John Farragher OAM (born 1 April 1957) is an Australian former 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 who played in the 1970s. He played for the

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Greater Western Sydney suburb of Penrith, New South Wales, Penrith that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL). The team is based west of the cen ...

, as a .

Playing career

A Gilgandra junior, Farragher was graded by the

in the 1977 season. Penrith coach Barry Harris gave Farragher his first grade debut in the 1978 season. He made his first grade debut in his side's 9−8 loss to the

South Sydney Rabbitohs The South Sydney District Rugby League Football Club, also known as the South Sydney Rabbitohs, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Maroubra, New South Wales, Maroubra that competes in the Nat ...

at Redfern Oval in round 4 of the 1978 season. On 28 May 1978, in just his seventh appearance in the top grade, against the Newtown Jets at Henson Park in round 10 of the 1978 season, a collapsed scrum during the first half left him seriously injured. It was later revealed that he had dislocated his neck and damaged his spinal cord, and whilst surgery was able to correct the neck dislocation, he would become a

quadriplegic Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is defined as the dysfunction or loss of Motor control, motor and/or Sense, sensory function in the Cervical vertebrae, cervical area of the spinal cord. A loss of motor function can present as either weak ...

Post playing

In the aftermath, a trust fund was set up to provide him with the financial support needed for the rest of his life. After extensive rehabilitation, Farragher returned to work at Panthers Leagues Club in 1982, taking on a role in public relations to greet and assist the club's members and guests. He still continues to hold that role, with his charm, warmth, and unwavering passion for the Panthers making him a most popular and recognizable character among the club's patrons. In 2016, he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for his ongoing services to rugby league.

References

1957 births Australian rugby league players Living people Penrith Panthers players People with tetraplegia Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Rugby league players from New South Wales Rugby league props People from the Orana (New South Wales) 20th-century Australian sportsmen {{Australia-rugbyleague-bio-1950s-stub