Cyril Connell (born 4 May 1928 in

Rockhampton, Queensland Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. The population of Rockhampton in June 2021 was 79,967, Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. making it the fourth-largest city in the state outside of the ...

, died 9 June 2009 in

Brisbane, Queensland Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

) was an Australian

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 1940s and 1950s. An Australian international and Queensland Maroons representative centre/five-eighth, he played his club football in Toowoomba and Rockhampton. At the time of his death, he had been a recruitment scout for the

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite com ...

club of the

NRL The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

for several years. He was also the son of former rugby league footballer and administrator Cyril Connell Sr.

Biography

Playing career

A similar build to the diminutive

Clive Churchill Clive Bernard Churchill AM (21 January 1927 – 9 August 1985) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer and coach in the mid-20th century. An Australian international and New South Wales and Queensland interstate representative ...

, Connell Junior debuted for Rockhampton Brothers in 1947. He linked with Toowoomba's Newtown team in 1950 where, under the guidance of noted coach

Duncan Thompson Duncan Fulton Thompson MBE (14 March 1895 – 17 May 1980) was an Australian veteran of both WWI and WWII and a rugby league footballer, coach and administrator. He was wounded on active service in WWI and has been named amongst the natio ...

, he secured a Queensland jumper. He wore the maroon jumper 25 times between 1952 and 1957. Connell reached the pinnacle as a player when selected for Australia against New Zealand in 1956. He toured with the 1956-57 Kangaroos. While he failed to play a Test match against Great Britain, he played in 14 tour matches in England and France, captaining the Australian team many times.

Scouting

Connell was a secondary school maths teacher at

Brisbane State High School , motto_translation = Knowledge is Power , city = South Brisbane , state = Queensland , country = Australia , coordinates = , type = Public, selective, co-educational, secondary, ...

, where he befriended student and future rugby league player and administrator Paul Morgan. Connell worked his way up to deputy director of secondary education in Queensland. During the 1970s Connell also worked as a rugby league commentator for ABC Radio in Queensland. In 1990, Connell was chosen by

founding chairman, Paul Morgan, to be a recruitment officer for the Broncos. Connell found countless young players for the Broncos, notably including

Shane Webcke Shane Webcke (born 28 September 1974) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer, who spent his entire club career playing for the Brisbane Broncos. Webcke represented Queensland in the State of Origin 21 times and also captai ...

Tonie Carroll Tonie Carroll (born 17 February 1976) is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. An Australian and New Zealand international and Queensland State of Origin representative, he played for the Brisbane Bron ...

Petero Civoniceva Petero Civoniceva ( (Thee-vo-nee-thee-vah); born 21 April 1976), is a Fijian-Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. A Queensland State of Origin and Australian international representa ...

Darren Lockyer Darren James Lockyer (born 24 March 1977) is an Australian television commentator and former professional rugby league footballer. Lockyer was an Australian international and Queensland State representative captain, who played his entire profes ...

Wendell Sailor Wendell Jermaine Sailor (born 16 July 1974) is an Australian former professional rugby footballer who represented his country in both rugby league and rugby union – a dual code international. In rugby league Sailor was a member of the succes ...

Lote Tuqiri Lote Daulako Tuqiri (born 23 September 1979) is a former professional dual-code rugby footballer who primarily played as a winger across both codes. He represented Australia in both rugby league and rugby union, and Fiji in rugby league. Tuqi ...

Shaun Berrigan Shaun Berrigan (born 4 November 1978) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a and in the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s. He played for the Brisbane Broncos, with whom he won the 2000 and 2006 NRL Grand Final, a ...

Brent Tate Brent Tate (born 3 March 1982) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a or er in the 2000s and 2010s. An Australia national rugby league team, Australia international and Queensland rugby league team, Queens ...

and

Karmichael Hunt Karmichael Neil Matthew Hunt (born 17 November 1986) is a former multi-code international rugby league footballer who last played for the Brisbane Broncos in the NRL. Having played professional rugby league, rugby union and Australian rules ...

, all of whom represented

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

State of Origin A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Oval ...

level. In 2007, the main training facility for the Brisbane Broncos, the Cyril Connell High Performance Centre, was named after him due to his years of service to the club. He died in 2009.

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20070930022225/http://www.thewest.com.au/aapstory.aspx?StoryName=394000 *
Queensland Representatives at qrl.com.au
{{DEFAULTSORT:Connell, Cyril Jr. 1928 births 2009 deaths Australia national rugby league team players Australian rugby league players Brisbane Broncos Rugby league centres Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league players from Rockhampton, Queensland