Kevin Junee

Kevin Junee was an Australian rugby league footballer who played in the New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership in the years 1964 to 1976. Kevin is the father of Australian rugby union player Darren Junee who also played rugby league for the Eastern Suburbs club.

Junee played all his junior football with Eastern Suburbs, breaking into the top grade in 1964 - the bleakest period in the clubs history, winning just 2 matches that year and just 3 more in the following two, However this didn’t stop Junee from breaking into the representative scene, in 1965, the speedy halfback was chosen for NSW and in 1967 was selected for that year's Kangaroo Tour. In the 1970 season Junee was awarded the Rothmans Medal – rugby league's leading player award presented annually to the year's best player. While playing for the Manly Warringah rugby league club in 1974 Junee topped the season's try-scoring list with 23 tries, a club record at the time. He rejoined Easts for his final season in 1976.

Premiership success was one of the few things that eluded Junee throughout his career. The closest he came was in 1972 when he was a member of the Eastern Suburbs side that was defeated by Manly Warrigah in that year's Grand Final - 19 points to 14. The international halfback left Easts to join Manly in 1974 after a player swap brought his former halfback rival at Easts, Johnny Mayes back to the club. Ironically, that year Eastern Suburbs won their first premiership since 1945 and won again in 1975, losing only three games all season. To rub salt into these wounds, Mayes had just won a premiership with Manly in 1973 and was part of these two premiership winning sides.

Junee returned to Easts for his final season in 1976, displacing Mayes at halfback before the emergence of an up-and-coming Kevin Hastings.

Junee, who played 159 matches for Eastern Suburbs has been made a life member of that club.

He currently works in management in rugby union.