Adam "Mad Dog" MacDougall (born 8 May 1975) is an Australian author, businessman and former professional
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. A
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
Newcastle Knights
The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, th ...
, with whom he won the
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby league, Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won ...
and
South Sydney Rabbitohs
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a professional Australian rugby league club based in Redfern, New South Wales, Redfern, a suburb of inner-southern Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and are ...
. His brothers, Luke MacDougall, Ben MacDougall and Scott MacDougall have also played in the NRL. His father, Gil MacDougall, played for the Balmain Tigers and Western Suburbs Magpies NSWRFL.
In retirement, MacDougall founded a nutrition company that produces the popular meal replacement product, The MAN Shake.
Background
MacDougall was born in
Sydney, New South Wales
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
1995 ARL season
The 1995 ARL premiership was the 88th season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the first to be run by the Australian Rugby League following the hand-over of the Premiership's administration by the New South Wales Rugby Leag ...
.
Newcastle Knights
MacDougall is third on the club's all time try scorers list and sixth on the club's all time point-scorers list.
In MacDougall's first season with Newcastle he scored five tries in eleven games that culminated in the club's victory in the 1997 ARL Grand Final where he famously, but accidentally stood on the head of Manly-Warringah captain Geoff Toovey after being tackled by the Manly halfback.
In 1998, MacDougall made his representative debut for
New South Wales rugby league team
The New South Wales rugby league team has represented the Australian state of New South Wales in rugby league football since the sport's beginnings there in 1907. Also known as the Blues due to their sky blue jerseys, the team competes in the ann ...
after a stellar start to the season.
On 8 July 1998, MacDougall tested positive to stimulants
ephedrine
Ephedrine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is often used to prevent low blood pressure during anesthesia. It has also been used for asthma, narcolepsy, and obesity but is not the preferred treatment. It is of unclear benefit in n ...
and
amfepramone
Amfepramone, also known as diethylpropion, is a stimulant drug of the phenethylamine, amphetamine, and cathinone classes that is used as an appetite suppressant. It is used in the short-term management of obesity, along with dietary and lifestyl ...
. MacDougall's A and B samples both also recorded an epitestosterone to
testosterone
Testosterone is the primary sex hormone and anabolic steroid in males. In humans, testosterone plays a key role in the development of male reproductive tissues such as testes and prostate, as well as promoting secondary sexual characteris ...
level greater than the allowable 6:1 ratio – indicating the possible use of
steroids
A steroid is a biologically active organic compound with four rings arranged in a specific molecular configuration. Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes that alter membrane fluidity; and ...
. On 28 August he pleaded guilty to using one banned stimulant and was found to have inadvertently used another and received an 11-match ban along with teammates Robbie O'Davis and Wayne Richards who each received 22-week bans. It was revealed during his appeal that MacDougall had suffered a severe head injury in 1993 that damaged his pituitary gland and it was essential that he take prescribed medication, called Sustanon 250, which included a banned steroid. This medication restored normal hormone levels in his body and without it, he would suffer potentially serious side effects and not be able to lead a normal life, let alone play football.
After just two games back for the Knights in 1999, MacDougall was recalled to the
New South Wales rugby league team
The New South Wales rugby league team has represented the Australian state of New South Wales in rugby league football since the sport's beginnings there in 1907. Also known as the Blues due to their sky blue jerseys, the team competes in the ann ...
.
Arguably MacDougall's best seasons came in 2000 and 2001, where he scored 30 tries in 41 games and starred in NSW comprehensive 3–0 series win against Queensland in 2000.
He also played in Australia's victory in the 2000 World Cup Final. In round 20 2001, MacDougall equalled Darren Albert's club record of four tries in a match during Newcastle's 37–30 victory over the
New Zealand Warriors
The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...
Parramatta Eels
The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League.
The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and thei ...
South Sydney Rabbitohs
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a professional Australian rugby league club based in Redfern, New South Wales, Redfern, a suburb of inner-southern Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and are ...
MacDougall re-commenced playing for the Knights in the 2007 NRL season. He had already enjoyed a long and successful career with the Knights, having played with them from 1996 to 2003.
In Round 26 of the 2011 NRL season, MacDougall was farewelled in his last home game for the Knights. He played his last game the following week against the
Melbourne Storm
The Melbourne Storm are a rugby league club based in Melbourne, Victoria in Australia that participates in the National Rugby League. The first fully professional rugby league team based in the state, the Storm entered the competition in 1998 ...
at
AAMI Park
The Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, known as AAMI Park for sponsorship reasons, is an outdoor sports stadium on the site of Edwin Flack Field in the Sports and Entertainment Precinct in the Melbourne central business district.
When complet ...
in the first week of the finals series.
Career highlights
*''Junior Club:'' Harbord Diggers, De La Salle-Caringbah
*''Career Stats:'' 195 career games with 92 tries
Representative games
*''State of Origin:'' Played 11 games in total for New South Wales
*''International:'' Played 11 tests for Australia including the 2000 World Cup
The MAN Shake
In retirement, MacDougall, who has master's degrees in Business Administration and Business Coaching as well as a Bachelor of Economics, started a nutrition company called Cranky Health. Its flagship product is The MAN Shake, a meal replacement made specifically for men. The company also produces protein bars and meal replacement shakes for women called The Lady Shake.
In 2015, MacDougall released his first book with publisher
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a British publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Paul Roos who acts as a motivator for users of the program, while another feature includes taking on celebrity athletes such as
Sonny Bill Williams
Sonny Bill Williams (born 3 August 1985) is a New Zealand heavyweight boxer, and a former professional rugby league and rugby union player and as of recently is working for Stan Sports. He is only the second person to represent New Zealand in ...
Adam
Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...