Mal Meninga

Mal Meninga Personal information Full name Malcolm Norman Meninga AMDate of birth 8 July 1960(1960-07-08) (age 47) Place of birth Bundaberg, Queensland, AustraliaHeight 182 cm (6 ft 0 in) Weight 116 kg (18 st 4 lb) Nickname(s) Big Mal, Chicken George Club information Position(s) Centre Current club Retired Youth clubs Years Club Wide Bay Senior clubs* Years Club Apps (points) 1978–1984
1984–1985
1986–1994 Souths Magpies
St Helens
Canberra Raiders
31 (128)
166 (864) Representative teams 1979–1994
1982–1994 Queensland
Australia32 (161)
45 (272) Professional clubs coached 1997–2001 Canberra RaidersRepresentative teams coached 2006
2006– Prime Minister's XIII
Queensland

* Professional club appearances and points
counted for domestic first grade only.

Malcolm Norman Meninga AM (born 8 July, 1960 in Bundaberg, Queensland) is an Australian rugby league personality. As a player he was a legendary centre, counted amongst the best players of the 20th century. As a coach he has held the mentor position with the Canberra Raiders and is now the current coach of the Queensland State of Origin team.

Meninga broke numerous rugby league records during his playing career. He has made the most appearances and scored the most points of any player in the green and gold jersey and is the top-point scorer for Queensland in State of Origin history. Meninga has since been honoured as a Member of the Order of Australia, has been inducted into the Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame and selected for the Team of the Century.

1 Early life
2 Playing career
3 Coaching career
4 Records
5 Honours
6 Political career
7 References
8 External links

Early life

Born in Bundaberg, Queensland, Meninga is an Australian South Sea Islander, a descendant of plantation workers recruited or blackbirded to work in the Queensland sugar industry in the late 19th century. He is an official spokesperson for the South Sea Islander community.[1]

Playing career

BRL

Meninga made his Brisbane Rugby League premiership first grade debut at the age of 18 with Souths Magpies. He first played for his state in 1979, and the following year helped Queensland to a win in the first ever Rugby League State of Origin match against New South Wales, converting seven goals from seven attempts (Meninga was one of the last players to use the kicking style of punting the end of the football with the toe of the boot). In 1981 he enjoyed premiership success with the Magpies. The following year he was named man-of-the-match in Game 1 of the State of Origin and later in the year toured Europe with the undefeated 1982 Invincibles.

England

Mal Meninga, the 16 stone Australian centre three-quarter became a Saint for the 1984/85 campaign. St Helens had paid around £30,000 for his services to play in the Australian off-season. [2]

Mal Meninga didn't manage to serve a second spell at Knowsley Road, for a variety of reasons, not least a succession of injuries, that also punctuated his career for Canberra Raiders and Australia. Yet he remains a legendary figure in international Rugby League, remembered for his formidable power, pace and handling ability.

NSWRL

In 1986, Meninga joined the Canberra Raiders where he was to play all of his New South Wales Rugby League premiership games, after many seasons and two (1981, 1985) premierships with Souths Magpies in the Brisbane Premiership. He led Canberra to their first premiership in 1989 after overcoming the highly fancied Balmain Tigers in the Grand Final. The following year Meninga led the Raiders to another grand final victory against the Penrith Panthers. He was also 1990's top try-scorer and top-point scorer, and was named as Rugby League Week's player of the year. On Australia Day 1994 Meninga was made a Member of the Order of Australia "for service to rugby league football".

Big Mal captained Australia for 23 Test matches between 1990 and 1994, and captained the Queensland State of Origin team for three years from 1992 to 1994. He remains the only player to captain a Kangaroo Tour on two occasions, in 1990 and 1994.

Meninga played his last game for the Canberra Raiders in the 1994 Grand Final where he led his team to victory over the Canterbury Bulldogs and to their third premiership in six years, scoring the last try of the match. On December 4, 1994 at Béziers, France, he captained Australia to a 74-0 victory over the French, scoring the final try of the game, and of his career.

Mal Meninga openly supported the Super League concept during the Super League war of the mid-1990s. His popularity and playing record as a domestic and international captain were valuable in raising the profile of the rebel competition.

