Paul Broughton (31 March 1931 – 3 December 2022) 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 sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer, coach and club chief executive. He was the Chairman of the

Gold Coast Titans The Gold Coast Titans are a professional rugby league football club, based on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership, Australia's elite rugby league competition. Since 2008, the ...

in the

NRL The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

. He also served on the board of the

North Queensland Cowboys The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest city in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL). Sinc ...

. He has been described by some as an Australian

football identity.

Playing career

Broughton was graded at

St. George Saint George (;Geʽez: ጊዮርጊስ, , ka, გიორგი, , , died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was an early Christian martyr who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to holy tradition, he was a soldier in the ...

in 1952, and captained the team to the Third Grade premiership in 1953. He played in Sydney's First Grade

NSWRFL 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 ...

for

in the 1954 season before playing with

Corrimal Corrimal is a suburb north of the city of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. Corrimal's CBD is situated on the Princes Highway, and several streets adjacent to it. The main shopping centres are Lederer Corrimal and Corrimal Park Mall next ...

as captain/coach. He played 44 grade games for St. George in all grades (1952-1954). Broughton returned to the Sydney Premiership in 1957 with Balmain but was injured in the first match of the season and forced into retirement.

Coaching career

Post-playing Broughton coached the

St. George Dragons The St. George Dragons are an Australian rugby league, rugby league football club from the St George, Sydney, St George District in Sydney, New South Wales that played in the top level New South Wales Rugby League, New South Wales competition ...

in third grade and reserve grade (three premierships 1962–1964) and went on to become the club's chairman of selectors in 1968. He later worked for the

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 ...

before a season coaching Brisbane's

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 ...

club in 1974. The following season Broughton returned to Sydney with the Balmain club, whom he coached from 1975 to 1976, then Newtown from 1977 to the fifth game of 1978, after which a major internal upheaval caused him, along with reserve grade coach Dave Bolton, to be dismissed in favour of St. George legend (and ex-Jet) Johnny Raper and Bob Carnegie. After coaching Broughton worked as

New South Wales Rugby League The New South Wales Rugby League Ltd (NSWRL) is an Australian rugby league football competition operator in rugby league in New South Wales, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Co ...

development officer. Following the removal of the

Gold Coast Chargers The Gold Coast Chargers were a professional rugby league club which played in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership from New South Wales Rugby League season 1988, 1988 to New South Wales Rugby League season 1994, 1994, the Australian R ...

from the newly established

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

at the end of the 1998 season, Broughton worked towards the foundation of the Titans, and has been described as "the Godfather of Gold Coast rugby league". The Titans annual award for best and fairest player is named the Paul Broughton Medal in his honour.

Personal life and death

Broughton received the

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of then ...

(OAM) in the 2017 Queen's Birthday Honours "for services to rugby league, and to the community." He died in December 2022, at the age of 91.

References

1931 births 2022 deaths Australian rugby league administrators Australian rugby league coaches Australian rugby league players Balmain Tigers coaches Balmain Tigers players Corrimal Cougars players Newtown Jets coaches Place of birth missing Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Rugby league five-eighths Rugby league locks St. George Dragons players 20th-century Australian sportsmen {{Australia-rugbyleague-bio-1930s-stub