Max Krilich (born 25 October 1950 in

Sydney, New South Wales 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 Mountains ...

) 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 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. He was a hooker for the Australia national team, playing in thirteen Tests from 1978 to 1983 and as captain on ten consecutive occasions in 1982 and 1983. He was the captain of the 1982 “ Invincibles” Australian touring side. Krilich received the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the

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for service to rugby league.

Club career

Krilich played rugby union at school before joining the Harbord United Rugby League Club. He was graded by the

Manly 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 ...

in 1969. Australian

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hooker

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was the Manly captain when Krilich joined the club so he had to bide his time. Nevertheless, Krilich's potential was recognised so strongly that he played for City Seconds in 1973 whilst still playing reserve grade with the Sea Eagles! Krilich played in over 100 reserve grade games until 1974, and was captain of their reserve grade premiership team in 1972. When Jones lost form during the 1974 season, Krilich assumed the mantle of top hooker at the club from the eighth round onwards. After the departure of

Bob Fulton Robert Fulton (1 December 1947 – 23 May 2021), also nicknamed "Bozo", was an Australian international rugby league footballer, coach and later commentator. Fulton played, coached, selected for and has commentated on the game with great succe ...

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following Manly's 1976 premiership win, Krilich assumed the first grade captaincy. Krilich played 215 first grade games with the club and 119 reserve grade games up till his retirement in 1983.

Representative career

Despite his remarkable feat of being selected for City Seconds whilst still Manly's second-string rake, it would be another four seasons before Krilich was again given representative honours. In the 1978 finals series, Manly played six matches in 24 days to make it through to the Grand Final and the subsequent Grand Final replay where they beat

Cronulla Cronulla is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Boasting numerous surf beaches and swimming spots, the suburb attracts both tourists and Greater Sydney residents. Cronulla is located 26 kilometres south of the Sydney ...

. Krilich was selected in the Australian side that toured New Zealand weeks later. He played the first two Tests but season fatigue and injury affected his form and he was replaced by

George Peponis George Peponis (born Georgios Peponis el, Γιώργος Πεπόνης; on 3 September 1953) is a Greek Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. An Australia national and New South Wales stat ...

for the 3rd Test. It would be four years later before Krilich would regain a Test spot and grab the Australian captaincy. In

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

, after captaining New South Wales in the inaugural three-match

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 ...

series, Krilich led Australia to victory in two Tests against

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. He was then named as captain of the 1982 Kangaroos, the Frank Stanton-coached side which swept aside all before them becoming the first team to go through Great Britain and France undefeated to become known as "The Invincibles". Krilich was forced to retire as a player in August 1983 because of a chronic neck injury.

Coaching

Following his retirement from playing, Krilich became the coach of Manly's Under-23 side from 1984 to 1988. From 1989 until 1991 he then became coach of Manly's reserve grade side, though his coaching career came to an abrupt halt when his 1991 side failed to win a game.

Personal life

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, a time in rugby league where top grade players still had regular day jobs, Krilich served an apprenticeship and eventually became a qualified

plumber A plumber is a tradesperson who specializes in installing and maintaining systems used for potable (drinking) water, and for sewage and drainage in plumbing systems.

, running his own business known as Max Krilich Plumbing Pty Ltd. During his playing days, Krilich would sometimes employ out of work Manly teammates as offsiders with varying degrees of success. Krilich filed for bankruptcy in 2007 as a consequence of two failed

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_ ...

-based property development businesses.Max Krilich gone bankrupt
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Matches played

References

Notes

External links

* Whiticker, Alan (2004) ''Captaining the Kangaroos'', New Holland, Sydney
Max Krilich at Silvertails.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Krilich, Max 1950 births Living people Australia national rugby league team captains Australia national rugby league team players Australian people of Croatian descent Australian rugby league coaches Australian rugby league players Manly Warringah Sea Eagles captains Manly Warringah Sea Eagles players New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin captains New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin players Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Rugby league hookers Rugby league players from Sydney