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AGE: 38 FIRST GRADE CAREER: Southern Suburbs (Brisbane) 1979-85 - 109 games; St Helens 1984-85 - 31 games; Canberra Raiders 1986-94 - 166 games. Total first grade games - 306 PREMIERSHIPS: 1981, 1985, 1989, 1990, 1994. GRAND FINAL RUNNER-UP: 1979, 1980, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1991. FIRST GRADE COACHES: Wayne Bennett (1979, 1984-85, 1987); Bob McCarthy (1980-83); Bill Benyon (1984-85); Don Furner (1986-87); Tim Sheens (1988-94). REPRESENTATIVE HONOURS: Queensland - 32 State of Origins; Australia - 45 Tests; Oceania. |
RECORDS: Australia - Most Tests (45); The only player to make four Kangaroo Tours; the only player to captain Australia on two Kangaroo Tours; Most points in Tests (276).
Queensland - Most appearances (42); Most points in State of Origin (161); Most points for Queensland (239).
Canberra - Most tries (74); Most points (864); Most points in a match (38 v Easts in 1990); Most tries in a match (5 v Easts in 1990).
BIOGRAPHY: First represented Queensland under-18s from Wide Bay in 1977. The following year was graded with Brisbane Souths, making his state debut in 1979. His seven goals from as many attempts in the first State of Origin match is still and individual goals record. In 1981, he resisted a huge offer from Easts to remain in Brisbane and made the first of an Australian record 45 Test appearances as a centre against New Zealand in Sydney in 1982. His debut was inauspicious - dislocating his elbow after 28 minutes of play - but he made the first of a record four Kangaroo Tours at the end of the year.
Meninga played in all six Tests and was a mainstay in both the Queensland and Australian sides for the next decade. He played against New Zealand in 1983 ( a rare loss), Great Britain in 1984 and held his place on the troubled tour of NZ in 1985 before spending a highly successful season with St Helens. After inspiring Brisbane Souths to grand final success in 1985, Meninga signed with Canberra.
He was a reserve forward in the first two Tests against Great Britain on the 1986 Kangaroo Tour before gaining a place in the Third Test. A horrendous 18-month injury period started in 1987 - he broke his arm four times, starting with a sickening collision with a goal post in a match against Manly at Seiffert Oval. After again breaking his arm in his return match against Penrith, Meninga returned in time for the final against Easts and played 60 minutes in the Raiders' grand final loss to Manly.
In 1988 he broke the arm again, missing the series against Great Britain but took on Papua New Guinea and the Rest of the World late in the season - only to suffer a fourth break. These injuries would have forced a lesser player into retirement but for Meninga, the best was yet to come.
Taking over as Canberra captain, he led the Green machine to successive grand final victories in 1989-90 and was the season's leading pointscorer in 1990 with 212. His great leadership skills made him the logical choice to take over the Australian captaincy from the injured Wally Lewis in 1990.
Meninga's first match as captain was against France at Parkes and he led the Kangaroos at the end of the year. Faced with the prospect of losing the Ashes after Australia's defeat in the Third Test, Meninga produced a gem of a try to win the Second Test and go on and take the series. Those who watched the giant centre shoulder his opponents out of the way to take the inside pass from Ricky Stuart will surely never forget it. 1990 was capped by his naming as Adidas Golden Boot award winner as best international player.
In the next three series (v NZ in 1991 and Great Britain in 1992 and 1994) Australia had to fight back after losing a test but Meninga's ability to lead by example had provided the impetus to victory.
After leading Australia on a ground-breaking tour of Papua New Guinea in 1991, Meninga surpassed Reg Gasnier's record of 36 Test caps in the Third Test against Great Britain in Brisbane in 1992. The following year he was cited and suspended for a tackle on Manly's John Devereaux, forcing him to miss the First Test against NZ. But he returned to lead Australia to another Trans-Tasman success.
In 1994 - his final year as a player - Meninga set himself the herculean task of becoming the first player to lead two Kangaroo Tours. Appointed to Member of the Order of Australia for services to rugby league in 1994, Meninga was in superlative form come grand final time. A barnstorming intercept try sealed the Raiders' 36-12 thrashing of Canterbury. Australian fans had given him a rousing farewell in the 56-0 hiding to France at Parramatta Stadium but the First Test loss to great Britain at Wembley again prompted the doubters. Meninga answered the critics with inspiring displays in the next two Tests to capture his third Ashes win as captain (another record, tied with Wally Lewis - 1984-86-88).
Meninga's final Test match was the record-breaking 74-0 win over France in which he scored the last of Australia's 13 tries. On tour he surpassed Keith Holman's record for Test matches against Great Britain (17) after earlier becoming Australia's leading point-scorer in Ashes Tests (108). He retired as the greatest point-scorer in Test football (276).
In 1996 Canberra announced Meninga would take over from outgoing coach Tim Sheens in 1997.
Mal Meninga's career record for the Canberra Raiders.
| Minutes | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games per Grade | Min's | Tries |
Goals |
Field |
Sin | Blood | |||
| Year | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Played | Scored |
Scored |
Goals |
Bin | Bin |
|
1986 |
20 |
0 |
0 |
1574 |
3 |
66 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
1987 |
12 |
0 |
0 |
868 |
6 |
34 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
1988 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
390 |
3 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
1989 |
16 |
0 |
0 |
1238 |
2 |
19 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
1990 |
24 |
0 |
0 |
1835 |
17 |
72 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
1991 |
21 |
0 |
0 |
1612 |
13 |
56 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
1992 |
21 |
0 |
0 |
1630 |
5 |
17 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
1993 |
24 |
0 |
0 |
1530 |
11 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
18 |
|
1994 |
26 |
0 |
0 |
2055 |
13 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
5 |
