Mal Meninga
Height | 184 cm (6 ft 0 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Weight | 107 kg (16 st 12 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Position | Centre | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Coaching information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As of 4 November 2023 |
Malcolm Norman Meninga
Meninga broke numerous rugby league records during his playing career. He retired with the most appearances in the history of the Australian national team, and became the top-point scorer ever in State of Origin football. He has since been honoured as a Member of the Order of Australia, has been inducted into the Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame and has also been named in both Queensland's and Australia's teams of the century.
Meninga is the only player in history to be selected for four
As a coach, he began with the
Early life
Meninga, whose father is of South Sea Island heritage and mother is Australian, was born in Bundaberg, Queensland.[8][9] His father, Norman Meninga, also played rugby league.[10] He has a brother, Geoffrey Meninga.[11]
Meninga attended Maroochydore State High School,[12] graduating with a Junior Certificate in 1975. He completed his Senior Certificate at the Queensland Police Academy, citing his love for TV police dramas as a key reason for joining the force,[10] and served as an officer in the Queensland Police Service until 1985. It was during his time in the police force that Meninga met Wayne Bennett, who was serving as a constable at the time and would become one of Meninga's key mentors.[10] Mal was actually a senior constable and 2IC PE instructor under Sergeant Wayne Bennett at the Queensland Police Academy during the early 80s.
Playing career
Meninga captained
I'd watch in awe as Mal pulverised the opposing defensive line with his bone-crunching runs. From the safety of my spot six or seven metres away from the action, I felt grateful that I didn't have to tackle him because his giant thighs were lethal weapons.
Brisbane
Meninga made his first grade début in the
In 1982, he was named man-of-the-match in Game 1 of
Post season he toured Europe with the undefeated
Meninga continued his good form in 1983, even though Souths missed the BRL Grand Final. He played in Queensland's second straight Origin series win over NSW, while also starring for Australia in the two test series against New Zealand in mid-season.
In 1984, Meninga played a major role in an Oceania team's 54–4 victory over an Anglo-French selection in an exhibition match Paris, before returning to Brisbane after the match to continue playing for Souths.[17] After again playing a leading role for Queensland in their third straight Origin series win over NSW, Meninga missed the first Ashes test against the touring Great Britain side, but was recalled to the team for the second and third tests of the series which Australia again won 3–0. Meninga was the BRL's top tryscorer and points scorer in the 1984 season, with 18 tries and 154 points.
Meninga continued his good form for Souths in 1985, playing in their 10–8 Grand Final win over
St Helens
After his displays on the 1982 Kangaroo tour, Meninga was in high demand with English club sides. For the 1984–85 Rugby Football League season he signed to play for St. Helens, who had paid around £30,000 for his services to play in the Australian off-season[18] and he helped the club to victory in the Premiership. He was bought by BBC commentator and former Saints forward Ray French while he was in Australia covering the 1984 Great Britain Lions tour.
St Helens' rivals
Canberra
In 1986, Meninga and teammate
A second broken arm before the start of the 1988 NSWRL season saw Meninga missing until Round 15. After just 4 games back for the Raiders, Meninga played for Australia in their record 70–8 win over Papua New Guinea at Wagga Wagga in country NSW, scoring two tries.[22] Unfortunately for Meninga, after one more game for Canberra he then broke his arm for a third time in Australia's 22–10 over a Rest of the World team at the Sydney Football Stadium, putting him out for the rest of the 1988 NSWRL season. Meninga's broken arms saw him play only 17 games for the Raiders in 1987 and 1988. [citation needed] His third also saw him miss a place in Australia's 25–12 win over New Zealand in the World Cup final at Eden Park in Auckland at the end of the 1988 season.
After being given the Raiders' captaincy, Meninga led Canberra to their first premiership in
At the end of the
Meninga's good form continued in
After Canberra's salary cap problems at the end of 1991 which saw them lose a number of fringe players as well as some veterans (though most, including Meninga, agreed to actually take a pay cut in order to keep the side together), the Raiders missed the finals for the first time since 1986 when they finished 12th in 1992.
