Australian rugby league great Kel OShea dies, aged 81
January 23, 2015 - 8:14PM
Tributes have been paid to Australian rugby league great Kel O'Shea, who passed away in Brisbane on Thursday aged 81.
O'Shea played 111 matches for Western Suburbs between 1956 and 1963, and represented Australia on 32 occasions.
The second-rower was named as a member of the Top 100 players of the Century in 2008.
"That alone speaks for the high regard the Game had for him," NRL Head of Football Todd Greenberg said in a statement released on Friday.
"He formed a formidable pairing with Norm Provan for Australia. Many would still say that was Australia's best second-row pairing.
"He was deservedly named in both the Western Suburbs and Wests Tigers Teams of the Century.
"He will be remembered as one of Australia's great forwards."
O'Shea played his earliest football at Mt Carmel College, Charters Towers and was already an established Test player when he joined Western Suburbs in 1956
He made his premiership debut for the Magpies in 1956 and played in two grand finals for Wests 1961 and 1963 both resulting in losses to St George.
He formed a lethal second-row partnership with Norm Provan in eight Test matches (1954, 1956-57)
He was also named in Western Suburbs' and Wests Tigers' Teams of the Century (2003) and the NRL's Team of the 1950s (2007).
