Mitch Brennan (born 30 October 1954) is a retired Australian

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

footballer and former coach. A Queensland State of Origin representative three-quarter, he played club football during the 1970s, and 1980s in Queensland for Souths and Redcliffe and in New South Wales for South Sydney, Canberra and St. George, with whom he won the 1979 premiership. After playing he became coach of

Wakefield Trinity Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, that plays in the Super League. One of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, between 1999 and 2016 the ...

from 1996 to 1997.

Club career

A stylish three-quarter with a great turn of pace, Mitch Brennan trialed with the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

side the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

in 1975 and was offered a contract before visa restrictions prevented his Canadian football career. He returned to Australia and was graded with Brisbane Souths. St. George Dragons His

NSWRL The New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was ...

career began controversially when in the 1977 pre-season, he was coaxed by his former coach

Harry Bath Harry Bath (28 November 1924 – 4 October 2008), born Alfred Henry Bath, also known by the nickname of "The Old Fox", was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach who was prominent and influential in the mid-20th century. A state and i ...

to play for St George in a trial match at Grafton. Brennan played under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

'Mickey Lane' because he was still in contract negotiations with Brisbane Souths. He was recognised and fined $500. He joined St George in 1978. He was a twice winner of the mid-week competition's ‘golden try’ award in 1978 & 1981. He was the NSWRL's equal leading try-scorer (16t) in season 1979 and played on the wing and scored a try in St George's 1979 Grand Final win over

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...

. Alan Whiticker/Glen Hudson: Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players, 1995. Souths and Canberra Brennan switched to the

South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a professional Australian rugby league club based in Redfern, a suburb of inner-southern Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and are one of nine existing tea ...

in 1981 and played 41 first grade matches over two seasons. He returned to Queensland in 1983 and played with the

Redcliffe Dolphins The Redcliffe Dolphins are a semi-professional rugby league club based in Redcliffe, Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1947, they were accepted into the Brisbane Rugby League (BRL) premiership competition in 1960, and since 1996 have played i ...

and captaining them until 1985. In 1986 Brennan returned to the NSWRL with the

Canberra Raiders The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby ...

. His three seasons there up till retirement in 1988 were significantly interrupted by injury and he made only 8 first grade appearances.for Canberra.

Origin career

He made his

State of Origin A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Ov ...

debut for

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

in the sole game played under Origin criteria in 1981. He appeared in games I and III of 1982 at centre and full-back respectively and in game III of 1983 on the wing. He scored three tries in his four Origin appearances.

References

Sources

http://www.showroom.com.au/dragons/dragonshistory Dragons History site
https://web.archive.org/web/20070817154435/http://www.bulldogs.com.au/main.php Bulldogs Player Histories (Official Site)
https://web.archive.org/web/20070829213148/http://www.raiders.com.au/www/history/alltime/ Canberra Raiders All Time Player List (Official Site)

External links

*
Queensland Representatives at qrl.com.au
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brennan, Mitch 1954 births Living people Australian rugby league coaches Australian rugby league players Canberra Raiders players Queensland Rugby League State of Origin players Redcliffe Dolphins players Rugby league centres Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league players from Brisbane Rugby league wingers South Sydney Rabbitohs captains South Sydney Rabbitohs players Souths Logan Magpies players St. George Dragons players Wakefield Trinity coaches