Coaching career

Meninga was appointed coach of the Raiders in 1997, succeeding three time winner Tim Sheens, but achieved only moderate success. In 2000 Meninga was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his contribution to Australia's international standing in rugby league. The following year he received the Centenary Medal "for service as a role model and inspiration as a rugby league player of the highest standard". Matthew Elliott replaced Meninga as the Raiders coach in 2002.

Meninga left Canberra and returned to Queensland in 2005 opening several successful business' including a fruit and vegetable wholesale business in the Brisbane Markets, and several Strathfield Car Sound outlets. In late 2005, he was announced as the new Queensland State of Origin coach, replacing Michael Hagan. He made a successful debut as the Maroons coach in the 2006 Rugby League State of Origin series, guiding Queensland to a 2-1 series victory, its first outright series victory since 2001.

Also in 2006, Meninga coached the Prime Minister's XIII side to victory over the Papua New Guinea Kumuls.

On October 13, 2006 he was reappointed as coach of the Maroons for the 2007 Rugby League State of Origin series and 2008 Rugby League State of Origin series.[3]

Mal Meninga attended the 2007 Challenge Cup Final at Wembley Stadium as a guest of honour. [4]

Records

Most Tests played for Australia (45)
Only player to twice captain a Kangaroo Tour (1990 and 1994).
Most points scored in Test matches for Australia (272 - 21 tries, 96 goals)
Most goals kicked in Test matches for Australia (96)

Honours

The main grandstand at Bruce Stadium in Canberra is named the "Mal Meninga Stand" in his honour.

In February 2008, Meninga was named in the list of Australia's 100 Greatest Players (1908-2007) which was commissioned by the NRL and ARL to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia.[5][6] Meninga went on to be named as one of the centres, along with Reg Gasnier, in Australian rugby league's Team of the Century. Announced on 17 April 2008, the team is the panels' majority choice for each of the thirteen starting positions and four interchange players.[7][8]

Political career

Meninga gained some unwanted notoriety in 2001, when an attempted political career lasted a mere 28 seconds. Becoming fazed in his first radio interview, he resigned on-air shortly after the broadcast commenced [9]. This incident led to the satirical Chaser team instituting the 'Mal Award' for their The Election Chaser & The Chaser Decides television shows; presented to politicians "for the greatest act of political suicide during an election campaign".[10] In the episode on November 28, 2007, Mal himself was brought in to present the award but gave up mid-speech.

References

^ Islanders' sporting prowess. Retrieved on 2007-07-04.
^ Meninga Saints Heritage Society. Retrieved on 2007-06-13.
^ Meninga stays with the Maroons. Retrieved on 2006-10-13.
^ Big Mal welcomes the squad. Saints (2007-08-23). Retrieved on 2007-08-25.
^ Peter Cassidy. "Controversy reigns as NRL releases top 100 players", Macquarie National News, 2008-02-23. Retrieved on 2008-02-23.
^ Centenary of Rugby League - The Players. NRL & ARL (2008-02-23). Retrieved on 2008-02-23.
^ Todd Balym. "Johns, Meninga among Immortals", Fox Sports Australia, 2008-04-17. Retrieved on 2008-04-17.
^ Team of the Century Announced. NRL & ARL (2008-04-17). Retrieved on 2008-04-17.
^ "Meninga sidesteps politics", The World Today, ABC Radio, 24 September, 2005.
^ "Mal Award", The Chaser.

External links

Mal Meninga at the Former Origin Greats website.
Mal Meninga at the State of Origin official website.
Mal Meninga at eraofthebiff.com
Mal Meninga Biography
Saints Heritage Society profile
Rugby League's Mal Meninga at abc.net.au

Preceded by
Tim Sheens
1988-1996 Coach
Canberra Raiders
1997-2001 Succeeded by
Matthew Elliott
2002-2006

