Denis James Meaney (1 October 1936 – 25 July 2011) was 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 players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1950s and 1960s. Born at

Manly, New South Wales Manly is a beach-side suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is north-east of the Sydney central business district and is currently one of the three administrative centres of the Local government in Australia ...

in 1936, Meaney began his first grade rugby league career at Manly in 1957. He played three seasons for

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 ...

between 1957–1959, playing alongside internationals such as

Roy Bull Roy Bull (12 June 1929 – 29 June 2004) was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s and 1950s and spent his whole career - as player, coach & administrator - with the Manly-Warringah club in Sydney. In addition to pl ...

and

Rex Mossop Rex Peers "Moose" Mossop (18 February 1928 – 17 June 2011) was an Australian rugby union and rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s – a dual-code international, and an Australian television personality from 1964 un ...

. He then played seven seasons for the

Western Suburbs Magpies The Western Suburbs Magpies (legal name: Western Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club Ltd) are an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as they are commonly r ...

including 135 first grade games between 1960–1966, often playing alongside legendary forwards such as Noel Kelly,

Kel O'Shea Kelvin Joseph "Kel" O'Shea (13 July 1933 – 22 January 2015) was an Australian representative rugby league footballer, a second-rower from Queensland whose club career was played with the Western Suburbs Magpies in Sydney. He is rated am ...

Jack Gibson Jack Gibson may refer to: * Jack Gibson (rugby league) (1929–2008), Australian player and coach * Jack Stanley Gibson (1909–2005), Irish physician * Jack Gibson (ice hockey, born 1880) (1880–1955), ice hockey player and executive * Jack Gibs ...

and Jim Cody . He played prop-forward for his whole career and will be remembered as one of the toughest forwards of his era. He played in three losing grand finals: 1957, 1962 and 1963. He represented

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 ...

Colts in 1958 against Great Britain but was not selected on the Kangaroo Tour. He also played for N.S.W. City Firsts in 1961. His long NSWRFL career came to a close in 1967, although he later went on to become a Country NSWRL selector for 17 years and a successful rugby league coach at Lismore Marist Brothers. He retired to

Ballina, New South Wales Ballina () is a town in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, and the seat of the Ballina Shire local government area. Ballina's urban population at June 2018 was 26,381. The town lies on the Richmond River and serves as a ...

until his death in 2011, age 74. The

Ballina Seagulls Ballina Seagulls Rugby League Football Club is an Australian rugby league football club based in Ballina, New South Wales formed in the late 1920s. The club has both junior and senior teams. Team of the century To coincide with the centenary o ...

play Lismore Marist Brothers annually for the Denis Meaney Shield, which was named in his honour in 2010. He is the grandfather of current

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. ...

player

Nick Meaney Nick Meaney (born 10 September 1997) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a and er for the Melbourne Storm in the NRL. He previously played for the Newcastle Knights and Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs in the Na ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meaney, Denis 1936 births 2011 deaths Manly Warringah Sea Eagles players Western Suburbs Magpies players Australian rugby league administrators Australian rugby league coaches Australian rugby league players Rugby league players from Sydney