Darryl van de Velde (3 October 1951 – 27 February 2024) was an Australian professional

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 ...

footballer, coach and administrator. He played club football in Queensland for Souths and represented his state on one occasion in 1977. Van de Velde was part of an unsuccessful syndicate to form the first

New South Wales Rugby League premiership The New South Wales Rugby League premiership was the first rugby league football club competition established in Australia and contributor to today's National Rugby League. Run by the New South Wales Rugby League (initially named the New Sout ...

club in Queensland.

Coaching career

After playing he coached the

Brisbane Rugby League premiership The Brisbane Rugby League premiership was a rugby league football competition in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was first held in 1922 and for every year until 1997. The competition was reinstated in 2001, known as the FOGS premiership und ...

's Redcliffe side in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

and

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, taking his club to consecutive grand finals. He was then replaced by Graham Olling. He then embarked on a coaching career in England with

Castleford Castleford is a town within the City of Wakefield district, West Yorkshire, England. It had a population of 45,106 at a 2021 population estimate. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, to the north of the t ...

in 1988, Darryl van de Velde was the

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

's 12–28 defeat by

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

in the

1991–92 Challenge Cup The 1992 Challenge Cup was the 91st staging of rugby league's oldest knockout competition, the Challenge Cup. Known as the ''Silk Cut'' Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons, the final was contested by Wigan and Castleford at Wembley. Wigan won t ...

Final during the 1991–92 season at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on Saturday 2 May 1992, in front of a crowd of 77,386, before leaving in 1993. Van de Velde then became the chief executive officer of the new

South Queensland Crushers South Queensland Crushers was an Australian rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. In 1992 it was decided that the team would be admitted into the New South Wales Rugby League competition, along with three other teams, as par ...

club of the

ARL ARL may refer to: Military * A US Navy hull classification symbol: Landing craft repair ship (ARL) * Admiralty Research Laboratory, UK * United States Army Research Laboratory * ARL 44, a WWII French tank Organizations * Aero Research Limited, ...

premiership. He later coached

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

and then joined

Warrington Wolves Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league club based in Warrington, England. They play home games at the Halliwell Jones Stadium and compete in Super League, the top tier of British rugby league system, British rugby league. Warringto ...

in March 1997, spending five years at the club, but he failed to win a trophy before leaving in 2001.

Sports administration

Van de Velde returned to Australia, and became a board member of the Queensland Rugby League in 2013.

Death

Van de Velde died on 27 February 2024, at the age of 72.

References

External links

QRL profile
1951 births 2024 deaths Australian chief executives Australian rugby league administrators Australian rugby league coaches Australian rugby league players Castleford Tigers coaches Huddersfield Giants coaches Queensland rugby league team players Redcliffe Dolphins coaches South Queensland Crushers Souths Logan Magpies players Warrington Wolves coaches Place of birth missing Rugby league second-rows 20th-century Australian sportsmen {{Australia-rugbyleague-bio-1950s-stub