Paul Merlo 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 1970s and 1980s. A

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 ...

State of Origin representative

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

, he played his club football in the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) competition for the Penrith Panthers, Western Suburbs Magpies and the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks. Merlo was selected to represent New South Wales as a second-rower for Game III of the

1982 State of Origin series The 1982 State of Origin series was the first annual three-match series between New South Wales and Queensland to be played entirely under "state of origin" selection rules. After the matches in 1980 and 1981 that trialed the concept, 'Origin' w ...

. Merlo later worked as a regional manager for Cetnaj Lighting Electrical and Data. Based at

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

, he also became the head coach of the South Newcastle Lions in the Newcastle Rugby League competition. In 2010 Merlo was named in a South Newcastle Lions team of the century. This is the same club Paul played his junior football at. In 2010, Merlo was named as a member of the Western Suburbs Magpies' Team of the Eighties. Is now a keen foiler and can be found residing at Fingal Bay. Paul is also an extremely passionate craft beer enthusiast.

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* 1955 births Living people Australian rugby league players New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin players Penrith Panthers players Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks players South Newcastle Lions players Rugby league locks Rugby league players from New South Wales Western Suburbs Magpies players {{Australia-rugbyleague-bio-1950s-stub