the Canberra Raiders but actually played his first senior game at 16 for Hunter Sports High School in New South Wales. Later that year he moved to Brisbane, Queensland and continued to play senior football for Wavell State High School and Melbourne Storm's feeder club Norths Devils. While in Year 11 at Brisbane's Wavell State High School, Inglis played for the 2004 Australian Schoolboys and was already attracting media attention as an NRL star of the future. Inglis played his first under 18s game for the Brisbane Wombats in 2004. Before the end of the 2004 season the Storm had added Inglis to their full-time playing roster for the following year.

Inglis played for Melbourne in 2005 in a pre-season trial match against the Brisbane Broncos, scoring a try in the Storm's win. While playing for Brisbane's Norths Devils in the 2005 Queensland Cup season, Inglis scored 12 tries in five games and had already become the subject of a battle between Queensland and New South Wales over which state he would play State of Origin for. Inglis scored 194 points for the Norths Devils in the QLD Cup. In Round 6 of the 2005 NRL season, Inglis made his NRL premiership debut at 18 as a replacement.

Inglis played at fullback when Billy Slater was on Origin duty, or at wing or the bench as he slowly solidified himself in the Storm side. At the 2005 Dally M Awards, Inglis was nominated for the Rookie of the Year. The Storm went on to reach the finals that season and in a play-off match against the Brisbane Broncos, Inglis had his first experience in finals football. With the game still in the balance, After being on the field for five minutes, he crossed the Broncos' line untouched to score the match-winning try. The Storm then lost in the Semi-Finals to the North Queensland Cowboys 16–24, ending their season.

Season 2006 saw Inglis continue to play primarily in the fullback role as his counterpart Billy Slater was suspended after he began the season at centre. After scoring 9 tries in 9 games, Inglis was selected in the starting line up in the Queensland State of Origin team. Inglis' selection for the Queensland Rugby League State of Origin series team in 2006 created controversy which still lingers. The matter was resolved when the ARL gave Inglis the green light to play for Queensland Rugby League, because it allowed the QRL's submission that his first senior football was at Wavell High.

Inglis went on to begin his State of Origin career with the Maroons, lining up alongside Storm teammate Cameron Smith. Inglis scored two tries and saved one, however this was not enough for Queensland to win, going down 17–16. In the game after his brilliant Origin debut, Inglis suffered a back injury in Round 13 against the Sydney Roosters. This injury kept him out for two months, effectively making him miss the rest of the the 2006 State of Origin series. Inglis continued in the centre position and was an important factor in the Storm winning the 2006 NRL season's Minor Premiership. The Storm cruised through the finals, beating the Parramatta Eels and the St. George Illawarra Dragons 24–10, then eventually lost to the Brisbane Broncos in the 2006 NRL Grand Final.

Despite not scoring at five-eighth for the Storm, Inglis was selected for the Queensland State of Origin team for the 2007 State of Origin series, playing on the wing. In Game 1, Inglis scored 2 tries in Queensland's 25–18 come-from-behind victory, giving him a record of four tries from two matches. Inglis was again selected to play on the wing for his state, and scored in Queensland's win, which gave them their second consecutive Origin series victory. The Melbourne Storm faced off against the Manly Sea Eagles in the 2007 Grand Final. After a 10–4 lead at halftime and an untimely injury to Brett Stewart, the Storm blew Manly off the park, winning 34–8. Inglis scored two tries and as a result was awarded the Clive Churchill Medal.

Inglis also played in the one-off test at the end of the year. Inglis scored a hat-trick in Australia's record breaking 58–0 thrashing of New Zealand at Westpac Stadium.

In Game 2 of the 2008 State of Origin, Inglis had a brilliant performance, setting up two tries for Darius Boyd as Queensland won 30–0. In Game 3 of the Origin series, Queensland won 16–10, getting their third consecutive series win. In the final seven games of season, Inglis scored 11 tries as the Storm won their third consecutive Minor Premiership. In the finals, the Storm lost 15–18 to the 8th place New Zealand Warriors. In the Semi-Finals, the Storm faced the Brisbane Broncos. In a brilliant match, Inglis scored with 56 seconds remaining to give the Storm a 16–14 victory. The Storm easily beat the Cronulla Sharks, 28–0, to qualify to another Grand Final. However, they lost in a record breaking 40–0 clash with the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles, failing to retain their Premiership.

