Denis James Meaney (1 October 1936 – 25 July 2011) was a professional Australian

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 who played in the 1950s and 1960s. Born at

Manly, New South Wales Manly is a beach-side suburb of northern Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It is north-east of the Sydney central business district and is currently one of the three administrative centres of the Local government in Australia ...

in 1936, Meaney began his first grade rugby league career at Manly in 1957. He played three seasons for

Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. They compete in the National Rugby League (NRL). The Manly club debuted in the 1947 New South Wales Rugby Football League sea ...

between 1957–1959, playing alongside internationals such as

Roy Bull Roy Bull (12 June 1929 – 29 June 2004) was an Australian 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 s ...

and

Rex Mossop Rex Peers "Moose" Mossop (18 February 1928 – 17 June 2011) was an Australian rugby union and rugby league footballer who played in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s – a dual-code international, and an Australian television personality from 1964 un ...

. He then played seven seasons for the

Western Suburbs Magpies The Western Suburbs Magpies (legal name: Western Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club Ltd) is an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as the club is commonly ...

including 135 first grade games between 1960–1966, often playing alongside legendary forwards such as Noel Kelly,

Kel O'Shea Kelvin Joseph "Kel" O'Shea (13 July 1933 – 22 January 2015) was an Australian representative rugby league footballer, a second-rower from Queensland whose club career was played with the Western Suburbs Magpies in Sydney. He is rated am ...

, Jack Gibson and Jim Cody. He played prop-forward for his whole career and will be remembered as one of the toughest forwards of his era. He played in three losing grand finals: 1957, 1962, and 1963. He represented

New South Wales rugby league team The New South Wales rugby league team has represented the Australian state of New South Wales in rugby league football since the sport's beginnings there in 1907. Also known as the Blues due to their sky blue jerseys, the team competes in the an ...

Colts in 1958 against Great Britain but was not selected on the Kangaroo Tour. He also played for N.S.W. City Firsts in 1961. His long

NSWRFL The New South Wales Rugby League Ltd (NSWRL) is an Australian rugby league football competition operator in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission.It was registered on 21 ...

career came to a close in 1967, although he later went on to become a Country NSWRL selector for 17 years and a successful rugby league coach at Lismore Marist Brothers, who he coached to the

Clayton Cup The Clayton Cup is a trophy that was awarded by the New South Wales Country Rugby League, Country Rugby League to the NSW country rugby league team with the best overall record for that season. To be eligible, the team must win the highest level o ...

in 1987. He retired to

Ballina, New South Wales Ballina () is a town in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, and the seat of the Ballina Shire local government area. It lies north of Sydney and south of Brisbane. Ballina's urban population at the end of 2021 was 46,19 ...

until his death in 2011, age 74. The Ballina Seagulls play Lismore Marist Brothers annually for the Denis Meaney Shield, which was named in his honour in 2010. He is the grandfather of current

Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm is a rugby league football club based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia that participates in the National Rugby League (NRL). The club plays its home games at AAMI Park, and wears a purple and navy blu ...

player Nick Meaney.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meaney, Denis 1936 births 2011 deaths Australian rugby league administrators Australian rugby league coaches Australian rugby league players Manly Warringah Sea Eagles players Rugby league players from Sydney Rugby league props Western Suburbs Magpies players 20th-century Australian sportsmen