From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John O'Neill (1943 – 9 August 1999) was an
Australian representative rugby league prop
forward whose club career was with the South
Sydney and Manly-Warringah during the
1960s and early 1970s. He made 2 Test appearances for the Australian national
representative side; he represented in 7 World
Cup matches in two World Cups and in one World Championship
match and in 5 Kangaroo tour matches in 1973.
Early
life and club career
Born in Griffith but reared in the
northern town of Gunnedah, in his early
twenties John O'Neill showed promise in appearances for Country
against both City and the French tourists and was spotted by Sydney
premiership talent scouts 1964.
O'Neill came to South Sydney in 1965 and his aggressive play in
the scrums and charging runs close to the rucks caused him to be
noticed. His toughness and solidity earned him the nickname "Lurch", and in his debut
season O'Neill played for South Sydney in the Grand final against the
champion St George team. A tall and strongly
framed man, O'Neill was able to develop consistently as he built up
his weight from 88 kg or 14 st. in 1965 to 104
kg or over 16 st. by 1970. Between 1967 and 1971 he played in five
grand finals for South Sydney, winning all but the 1969 contest
against Balmain.
In 1971 the financial problems at South Sydney caused him along
with team mate Ray
Branighan to leave for Manly until the end of 1974. There
O'Neill played in two more premiership sides, and his battle with
Cronulla strongman Cliff Watson in the brutal 1973 grand final (won
by Manly 10-7) is regarded as one of the toughest conflicts seen in
the Australian game.
Representative career
O'Neill first played for New South Wales in 1967, and made his
international debut in the 1970 World Cup. It was in this match
that his remarkable strength in the toughest conflicts first showed
itself. He continued to hit opponents in a way that would have been
remarkable for anyone with a split shin, and refused to take first
aid even when blood spilt into his sock! John O'Neill remained a
regular international player until he retired,
In 1975, still a major force in representative rugby, O'Neill
returned to South Sydney. Paradoxically, though he was superb in
representative games, he was disappointing in club rugby and
retired during the 1976 season. O'Neill coached South Sydney in
1977 but could win only one of the last eighteen games and he stood
down.
Death and
accolades
In 1995, after being named in Australia's best rugby league team
since the limited tackle rule was introduced, O'Neill was diagnosed
with cancer. He fought a long
battle, but died on 9 August 1999 at the age of 56. It is estimated
that 4,000 people attended his funeral, showing the respect in
which he was held.
In 2004 he was named by Souths in their South Sydney Dream
Team,[1],
consisting of 17 players and a coach representing the club from 1908 through to 2004.In February 2008, O'Neill was named in
the list of Australia's 100 Greatest Players (1908-2007)
which was commissioned by the NRL and ARL to celebrate the code's
centenary year in Australia.[2][3]
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