Ross Harrington (born 9 December 1964) 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 1980s and 1990s. He primarily played at he played club football with the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Eastern Suburbs Roosters

Playing career

Harrington made his debut for the South Sydney Rabbitohs as an 18 year old in his side's 48–12 victory over the

Illawarra Steelers The Illawarra Steelers are an Australian rugby league football club based in the city of Wollongong, New South Wales. The club competed in Australia's top-level rugby league competition from 1982 until 1998. On the 13th of December 1980, the ...

at Redfern Oval in round 23 of the 1983 season. Harrington also scored his first try in his debut match. In the 1984 season, Harrington was one of his side's star players when the Rabbitohs made the finals for the first time since 1980. Souths came from 0-14 behind to beat 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 ...

22–18 in a memorable first semi-final, but were knocked out the following week by the St. George Dragons. The appointment of new coach George Piggins in 1986 saw a reversal in the club's fortunes. They went from being easybeats (having not won a premiership since 1971) to title contenders. Souths' best two years under the coaching of Piggins were 1986 and 1989 under the captaincy of

Mario Fenech Mario Fenech (nicknamed "The Maltese Falcon", “Falcon”, or "Muzza"; born 11 November 1961) is a Maltese Australian rugby league personality. He is a former player of the game who had a lengthy career in the New South Wales/Australian Rugby ...

. The Rabbitohs narrowly missed out on the minor premiership in 1986, and were subsequently bundled out in straight sets after losing both semi-finals to the

Canterbury Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilita ...

and Balmain Tigers respectively. Harrington played in the Rabbitohs' 1986 Presidents Cup grand final victory over the Penrith Panthers. After a disastrous 1988 season, in which Harrington only made seven appearances, Souths led from basically start to finish in the 1989 season, remarkably not losing a single match away from their then home ground the

Sydney Football Stadium The Sydney Football Stadium, commercially known as Allianz Stadium and previously Aussie Stadium, was a football stadium in Moore Park, Sydney, Australia. Built in 1988 next to the Sydney Cricket Ground, the stadium was Sydney's premier rect ...

. Souths finished the regular season as minor premiers on 37 points with 18 wins and a draw, losing only three games along the way. However, come finals time, they lost a classic semi-final to the Balmain Tigers and a week later the Canberra Raiders powered home to end Souths' hopes of making their first grand final appearance since 1971.Middleton, David ''Rugby League 1989/1990''; p. 123. Apart from Harrington himself, Souths' stars during this period included forwards Michael Andrews, David Boyle,

Les Davidson Les Davidson is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played for the South Sydney Rabbitohs and Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and represented at both the State and national levels. His posi ...

and Ian Roberts, hooker and captain

, halfback

Craig Coleman Craig Coleman (born 31 January 1963) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer, and coach. He primarily played at , and remains fourth on the list of most first-grade games played for Souths, 208. Playing career Coleman was ...

and mercurial five-eighth

Phil Blake Phil Blake (born 24 November 1963) is a former rugby league footballer and a professional rugby union coach. Originally a , Blake developed into a utility player and played first grade matches in all the backline positions, as well as at and ...

. Troubles hit Souths the following season where they went from minor premiers in 1989 to wooden spooners in 1990. Souths survived in the competition but for much of the year were at the bottom of the ladder, George Piggins was subsequently sacked from the coaching role at the end of the 1990 season. Harrington's stint with the Rabbitohs ended at the conclusion of the 1991 season. In 1992, Harrington shifted to arch rivals the Eastern Suburbs Roosters. He made only two appearances with the Roosters, ironically his final first grade appearance was his sides' 56–16 win over his former club the South Sydney Rabbitohs at the

in round 22 of the 1992 season. Harrington decided to retire at season's end. He finished his career having played 104 games and scoring 15 tries.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrington, Ross 1964 births Rugby league players from Sydney Sportsmen from New South Wales Australian rugby league players South Sydney Rabbitohs players Sydney Roosters players Rugby league wingers Living people