In 2009, Greg Inglis was subsequently picked at centre for the opening State of Origin match. In Game 1, Inglis scored 2 tries, as Queensland won 28–18. Meanwhile, the Storm maintained their position in the Top 4 of the NRL competition. In Game 2, Inglis scored again as Queensland recorded a 24–14 win over New South Wales, becoming the first team to win four consecutive Origin series'. In the finals, the Storm comfortably defeated premiers the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 40–12, before defeating the Brisbane Broncos 40–10, in which Inglis scored a hat-trick. The Storm qualified for their fourth consecutive grand final, In the 2009 NRL Final against the Parramatta Eels, Inglis scored a try from a Cooper Cronk bomb and kicked a final field goal in the Storm's 23–16 win. From this victory, Inglis become a dual-premiership player as the Storm capped off their dominance by winning their second premiership in three years.

In April 2010, it was revealed that the Storm had been breaching the salary cap since 2005, and were subsequently stripped of their NRL Premiership victories in 2007 and 2009. They were also stripped of their 2006, 2007 and 2008 Minor Premiership trophies. Finally, they were stripped of their accumulated premiership points that season and were barred from obtaining any competition points from the 2010 NRL Season. On 12 November, Inglis signed with the South Sydney Rabbitohs for the 2011-2013 NRL seasons. The deal was worth $1.8 million. Inglis made his Rabbitohs debut on the opening night of the 2011 NRL season scoring a try in a loss to traditional rivals the Sydney Roosters.

In 2013, Inglis played for Australia at centre and scored a try in the 2013 Anzac Test 32–12 victory against New Zealand at Canberra Stadium. Inglis played at centre in all three Origin games, and scored a try in Game 2 of the 2013 series in the 26–6 win. Queensland won the series, extending their record for consecutive series victories to eight. At the 2013 Dally M Awards he received the Provan-Summons Medal and was named at fullback in the premiership's team of the year. Along with John Sutton, Inglis was named co-recipient of the 2013 George Piggins Medal as the Rabbitohs' player of the season.

In 2014 Inglis continued playing strongly at club level in the fullback position but was selected for both the 2014 Anzac Test and the 2014 State of Origin series in his old position of centre. In the Rabbitohs Preliminary Final match against the Sydney Roosters, Inglis played in 200th NRL career match in the 32–22 win, sending the Rabbitohs into the Grand Final. On 5 October 2014, in the Rabbitohs 2014 NRL Grand Final against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Inglis played at fullback and scored the final try off the match, doing his trademark Goanna walk try celebration in the Rabbitohs 30–6 victory, their first in 42 years. The victory saw him win his first valid premiership ring.

On 20 January 2015, Inglis was appointed leader of the South Sydney Rabbitohs, taking over from previous captain John Sutton. On 23 February 2015, Inglis captained the Rabbitohs in the 2015 World Club Challenge match against 2014 Super League champions St. Helens. Inglis scored a try in the record 39–0 win at Langtree Park. Inglis celebrated his 100th NRL career game wearing the red-and-green jersey in the Rabbitohs win at ANZ Stadium.

As expected, Inglis was selected for the Queensland State of Origin 2016 side, and played in the centres for Game I and II, which were both QLD wins. After starting round 1 of the 2017 NRL season playing at Fullback in the Rabbitohs' home game clash against the Tigers, Inglis suffered a season-ending ACL knee injury. Inglis made 19 appearances and scored 10 tries for Souths in 2018 as the club finished 3rd on the table at the end of the regular season. Souths fell one game short of a grand final appearance losing to the Sydney Roosters in the preliminary final.

In April 2019, Inglis announced his immediate retirement from the NRL. In round 5 of the 2021 Super League season, Inglis made his debut for Warrington and scored a try in the club's 50-26 victory over Hull KR. After just three appearances for Warrington, Inglis badly tore his hamstring and agreed in July 2021 to mutually terminate his playing contract, staying on at the club as a volunteer in a mentoring role until the end of the 2021 season. In August 2024, the National Rugby League announced that Inglis was an inductee into the National Rugby League Hall of Fame. Inglis, who was ascribed Hall of Fame number 125, was amongst eleven male players in the 2024 Class.