John O'Neill (9 May 1943 – 9 August 1999) was an Australian representative rugby league whose club career was spent with South Sydney and Manly-Warringah during the 1960s and early 1970s. He made 2 Test appearances for the Australian national representative side; he represented in 7 World Cup matches in two World Cups and in one World Championship match and in 5 Kangaroo tour matches in 1973. Early life and club career Born in Griffith but reared in the northern town of Gunnedah, in his early twenties John O'Neill showed promise in appearances for Country against both City and the French tourists and was spotted by Sydney premiership talent scouts 1964. O'Neill came to South Sydney in 1965 and his aggressive play in the scrums and charging runs close to the rucks caused him to be noticed. His toughness and solidity earned him the nickname "Lurch", and in his debut season O'Neill played for South Sydney in the Grand final against the champion St George team. A tall and strongly framed man, O'Neill was able to develop consistently as he built up his weight from in 1965 to by 1970. Between 1967 and 1971 he played in five grand finals for South Sydney, winning all but the 1969 contest against Balmain. In 1971 the financial problems at South Sydney caused him along with teammate Ray Branighan to leave for Manly until the end of 1974. There O'Neill played in two more premiership sides, and his battle with Cronulla strongman Cliff Watson in the brutal 1973 grand final (won by Manly 10–7) is regarded as one of the toughest conflicts seen in the Australian game. Representative career O'Neill first played for New South Wales in 1967, and made his international debut in the 1970 World Cup. It was in this match that his remarkable strength in the toughest conflicts first showed itself. He continued to hit opponents in a way that would have been remarkable for anyone with a split shin, and refused to take first aid even when blood spilt into his sock! John O'Neill remained a regular international player until he retired, He is listed on the Australian Players Register as Kangaroo No. 449. In 1975, still a major force in representative rugby league, O'Neill returned to South Sydney. Paradoxically, though he was superb in representative games, he was disappointing in club rugby league and retired during the 1976