June 16, 2008

RUGBY league has mourned the passing of one of the giants of State of Origin, Dick Turner, who died in Brisbane this morning after a long illness, aged 76.

"Tosser" Turner never actually played for Queensland, yet he was the heart and soul of the Queensland State of Origin sides that would change the face of interstate rugby league.

He was the man the Queensland players cheered the loudest after their series levelling victory at Suncorp Stadium this year as an ailing Turner (named only the night before as the Queensland Team of the Century manager) was wheeled into the room for what would be his last ever Origin outing.

In some ways the former Brisbane Norths and Redcliffe player, and Redcliffe coach and chairman, set the scene for Origin in the early 1960s when he lured a young Artie Beetson from Roma to Redcliffe.

In 1982 Origin moved from a one-off event to an all-or-nothing series, with Beetson the coach and Dick "Tosser" Turner the new co-manager.

To this day it’s hard to put a finger on just what he did, but champions from Wally Lewis to Darren Lockyer will attest to the influence he had in cultivating a unique Queensland Origin spirit.

Dick Turner’s life-long commitment to the game in Queensland also saw him as Chairman of the South Queensland Crushers between 1995 and 1998.

In 1996 he stepped aside as Queensland manager and a year later became the first Chairman of FOGS (a post he retained until his death), the association of Queensland Former Origin Greats who continue to raise tens of thousands of dollars for charity each year.

"He was a man of tremendous passion when it came to Queensland and Rugby League, yet he had enormous compassion for any individual who needed a hand," ARL Chief Executive, Mr Geoff Carr, said.

"Dick was one of those guys who had a smile for everyone and he understood the camaraderie of football teams like few others."

National Rugby League Chief Executive, Mr David Gallop, said that one only had to look at the esteem in which Dick Turner was held by so many champion players to realise how special he was:

"You had to be inspired by the way the biggest names in Queensland’s Origin history gathered at the Queensland Team of the Century Dinner and the FOGS lunch in Brisbane to wish him well.

"He was a man who had an enormous impact on their lives and on rugby league."