"Smokin" Joe Kilroy (born 21 June 1960) is an Australian former

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 1980s and 1990s. A Queensland State of Origin representative /, he played club football in 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 ...

with

Brothers A brother (: brothers or brethren) is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingl ...

and Northern Suburbs club and in the Sydney Rugby League Premiership with the

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Red Hill, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos compete in the National Rugby League (NRL) and play their home games at ...

. He also played full-back in the Halifax team which surprised everyone in English rugby league by winning the Rugby Football League Championship in 1985–86 under

player-coach A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

Chris Anderson.

Early life

When Kilroy was two-years old his mother was killed in a car crash. He subsequently spent 11 years in the care of the Sisters of Mercy at Nudgee, before being sent to the controversial BoysTown school, where he was assaulted regularly by staff.

Career

Early in his football career Joe Kilroy played for

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

's Northern Suburbs club, with a man-of-the-match performance in their win over Souths in the 1980

Brisbane Rugby League 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 Brisbane Rugby League (2001), 2001, kno ...

grand final. He later played for

, playing for them in the 1987 BRL grand final and scoring two tries. His big year however was

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

, when he played in the first ever Brisbane Broncos match as well as the State of Origin. He was nicknamed 'Smokin' Joe, because of his great speed on the football field. In 1983 Kilroy was ranked as the world's best fullback, but in 1989 he was sent to jail for three years on drug-related charges, during his sentence, he travelled out to Charleville in 1990 following the disastrous flood which devastated the town. On his release in 1991, he played one game for the Broncos.

Post playing

Kilroy has since been named in the 4 BC

's Team of the 80s. In 2008 he was named on the wing of an all-time greatest

Norths Devils The Northern Suburbs Devils, or North Brisbane Devils, or often simply referred to as Norths for short, are a rugby league club representing the northern suburbs of Brisbane, Australia. The team colours are sky blue, navy blue and gold. They pl ...

team. Kilroy was runner-up to Tony Obst for the

Rothman's Medal in 1980.

References

External links

*
Joe Kilroy at yesterdayshero.com.au1980 Brisbane Rugby League Grand Final at .queensland.rleague.com4BC Brisbane Rugby League Team of the 80s at qrl.com.auQueensland representatives at qrl.com.au
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kilroy, Joe 1960 births Living people Australian rugby league players Australian expatriate rugby league players in England Brisbane Broncos players Brisbane rugby league team players Halifax Panthers players Indigenous Australian rugby league players Norths Devils players Past Brothers players Queensland Rugby League State of Origin players Rugby league players from Maryborough, Queensland Rugby league wingers 20th-century Australian sportsmen