Ron Coote AM (born 1944) is an Australian former representative

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 ...

player whose club career was played with South Sydney and the

Eastern Suburbs Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won fifteen New S ...

, with both of whom he won premierships. He is considered one of the nation's finest footballers of the 20th century.

Ron Coote Cup The Ron Coote Cup is a rugby league match contested annually in the National Rugby League between the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Sydney Roosters. The Ron Coote Cup was introduced in 2007 in the name of Ron Coote who played with distinction ...

, contested annually by South Sydney Rabbitohs and the Sydney Roosters is named in his honour - his entire club career having been played at these two clubs.

Early life and playing style

Born in

Kingsford, New South Wales Kingsford is a suburb in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Kingsford is located 7 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Randwick. King ...

in 1944 Coote was a South Sydney junior and the son of 1930s Easts forward Jack Coote. He was a tall, rangy with an upright running style. He was famous for his outstanding cover defence and low, "round-the-legs" tackling technique. He was bestowed the name "Prince of Locks" acknowledging him as second greatest Australian lock ever (behind "King of Locks"

Johnny Raper John William Raper (12 April 1939 – 9 February 2022) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer and coach. Nicknamed "Chook", he was a lock-forward who earned a then-record of 33 Test caps in the Australia national team between ...

Club and representative career

He played 151 games for South Sydney from 1964 to 1971 and 108 games for

Eastern Suburbs Eastern Suburbs may refer to: Places *Eastern Suburbs (Mumbai), India *Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Australia **Eastern Suburbs railway line, Sydney, Australia Sports clubs ;Association football *Eastern Suburbs AFC, Auckland, New Zealand * Eastern ...

from 1972 to 1978. With both clubs enjoying success during his tenure, Coote's

Grand Final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. Sy ...

record is phenomenal. He played in nine Grand Finals in 11 seasons from 1965 to 1975. He won four premierships at Souths and consecutive premierships at Easts in season 1974 and season 1975. An arm injury forced him into retirement in 1978. He represented Australia in 23 Tests and

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

games between 1967 and 1975 and was captain for 3 games in the 1970 World Cup.

Post playing and accolades

After football Coote became a successful businessman owning a number of

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechri ...

franchises. He was at one time a member of the

New South Wales Rugby League The New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was ...

(NSWRL) judiciary. In 2000 he founded the Men of League program which supports former players, officials and referees who have fallen on hard times. The program offers practical assistance and grants for medical operations; it mentors players about to retire from the game and promotes the game in regional areas. As at 2007 Ron Coote is President of the Men of League Program. In 2004 he was named by Souths in their ''South Sydney Dream Team'', consisting of 17 players and a coach representing the club from

1908 Events January * January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica. * January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 46 ...

through to

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, Coote has also been named in a team comprising Eastern Suburbs greatest ever players. In 2005 he was inducted into the

Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame The Australian Rugby LeaguHall of Fame'' honours players who have shown exceptional skill at rugby league, all-time great coaches and referees, and other major contributors to the game who are Australian. It was officially established in 2002, ...

. In February 2008, Coote was named in the list of Australia's ''100 Greatest Players'' (1908–2007) which was commissioned by the

NRL The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...

and

ARL ARL may refer to: Military * US Navy hull classification symbol for repair ship * Admiralty Research Laboratory, UK * United States Army Research Laboratory * ARL 44, a WWII French tank Organizations * Aero Research Limited, a UK adhesives compan ...

to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia. Coote went on to be named in the second-row in Australian rugby league's ''

Team of the Century In team sport, team of the century and team of the decade are hypothetical best teams over a given time period. For the century team, it can be either 100 years, or for a century (always the 20th). Similarly the team of the decade can be for 10 ...

''. Announced on 17 April 2008, the team is the panel's majority choice for each of the thirteen starting positions and four interchange players. In 2008 New South Wales announced their rugby league team of the century also and again Coote was named at second-row. Coote was made a life member of the

Sydney Cricket Ground The Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) is a sports stadium in Sydney, Australia. It is used for Test cricket, Test, One Day International and Twenty20 cricket, as well as, Australian rules football and occasionally for rugby league, rugby union and as ...

and a plaque in the Walk of Honour there commemorates his career. He is a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AM). Coote's house at Lake Conjola was destroyed in the

2019–20 Australian bushfire season The 201920 Australian bushfire season (Black Summer), was a period of bushfires in many parts of Australia, which, due to its unusual intensity, size, duration, and uncontrollable dimension, is considered a megafire. The Australian National ...

References

External links

Ron Coote at eraofthebiff.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coote, Ron 1944 births Rugby league players from Sydney South Sydney Rabbitohs players Australia national rugby league team players Australia national rugby league team captains Sydney Roosters players Sydney Roosters captains Clive Churchill Medal winners Living people Rugby league locks Rugby league second-rows Sport Australia Hall of Fame inductees