Kel O'Shea

Infobox rugby league biography
playername = Kel O'Shea
fullname = Kelvin O'Shea
nickname = Dealer


caption =
dateofbirth = 13 July 1933
placeofbirth = Ayr, Queensland
countryofbirth = Australia
height =
weight =
position = Rlp|SR
club1 = Ayr Colts
year1start = 1954
year1end = 1955
appearances1 =
tries1 =
goals1 =
fieldgoals1 =
points1 =
club2 = Western Suburbs
year2start = 1956
year2end = 63
appearances2 = 111
tries2 =
goals2 =
fieldgoals2 =
points2 = 90
club3 = Maitland
year3start = 1965
year3end =
appearances3 =
tries3 =
goals3 =
fieldgoals3 =
points3 =
appearances4 = 86
points4 = 99
teamA = Queensland
yearAstart = 1953
yearAend = 1955
appearancesA = 10
triesA =
goalsA =
fieldgoalsA =
pointsA = 0
teamB = New South Wales
yearBstart = 1956
yearBend =
appearancesB = 8
triesB =
goalsB =
fieldgoalsB =
pointsB = 0
teamC = Australia
yearCstart = 1954
yearCend = 58
appearancesC = 15
triesC =
goalsC =
fieldgoalsC =
pointsC = 6
coachteam1 = Maitland
coachyear1start = 1965
coachyear1end =
coachgames1 =
coachwin%1 =
coachpremierships1 =
updated =
source =
new = yes

Kel O'Shea (born 13 July, 1933 in Ayr, Queensland) is an Australian former representative rugby league footballer, a second-rower from Queensland whose club career was played with the Western Suburbs Magpies in Sydney. He is rated among the nation's best players of the 20th century. [ [http://www.livenews.com.au/Articles/2008/02/22/Controversy_reigns_as_NRL_releases_top_100_players Century's Top 100 Players] ]

Club career

O'Shea first came to prominence from Queensland in 1954 when while playing for Ayr Colts he was selected for Australia. He remained in Queensland for the 1955 season but in 1956 acepted an offer to move to Sydney to jointhe Western Suburbs Magpies who at that time were buying up a talent roster including Arthur Summons, Harry Wells, Dick Poole and Ian Moir in their pursuit of an elusive premiership title - an approach which earned the club their their tag as "the Millionaires".

He played in three of the Magpies' four Grand final losses to St.George : 1958; 1961 and 1963.

O'Shea left Wests for Newcastle at the end of 1963 and came out of retirement in 1965 to captain-coach Maitland in 1965. Playing in the Newcastle Grand final he converted his club's winning try after the bell as spectators invaded the field.

In September 2004 O'Shea was named in the second row of the Western Suburbs Magpies team of the century.

Representative career

He debuted for Australia in 1954 called into the forward pack to partner Norm Provan against the touring British Lions. Over the next four years O'Shea and Provan formed a solid partnership that saw them represent against all of the rugby league playing nations.

O'Shea first represented for New South Wales in 1956 after moving to Wests. He played against New Zealand in 1956 Trans-Tasman series and at the end of that year was selected for the Kangaroos playing in all six Tests and eight minor matches of the 1956-57 Kangaroo tour. He played against Great Britain in the 1954 World Cup campaign and in 1957 was a member of Australia's victorious World Cup squad. All up O'Shea made fifteen Test and five World Cup appearances for his country.

Accolades

In February 2008, O'Shea was named in the list of Australia's "100 Greatest Players" (1908-2007) which was commissioned by the NRL and ARL to celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia. [cite news|author=Peter Cassidy |publisher="Macquarie National News"|title=Controversy reigns as NRL releases top 100 players |url=http://www.livenews.com.au/Articles/2008/02/22/Controversy_reigns_as_NRL_releases_top_100_players |accessdate=2008-02-23|date=2008-02-23] [cite web|publisher="NRL & ARL"|title=Centenary of Rugby League - The Players |url=http://www.centenaryofrugbyleague.com.au/site/the-players.aspx?cat=3&list=true |accessdate=2008-02-23|date=2008-02-23]

ources

* Andrews, Malcolm (2006) "The ABC of Rugby League" Austn Broadcasting Corpn, Sydney
* Whiticker, Alan & Hudson, Glen (2006) "The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players", Gavin Allen Publishing, Sydney
* [http://www.nqsports.com.au/index.php?page=29&person=11 Kelvin O'Shea at nqsports.com.au]

Footnotes