Meninga's form continued though, captaining Queensland in the 1992 State of Origin series (NSW won 2–1) as well as Australia's successful Ashes defence against the touring Great Britain Lions. He was in great form in the first test at the Sydney Football Stadium, scoring 2 tries as Australia won 22–6. The Lions produced a shock in the second test in Melbourne with a big 33–10 win, but the Kangaroos, led by Meninga's 12 points (1 try, 4 goals) won the deciding test at Lang Park 16–10. By starting in the 3rd test at Lang Park, Meninga played his 37th test, breaking the record of 36 held by Reg Gasnier since 1967. Gasnier was on hand to congratulate Meninga on his achievement. At the end of the 1992 season, Meninga captained Australia to their 10–6 win over Great Britain in the World Cup final in front of a record international test crowd of 73,631 at Wembley Stadium in London.
The Raiders came back strongly in
On
During 1994, Meninga played his final test on Australian soil when he led the Kangaroos to a record 58–0 win over France in a
Coaching career
Following his retirement Mal Meninga openly supported the Super League concept during the Super League war of the mid-1990s.[24] His popularity and playing record as a domestic and international captain were valuable in raising the profile of the rebel competition. In 1995 Meninga's book Mal Meninga: My Life in Football was published. He was appointed head coach of his old club, the Canberra Raiders in Australia's Super League season in 1997.
Canberra Raiders
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 footballer of the highest standard". After Canberra failed to make the finals of the 2001 NRL season, finishing fourth-last (11th out of 14 teams), Meninga was replaced by Matthew Elliott as Raiders coach.
In late 2002, Meninga expressed interest in the
During the
Meninga left Canberra and returned to Queensland in 2005, opening several successful businesses, including a fruit and vegetable wholesale business in the Brisbane Markets, and several Strathfield Car Sound outlets. [citation needed]
In late 2005, he was announced as the new Queensland State of Origin coach, to replace Michael Hagan.
Prime Minister's XIII
From 2005 to 2012, Meninga served as coach of the Australian Prime Minister's XIII. During his tenure, Meninga coached the PM's XIII in 8 matches, winning 7 and drawing 1. He was succeeded as coach of the PM's XIII by New South Wales coach Laurie Daley.
Queensland
Meninga made a successful début as the Maroons coach in the
In 2010, Meninga coached Queensland to a fifth straight series win, and is now regarded as the greatest and most successful Origin coach in history. He also coached them to their first "clean sweep" since 2000.
In 2011, Meninga achieved his sixth straight series as coach of Queensland honoring a promise he made in 2008.
Meninga's record-breaking winning streak ended with the Blues' win in the 2014 State of Origin series. The Maroons, however, still scored more points than the Blues across all three matches.[33]
In the 2015 State of Origin Series he coached Queensland to their ninth series win in ten years, with the decider played at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on 8 July 2015 and Queensland recording both the largest score and biggest victory margin with a 52–6 victory.
Australia
On 2 December 2015, Meninga was appointed as the head coach of the
In late 2017, Meninga coached the Australian team to win the 2017 Rugby League World Cup.
In October 2022 he named his
Meninga coached Australia in their 2021 Rugby League World Cup final victory over Samoa.[37]
Political career
Meninga briefly campaigned as an
Subsequently, this incident led to the
Records
- Only player to make four 1994)
- Only player to twice captain a Kangaroo Tour (1990 and 1994).
