The nation’s best rugby league footballers of the 20th century were Indigenous Australians, and Lionel Morgan (12 August 1938 – 16 September 2023) was one among them. He was a coach as well. The first Indigenous Australian chosen to participate in an official rugby league Test match was Morgan.
Morgan, a representative for New South Wales’ schoolboy team, relocated from Tweed Heads to play for Wynnum-Manly in the Brisbane Rugby League’s premier division. He was chosen to play in the second and third Test matches of the French tour of Australia in 1960.
In his first game for his country, he scored two tries. He participated in Australia’s lone World Cup match in 1960, which was played in Wigan once more against France.
Lionel Morgan (rugby) cause of death: What happened to Lionel Morgan?
Long battle with dementia was Lionel Morgan’s underlying cause of death. Between 1960 and 1963, the winger, who passed away on Saturday night in Brisbane, participated in 12 interstate games for Queensland versus NSW and scored 11 tries.
Morgan was a member of the Australian Indigenous rugby league team of the century in 2008. He played and coached for Wynnum-Manly in the Brisbane Rugby League.