Preceded by
Michael Hagan
2004-2005 Coach
Queensland
State of Origin
2006- Succeeded by
incumbent

v • d • e The Invincibles

Max Krilich (captain) • Wally Lewis (vice-captain) •
Chris Anderson • Kerry Boustead • Les Boyd • Greg Brentnall • Ray Brown • Greg Conescu • Steve Ella • Eric Grothe, Sr. • Rohan Hancock • Brett Kenny • Paul McCabe • Don McKinnon • Mal Meninga • Gene Miles • Rod Morris • Steve Mortimer • John Muggleton • Mark Murray • Wayne Pearce • Ray Price • Rod Reddy • John Ribot • Steve Rogers • Ian Schubert • Peter Sterling • Craig Young
Coach: Frank Stanton

v • d • e Canberra Raiders squad- 1989 NSWRL Premiers (1st Title)1 Gary Belcher • 2 Matthew Wood • 3 Mal Meninga (c) • 4 Laurie Daley • 5 John Ferguson • 6 Chris O'Sullivan • 7 Ricky Stuart
• 8 Brent Todd • 9 Steve Walters • 10 Glenn Lazarus • 11 Dean Lance • 12 Gary Coyne • 13 Bradley Clyde
• 14 Paul Martin • 15 Kevin Walters • 16 Steve Jackson
• Coach: Tim Sheens

v • d • e Canberra Raiders squad- 1990 NSWRL Premiers (2nd Title)1 Gary Belcher • 2 Paul Martin • 3 Mal Meninga (c) • 4 Laurie Daley • 5 John Ferguson • 6 Chris O'Sullivan • 7 Ricky Stuart
• 8 Brent Todd • 9 Steve Walters • 10 Glenn Lazarus • 11 Nigel Gaffey • 12 Gary Coyne • 13 Dean Lance
• 14 Matthew Wood • 15 Phil Carey • 16 Craig Bellamy • 17 David Barnhill
• Coach: Tim Sheens

v • d • e Golden Boot Award Winners

1985 Wally Lewis • 1986 Brett Kenny • 1987 Garry Jack • 1988 Hugh McGahan • 1988 Peter Sterling • 1989 Ellery Hanley • 1990 Mal Meninga • 1999 Andrew Johns • 2000 Brad Fittler • 2001 Andrew Johns • 2002 Stacey Jones • 2003 Darren Lockyer • 2004 Andy Farrell • 2005 Anthony Minichiello • 2006 Darren Lockyer • 2007 Cameron Smith

v • d • e National Rugby Leaguetop try scorers

1908 Horrie Miller • 1909 Tommy Anderson • 1910 Arthur McCabe • 1911 Dave Garlick • 1912 Roy Algie • 1913 Harold Horder • 1914 Harold Horder • 1915 Frank Burge • 1916 Frank Burge • 1917 Harold Horder • 1918 Frank Burge • 1919 Gordon Wright • 1920 Gordon Wright • 1921 Gordon Wright • 1922 Cecil Blinkhorn • 1923 Herman Peters • 1924 Tommy Kennedy • 1925 Benny Wearing • 1926 Benny Wearing • 1927 Benny Wearing • 1928 Tony Redmond • 1929 Alan Brady • 1930 Morrie Boyle • 1931 Jack Lynch • 1932 Alan Ridley • 1933 Jack Gray-Spence • 1934 Dave Brown, Fred Gardner & Vic Hey • 1935 Dave Brown • 1936 Fred Tottey • 1937 Fred Tottey • 1938 Don Manson • 1939 Sid Goodwin • 1940 Jack Lindwall • 1941 Percy Dermond & Sel Lisle • 1942 Jack Lindwall • 1943 C "Kelly" McMahon • 1944 Sid Goodwin • 1945 Chicka Cahill & Jack Snare • 1946 Jack Lindwall • 1947 Bob Lulham • 1948 Norm Jacobson • 1949 Ron Roberts • 1950 Jack Troy • 1951 John Graves • 1952 Peter O'Brien • 1953 Ian Moir • 1954 Ray Preston • 1955 Brian Allsop & Ian Moir • 1956 Tommy Ryan • 1957 Tommy Ryan • 1958 Eddie Lumsden • 1959 Ken Irvine • 1960 Reg Gasnier • 1961 Johnny King • 1962 Eddie Lumsden • 1963 Reg Gasnier • 1964 Reg Gasnier • 1965 Johnny King • 1966 Ken Irvine • 1967 Les Hanigan • 1968 Stan Gorton • 1969 Ken Irvine • 1970 Ken Irvine • 1971 Paul Cross • 1972 Bob Fulton • 1973 Bob Fulton • 1974 Kevin Junee & Bill Mullins • 1975 Johnny Mayes • 1976 Bob Fulton • 1977 Russel Gartner • 1978 Larry Corowa • 1979 Mitch Brennan & Tom Mooney • 1980 John Ribot & Wayne Wigham • 1981 Terry Fahey • 1982 Steve Ella • 1983 Phil Blake • 1984 Terry Lamb & Steve Morris • 1985 Steve Linnane • 1986 Phil Blake & Garry Schofield • 1987 Terry Lamb • 1988 John Ferguson • 1989 Gary Belcher • 1990 Mal Meninga • 1991 Alan McIndoe • 1992 Mark Bell & Tim Brasher • 1993 Noa Nadruku • 1994 Steve Renouf • 1995 Steven Menzies • 1996 Noa Nadruku • 1997 Terry Hill & Mathew Ryan • 1998 Darren Smith • 1999 Nathan Blacklock • 2000 Nathan Blacklock • 2001 Nathan Blacklock • 2002 Nigel Vagana • 2003 Rhys Wesser • 2004 Amos Roberts • 2005 Matt Bowen • 2006 Nathan Merritt • 2007 Matt Bowen

