John O'Neill (9 May 1943 – 9 August 1999) was an Australian representative

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

whose club career was spent with South Sydney and

Manly-Warringah The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL). The Manly club debuted in the 1947 New South Wales Rugby Football League seaso ...

during the 1960s and early 1970s. He made 2 Test appearances for the Australian national representative side; represented in 7

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matches in two World Cups and in one World Championship match; and played in 5 Kangaroo tour matches in 1973.

Early life and club career

Born in

Griffith Griffith may refer to: People * Griffith (name) * Griffith (surname) * Griffith (given name) Places Antarctica * Mount Griffith, Ross Dependency * Griffith Peak (Antarctica), Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Glacier, Marie Byrd Land * Griffith Ridge, ...

but reared in the northern town of

Gunnedah Gunnedah () is a town in north-central New South Wales, Australia and is the seat of the Gunnedah Shire Local government in Australia, local government area. In the the town recorded a population of 8,338. Gunnedah is situated within the Liver ...

, in his early twenties John O'Neill showed promise in appearances for Country against both City and the French tourists and was spotted by Sydney premiership talent scouts 1964. O'Neill came to South Sydney in 1965 and his aggressive play in the scrums and charging runs close to the rucks caused him to be noticed. His toughness and solidity earned him the nickname " Lurch", and in his debut season O'Neill played for South Sydney in the

Grand final Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final 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. Synonymous with a championship game in North Ameri ...

against the champion

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team. A tall and strongly framed man, O'Neill was able to develop consistently as he built up his weight from in 1965 to by 1970. Between 1967 and 1971 he played in five grand finals for South Sydney, winning all but the 1969 contest against Balmain. In 1971 the financial problems at South Sydney caused him along with teammate Ray Branighan to leave for Manly until the end of 1974. There O'Neill played in two more premiership sides, and his battle with Cronulla strongman Cliff Watson in the brutal 1973 grand final (won by Manly 10–7) is regarded as one of the toughest conflicts seen in the Australian game.

Representative career

O'Neill first played for New South Wales in 1967, and made his international debut in the 1970

. It was in this match that his remarkable strength in the toughest conflicts first showed itself. He continued to hit opponents in a way that would have been remarkable for anyone with a split shin, and refused to take first aid even when blood spilt into his sock! John O'Neill remained a regular international player until he retired, He is listed on the ''Australian Players Register'' as Kangaroo No. 449. In 1975, still a major force in representative rugby league, O'Neill returned to South Sydney. Paradoxically, though he was superb in representative games, he was disappointing in club rugby league and retired during the 1976 season. O'Neill coached South Sydney in 1977 but could win only one of the last eighteen games and he stood down. During his playing days, O'Neill had developed a highly profitable building business with his Rabbitoh teammate Gary Stevens, which by 1977 would prevent him from devoting his attention fully to coaching. In the 1980s, he used the profits from this business to build a home at

Lake Conjola Lake Conjola is a small town situated on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia. It is located in the region of Ulladulla, in the City of Shoalhaven. At the , Lake Conjola had a population of 437. Lake Conjola is a popular tourist destin ...

Death and accolades

In 1995, after being named in Australia's best rugby league team since the limited tackle rule was introduced, O'Neill was diagnosed with cancer. He fought a long battle, but died on 9 August 1999 at the age of 56. It is estimated that 4,000 people attended his funeral, showing the respect in which he was held. In 1990, O'Neill was named in the front row for Manly in their best team from 1947 to 1990. Later in 2006 he was named in the front row for Manly's 60th anniversary ''Dream Team''. In 2004 he was named by Souths in their ''South Sydney Dream Team'', consisting of 17 players and a coach representing the club from

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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 60 ...

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

NRL The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

and

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to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia.

Footnotes

External links

John O'Neill at eraofthebiff.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oneill, John 1943 births 1999 deaths Australia national rugby league team players Australian rugby league coaches Australian rugby league players Manly Warringah Sea Eagles players Rugby league players from Griffith, New South Wales Rugby league props South Sydney Rabbitohs coaches South Sydney Rabbitohs players South Sydney Rabbitohs captains New South Wales rugby league team players City New South Wales rugby league team players 20th-century Australian sportsmen