- Most points scored in Test matches for Australia (272 – 21 tries, 96 goals) – since surpassed by Johnathan Thurston
- Most goals kicked in Test matches for Australia (96) – since surpassed by Johnathan Thurston
- Most goals kicked in a State of Origin match for Queensland (7 in Game 1 1980) – since surpassed by Johnathan Thurston
- Most State of Origins won as coach in a row. 2006–2013 (8 series)
Honours
Meninga is regarded as an official spokesperson for the South Sea Islander community.[48]
The main grandstand at Canberra Stadium is named the "Mal Meninga Stand" in his honour. The Canberra Raiders' player of the year receives the Mal Meninga Medal in his honour since 2008 and a statue of him has been placed behind the Mal Meninga grandstand next to the one of Laurie Daley.[49]
He was inducted into the
In February 2008, Meninga was named in the list of Australia's
In June 2008, he was chosen in the Queensland Rugby League's Team of the Century at centre.[56]
In 2009 as part of the
In 2016, Meninga was a recipient of the Queensland Greats Awards.[58]
On 1 August 2018, Meninga was announced as one of The Immortals, along with Norm Provan, Frank Burge, Dave Brown and Dally Messenger.[59]
Playing Statistics
Club
† | Denotes seasons in which Meninga won a Premiership in the BRL or NSWRL |
Season | Team | Matches | T | G | F/G | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1979 | Southern Suburbs | 19 | 9 | 76 | 0 | 179 |
1980 | Southern Suburbs | 22 | 17 | 97 | 0 | 245 |
1981† | Southern Suburbs | 20 | 14 | 46 | 0 | 134 |
1982 | Southern Suburbs | 11 | 6 | 26 | 0 | 70 |
1983 | Southern Suburbs | 10 | 8 | 28 | 0 | 88 |
1984 | Southern Suburbs | 19 | 18 | 41 | 0 | 154 |
1984-85 | St Helens | 31 | 28 | 8 | 0 | 128 |
1985† | Southern Suburbs | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
1986 | Canberra | 20 | 3 | 65 | 1 | 143 |
1987 | Canberra | 12 | 6 | 34 | 1 | 93 |
1988 | Canberra | 5 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 26 |
1989† | Canberra | 16 | 2 | 19 | 0 | 46 |
1990† | Canberra | 24 | 17 | 72 | 0 | 212 |
1991 | Canberra | 22 | 13 | 57 | 0 | 166 |
1992 | Canberra | 21 | 6 | 17 | 0 | 58 |
1993 | Canberra | 20 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 52 |
1994† | Canberra | 26 | 13 | 8 | 0 | 68 |
Career totals | 306 | 180 | 605 | 2 | 1886[a] |
Further reading
- ISBN 9780330356169.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
References
- ^ NRL Stats[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Saints Heritage Society". www.saints.org.uk. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
- ^ Dollin, Shawn; Ferguson, Andrew. "Mal Meninga – Career Stats & Summary – Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.com. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
- ^ Media, NRL Digital (2 December 2015). "Cheers Mal you champion!". Retrieved 26 July 2017.
- ^ Yesterday's Hero Archived 3 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Rugby League Project Coaches
- ^ a b c Badel, Peter; Meyn, Travis (2 December 2015). "Mal Meninga to be appointed new Kangaroos coach". The Courier Mail. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
- ^ "The making of Mal". Retrieved 26 July 2017.
- ^ "Icon of Rugby League: Mal Meninga". 14 December 2015. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
- ^ a b c Craddock, Robert (23 May 2014). "Why coaching State of Origin is not the toughest job Mal Meninga will have this week". The Courier-Mail.
- ^ "Mal Meninga digital story and oral history". State Library of Queensland. 2 March 2015. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
- ^ "History". Archived from the original on 27 February 2015.
- ISBN 9781921212000.
- ISBN 9780733627743.
- ISBN 9781864033618.
- Australian Rugby League. Archived from the originalon 17 March 2012. Retrieved 16 October 2011.
- ^ "Sport digest". The Sydney Morning Herald. 19 April 1984. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
- ^ "Meninga Saints Heritage Society". Retrieved 13 June 2007.
- ^ "Flashback to the 1985 Premiership Final - Nine local lads and the Wizard of aus". 8 May 2014.
- Yorkshire Post.
- ^ a b c d Hadfield, Dave (25 September 1994). "Man mountain of Oz: Mal Meninga". independent.co.uk. The Independent. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
- ^ "O'Connor helps set Test records". The Age. 21 July 1988. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
- ^ Ferguson, Shawn Dollin and Andrew. "NSWRL 1990 – Round 5 – Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
- ^ Headon, David (October 1999). "Up From the Ashes: The Phoenix of a Rugby League Literature" (PDF). Football Studies Volume 2, Issue 2. Football Studies Group. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 August 2010. Retrieved 7 July 2009.
- ^ AAP Sports News (17 October 2002). "Meninga keen for Australian or Queensland coaching job". Australia. Retrieved 27 December 2009.[dead link]
- ISBN 9780862439927.
- ^ "Big Mal welcomes the squad". Saints. 23 August 2007. Retrieved 25 August 2007.
- ^ "Meninga stays with the Maroons". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 13 October 2006. [dead link]
- ^ a b http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/rugby-league/state-of-origin/nsw-need-look-no-further-than-queensland-plan-20100618-ymqj.html NSW need look no further than Queensland plan – Brisbane Times
- ^ "Meninga's Origin culture created history: Lockyer". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 26 June 2009. Retrieved 25 June 2009.