v • d • e National Rugby Leaguetop points scorers

1908 Horrie Miller • 1909 Arthur Conlin • 1910 Dally Messenger • 1911 Dally Messenger • 1912 Dally Messenger • 1913 Harold Horder • 1914 Harold Horder • 1915 Wally Messenger • 1916 Charles Fraser • 1917 Charles Fraser • 1918 Harold Horder • 1919 A McPherson • 1920 Frank Burge • 1921 Rex Norman • 1922 Harold Horder • 1923 Arthur Oxford • 1924 Jack Courtney • 1925 Benny Wearing • 1926 Jack Courtney • 1927 Alf Blair • 1928 Benny Wearing • 1929 Jim Craig • 1930 Jim Craig • 1931 Jack Lynch • 1932 Les Mead • 1933 Syd Christensen • 1934 Dave Brown • 1935 Dave Brown • 1936 Syd Christensen • 1937 Jack Beaton • 1938 Tom Kirk • 1939 Neville Smith • 1940 Tom Kirk • 1941 Neville Smith • 1942 Ray Lindwall • 1943 Tom Kirk • 1944 Tom Kirk • 1945 Dick Dunn • 1946 Tom Kirk • 1947 Pat Devery • 1948 Jack Lindwall • 1949 Bill Keato • 1950 Bill Keato • 1951 Ron Rowles • 1952 Ron Rowles • 1953 Ron Rowles • 1954 Ron Rowles • 1955 Doug Fleming • 1956 Doug Fleming • 1957 Darcy Russell • 1958 Harry Bath • 1959 Darcy Russell • 1960 Brian Graham • 1961 Bob Landers • 1962 Don Parish • 1963 Fred Griffiths • 1964 Fred Griffiths • 1965 Fred Griffiths • 1966 Bob Lanigan • 1967 Eric Simms • 1968 Eric Simms • 1969 Eric Simms • 1970 Eric Simms • 1971 Graeme Langlands • 1972 Allan McKean • 1973 Graeme Langlands • 1974 Graham Eadie • 1975 Graham Eadie • 1976 Graham Eadie • 1977 Michael Cronin • 1978 Michael Cronin • 1979 Michael Cronin • 1980 Steve Gearin • 1981 Steve Rogers • 1982 Michael Cronin • 1983 Michael Eden • 1984 Steve Gearin • 1985 Michael Cronin • 1986 Terry Lamb • 1987 Ross Conlon • 1988 Gary Belcher • 1989 Andy Currier & Ricky Walford • 1990 Mal Meninga • 1991 Daryl Halligan • 1992 Daryl Halligan • 1993 Daryl Halligan • 1994 Daryl Halligan • 1995 Matthew Ridge • 1996 Jason Taylor • 1997 Jason Taylor & Ryan Girdler • 1998 Ivan Cleary • 1999 Matt Geyer • 2000 Joel Caine • 2001 Andrew Johns & Ben Walker • 2002 Hazem El Masri • 2003 Hazem El Masri • 2004 Hazem El Masri • 2005 Brett Hodgson • 2006 Hazem El Masri • 2007 Hazem El Masri