Don Parish is an Australian 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 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

ed in the 1970s. An Australia international and New South Wales state representative goal-kicking or three-quarter back, he played club football in Sydney's

NSWRFL Premiership The New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the first rugby league football club competition established in Australia and contributor to today's National Rugby League. Run by the New South Wales Rugby League (initially named the New Sout ...

for the Western Suburbs club, as well as elsewhere in New South Wales. Parish later coached Wests and Penrith.

Playing career

Hailing from the country

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 ...

town of

Dubbo Dubbo () is a city in the Orana Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre in the Orana region, with a population of 43,516 at June 2021. The city is located at the intersection of the Newell, Mitchell, and Gol ...

, Parish played for the Macquarie club, becoming their first international when he was selected to go on the 1959/60 Kangaroo tour. In 1959 Parish scored a try and kicked three goals in the New South Wales team's loss to

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_ ...

that attracted 35,261 spectators, smashing Brisbane's previous record for an interstate match of 22,817. Later that year he became Kangaroo No. 358 when selected as a non-playing reserve in the

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

series against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. Parish then toured with the 1959-60 Kangaroos and played in 12 matches (no Tests) and scored 55 points (7 tries, 17 goals). Parish started playing first grade in the Sydney premiership for the Western Suburbs club in the

1961 NSWRFL season The 1961 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the 54th season of the rugby league competition based in Sydney. Ten teams from across the city competed for the J J Giltinan Shield and WD & HO Wills Cup during the season, which culm ...

and that year toured New Zealand with the Australian side, making his Test debut. In the 12-10 First Test loss in Auckland he had the distinction of becoming the first Australian fullback to score a try in a Test match and was the tour's leading point-scorer with 58 points (4 tries, 23 goals). At the end of the season he played at fullback in Wests' loss to St. George in the grand final. In 1962 Parish played in Australia's First Test loss to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

, which was his last international match. That season he was the League's top point-scorer. In 1963 he again played fullback for Wests in another grand final defeat by

St. George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

. Parish's last season playing for Wests was 1967.

Coaching career

Following his retirement from the playing field, Parish coached on the Southern New South Wales coast, taking the

Illawarra Rugby League The Illawarra Rugby League is a rugby league competition in Wollongong, NSW. It is one of the oldest rugby league competitions in Australia, founded in 1911 with five clubs (Dapto, Helensburgh, Mount Keira, Unanderra and Wollongong). The area p ...

's Western Suburbs club to premierships in 1969 and 1970, as well as coaching the Illawarra group team to victory in the Country Divisional Championship. At the end of the

1971 NSWRFL season The 1971 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the sixty-fourth season of Sydney's professional rugby league football competition, Australia's first. Twelve teams, including six foundation clubs and another six admitted since 1908, ...

Parish was appointed to take over from Ron Watson as Western Suburbs' first grade coach. He coached the club until 1976, moving to Penrith in 1977. Half-way through the

1978 NSWRFL season The 1978 NSWRFL season was the 71st season of the NSWRFL Premiership, Sydney's professional rugby league football competition, and Australia's first. Twelve clubs, including six of 1908's foundation teams and another six from around Sydney compet ...

, Len Stacker was appointed to replace Parish as Penrith head coach at the season's end.

References

External links

Don Parish
at ''stats.rleague.com'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Parish, Don 1937 births Living people Australia national rugby league team players Australian rugby league coaches Australian rugby league players City New South Wales rugby league team players Country New South Wales rugby league team players New South Wales rugby league team players Penrith Panthers coaches Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league players from Dubbo Western Suburbs Magpies coaches Western Suburbs Magpies players