"Smokin" Joe Kilroy (born 21 June 1960) is an Australian former

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 11 ...

footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. A Queensland State of Origin representative /, he played club football in the Brisbane Rugby League Premiership with

Brothers A brother is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to non-familia ...

and Northern Suburbs club and in the Sydney Rugby League Premiership with 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 c ...

. He also played full-back in the Halifax team which surprised everyone in English rugby league by winning the Rugby Football League Championship in 1985–86 under

player-coach A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...

Chris Anderson Chris Anderson may refer to: Sports * Chris Anderson (baseball) (born 1992), American baseball player * Chris Anderson (cheese roller), 22-time winner of annual cheese rolling * Chris Anderson (footballer, born 1925) (1925–1986), Scottish footb ...

Playing career

Early in his football career Joe Kilroy played for

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

's Northern Suburbs club, with a man-of-the-match performance in their win over Souths in the 1980

Brisbane Rugby League The Brisbane Rugby League is a rugby league football competition in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was first held in 1922 and for every year until 1997. The competition was reinstated in 2001, known as the FOGS premiership under the Queen ...

grand final. He later played for

, playing for them in the 1987 BRL grand final and scoring two tries. His big year however was

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

, when he played in the first ever Brisbane Broncos match as well as the

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 Ov ...

. He was nicknamed 'Smokin' Joe, because of his great speed on the football field. In 1983 Kilroy was ranked as the world's best fullback, but in 1989 he was sent to jail for three years on drug-related charges. On his release in 1991, he played one game for the Broncos.

Post playing

Kilroy has since been named in the 4 BC

's Team of the 80s. In 2008 he was named on the wing of an all-time greatest

Norths Devils The Northern Suburbs Devils, or North Brisbane Devils, or often simply referred to as Norths for short, are a rugby league club representing the northern suburbs of Brisbane, Australia. The team colours are sky blue, navy blue and gold. They pl ...

team. Kilroy was runner-up to Tony Obst for the

Rothman's Medal in 1980.

References

External links

*
Joe Kilroy at yesterdayshero.com.au1980 Brisbane Rugby League Grand Final at .queensland.rleague.com4BC Brisbane Rugby League Team of the 80s at qrl.com.auQueensland representatives at qrl.com.au
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kilroy, Joe 1960 births Living people Australian rugby league players Australian expatriate sportspeople in England Brisbane Broncos players Brisbane rugby league team players Halifax R.L.F.C. players Indigenous Australian rugby league players Norths Devils players Past Brothers players Queensland Rugby League State of Origin players Rugby league players from Maryborough, Queensland Rugby league wingers