Darren Maroon (born 4 May 1966) is a former

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

international

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 represented Lebanon at the 2000 World Cup.

Background

Maroon was born in

Sydney 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 ...

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 ...

, Australia.

Playing career

Maroon started his career with the

South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a professional 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 pla ...

, playing in 52 games between 1987 and 1992. He then spent 1993 with the

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rugb ...

, but played only one match in first-grade before returning to the South Sydney club. Maroon played for Souths in their upset 1994

Tooheys Challenge Cup The Tooheys Challenge Cup (subsequently known by various other sponsors' names including the Network 10, Channel Ten Challenge Cup, Lotteries in Australia, Lotto Challenge Cup and Tooheys Brewery, Tooheys Challenge Cup) was a Pre-season knockout r ...

final victory over

Brisbane 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 ...

. In 1995 and 1996, he was part of the

Sydney City 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 ...

, but again played only one first-grade match in each season. Maroon then joined the

Sydney Bulls The Sydney Bulls were a rugby league team based in the suburb of Bass Hill in south-western Sydney. Founded in 1999, the club was formed by Lebanese-Australian players and businessmen who were involved in the 1997 Lebanon Rugby League World Se ...

in the

Metropolitan Cup The Ron Massey Cup (formerly known as the Bundaberg Red Cup and Jim Beam Cup) is a semi-professional development level rugby league competition in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, run jointly by the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) and the ...

. In 1999, he played for

and helped them qualify for the 2000 World Cup. Maroon was selected as Lebanon's captain for the 2000 World Cup. However, before the tournament started, Maroon failed a drugs test. He was later cleared to play when a tribunal ruled that he took the banned substance unwittingly in a sports drink. Maroon played three matches at the World Cup.

Coaching

Darren was coach of the

team that beat

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

26-50 in Widnes on 9 Nov 2007. In 2011 Maroon coached the Sydney Bulls in the

Bundaberg Red Cup The Ron Massey Cup (formerly known as the Bundaberg Red Cup and Jim Beam Cup) is a semi-professional development level rugby league competition in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, run jointly by the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) and the ...

.Bundaberg Red Cup Teams- Round 1
''nswrl.com.au'', 8 March 2011 In his second spell as Lebanon coach he lost just one game; 28-40 v

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

on 19 Oct 2014, played in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maroon, Darren 1966 births Living people Australian people of Lebanese descent Australian rugby league coaches Australian rugby league players Lebanon national rugby league team captains Lebanon national rugby league team coaches Lebanon national rugby league team players Manly Warringah Sea Eagles players Rugby league players from Sydney Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows South Sydney Rabbitohs players Sydney Bulls players Sydney Roosters players