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| Born | (1950-06-12)12 June 1950 (age 75) Ipswich,Queensland, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position | Prop | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Relatives | Des Morris (brother) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rod Morris is an Australian former professionalrugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s. An Australian international and QueenslandState of Origin representativefront row forward, he played club football in theNew South Wales Rugby Football League forBalmain, and in theBrisbane Rugby League forEastern Suburbs (with whom he won the 1977 and 1978 Grand Finals) andWynnum-Manly (with whom he won the 1982 Grand Final).
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Morris was aBrisbane Easts player who first represented forQueensland in 1976 and thenAustralia in 1977. He signed with theBalmain Tigers in 1979 and was brought to Sydney, thus becoming eligible to play for New South Wales under the selection criterion of the time. In the 1979 interstate series he played against his Queensland resident brotherDes Morris. He then played for Queensland in 1980 in the first everRugby League State of Origin under the new origin selection criterion.
He was a1978 Kangaroo tourist playing in two Tests and ten minor tour matches. He played in all three Tests of the 1979 domesticAshes series which Australia won 3–0.
Morris made a return to Brisbane club football in 1982 and captainedWynnum-Manly at the age of 32 to aBrisbane Rugby League premiership title which was Wynnum-Manly's first ever. He put in a man-of-the-match performance in the 2nd game of the1982 State of Origin series before making his last representative appearances in that year'sKangaroo Tour, playing in four tour matches and contributing to theInvincibles' unbeaten tour record, being the only player in the team, however, to not score a try on the tour.
Morris is also remembered for his short-lived "Deer in the headlights" style when making his Channel Nine debut as a commentator for the 1989 State of Origin series.
He is one of a number of players to have represented both Queensland and New South Wales and one of those rare foundation Origin representatives whose NSW appearances were bookended by selections for Queensland.
Rod Morris is also a successful McDonald's franchisee owner who currently possesses ownership of two McDonald's Franchise's situated in Cannon Hill and Morningside, Queensland, Australia. In March 2021, he expanded his business ventures by acquiring and constructing an additional location in Morningside, which is also known as McDonald's Colmslie Business Park.
According to Mr. Morris, 'This location will generate more than 100 new jobs and will employ 120 locals from the area including a mix of, full-time, part-time, and casual roles including crew, management, baristas and maintenance.' Mr Morris, has also been able to provide eight employees from his Cannon Hill store with an opportunity to step into managerial roles.[1]
Rod Morris initiated his franchising journey back in 1985 with the establishment of McDonald's Cleveland stores.[2] Eventually, he made the decision to pass the restaurant to his son, Steven Morris, by selling the Cleveland franchise to him.[3]
In late January 2025, Rod Morris retired from Franchisee duties after 40 years, selling his two stores (McDonalds Cannon Hill and McDonalds Colmslie Business Park) to his son, Steven Morris.