- ^ deKroo, Karl (4 December 2009). "Wally Lewis says Maroons okay without Darren Lockyer". The Courier Mail. Australia: Queensland Newspapers. Retrieved 5 December 2009.
- ^ Meninga's fury at NSW 'rats and filth' – Sports News First Archived 27 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Feeling Blue or Blue skies ahead? Putting the NSW win in perspective, The Roar, 14 July 2014
- ^ "Mal Meninga Won't Coach QLD Next Year". Triple M Football. 2 December 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
- ^ "League: Mal Meninga wants international football restored as pinnacle of the game". The Telegraph. 20 November 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ Full list of every squad at the Rugby League World Cup 2021
- ^ McLaughlin, Luke (19 November 2022). "Australia 30-10 Samoa: Rugby League World Cup final – as it happened". The Guardian.
- ^ "Mal Meninga expected to run as Molonglo Independent". ABC News online. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 24 September 2001. Archived from the original on 1 May 2003. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
- ^ "December 2001, QN2001D". Quota Notes, Newsletter of the Proportional Representation Society of Australia. Proportional Representation Society of Australia. 2001. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
- ^ Crispin Hull (9 September 2001). "December 2001, QN2001D". Quota Notes, Newsletter of the Proportional Representation Society of Australia. www.crispinhull.com.au. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
- ^ "Meninga sidesteps politics". The World Today. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 24 September 2001. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
- ^ "Why Mal Meninga was left speechless the day he quit politics". News.com.au. News Corp Australia. 30 March 2017. Archived from the original on 2 February 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
- The Chaser Decides. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2001. Archived from the originalon 5 July 2010. Retrieved 3 September 2010.
- ^ "UK Prime Minister Liz Truss Pulls A Mal Meninga". The Betoota Advocate. 20 October 2022. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
- ^ Gleason, Tim (15 April 2016). "More Bad News For Malcom Turnpoll". The Daily Telegraph. News Corp Australia. p. 36.
- ^ Lowe, David (27 April 2021). "Game belongs to the fans". Newcastle Herald. Australian Community Media. p. 31. Retrieved 21 November 2022.
- ^ Abraham, Matthew (19 April 2020). "A pointed message for all the covidiots". The Advertiser. News Corp Australia. p. 52.
- ^ "Islanders' sporting prowess". Archived from the original on 1 September 2007. Retrieved 4 July 2007.
- ^ Peter Fitzgerald (11 September 2008). "Mighty Mal makes monumental mark". The Canberra Times. Archived from the original on 14 September 2008. Retrieved 11 September 2008.
- ^ "Mal Meninga". Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
- ^ Australian Rugby League Hall of Fame Archived 18 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Peter Cassidy (23 February 2008). "Controversy reigns as NRL releases top 100 players". Macquarie National News. Archived from the original on 25 February 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2008.
- ARL. 23 February 2008. Archived from the originalon 26 February 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2008.
- ^ Todd Balym (17 April 2008). "Johns, Meninga among Immortals". Fox Sports Australia. Archived from the original on 7 September 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2008.
- ARL. 17 April 2008. Archived from the originalon 21 May 2010. Retrieved 17 April 2008.
- ^ Ricketts, Steve (10 June 2008). "Locky named No.1 but Wal's still King". The Courier-Mail. Archived from the original on 2 July 2008. Retrieved 20 May 2009.
- ^ Bligh, Anna (10 June 2009). "PREMIER UNVEILS QUEENSLAND'S 150 ICONS". Queensland Government. Archived from the original on 24 May 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
- ^ "2016 Queensland Greats recipients". Queensland Government. Archived from the original on 31 May 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2017.
- ^ "Five rugby league greats named as Immortals, including three pre-WWII players". ABC News (Australia). 1 August 2018. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
Notes
- ^ Tries were only worth three points until 1983.
External links
- Mal Meninga at eraofthebiff.com
- Mal Meninga Biography
- Saints Heritage Society profile
- Queensland Team of the Century named – article at nz.leagueunlimited.com
- Mal Meninga Digital Story and Oral History, State Library of Queensland. The interview was conducted between Mal Meninga and his brother, Geoffrey Meninga