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| Born | (1944-04-24)24 April 1944 Toowoomba,Queensland, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | 13 September 2023(2023-09-13) (aged 79) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position | Centre, Wing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source:[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
John McDonaldAM (24 April 1944 – 13 September 2023) was an Australianrugby league footballer, coach and administrator.[2]
A tallthree-quarter back, he played club football inToowoomba, representing Queensland ten times and also gaining selection for theAustralian test team.[3] In 1969, McDonald moved south, playing in theNew South Wales Rugby Football League premiership with theManly-Warringah club. After playing for his adopted state, he toured New Zealand as Australian vice-captain. He went on to captain Manly from the flank in the club's grand final loss toSouth Sydney in the1970 NSWRFL season.[4]
McDonald returned to Queensland after three seasons with the Sea Eagles to captain-coach Toowoomba and was elected president of the club after his retirement. He also coachedQueensland in the late 1970s and was coach of the Maroons' firstState of Origin team in 1980. By the end of the decade, he had progressed to the position of President of theQueensland Rugby League (QRL) and, in 1998, joined theNational Rugby League Executive Committee and was named Chairman of the QRL andAustralian Rugby League Board of Directors. That year, he was also named "Sport Administrator of the Year" at the Queensland Sport Awards.[5]
McDonald was appointed aMember of the Order of Australia (AM) in the2004 Queen's Birthday Honours.[6] In 2008,rugby league in Australia's centenary year, McDonald was named at centre in the Toowoomba and South West Team of the Century.[7] 2016 saw him inducted into Queensland Sport Hall of Fame.[8]
His sonGeoff McDonald is currently serving as Mayor of theToowoomba Region. McDonald died on 13 September 2023, at the age of 79.[8]
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| Preceded by Barry Muir 1974–1978 | Coach Queensland 1979–1980 | Succeeded by Arthur Beetson 1981–1984 |
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