'I owe him so much': The golden legacy of Don Furner Senior
By The Mole
5 hours ago
IN a career spanning half a century in rugby league, only one man had a bad word to say about Don Furner, who died today, aged 87.
And that was the immortal Arthur Beetson - the one person to have a 'beef' with the former king of Canberra.
"Don almost killed me," the late, great Beetson told me many years ago.
"I switched from Balmain to Easts and I was a fat kid with potential.
"Don saw that potential and was determined to get me fit.
"He found the steepest set of steps I had ever seen - in Cooper Park in Bellevue Hill (in Sydney's east) and made me run up it every day.
"Sometimes for fun, he would jump on my back and I would have to carry him all the way up.
"I hated him for it at the time, but he gave me the kick in the bum I needed to become a good player.
"I owe him so much - he was a special man who cared about his players."
Beetson's words could be echoed by hundreds of players Furner coached down the years.
A fine player in his own right who played for Australia in the 1950s, he turned his hand to coaching after retirement and led Easts - and Beetson - to the 1972 grand final.
When Canberra entered the premiership in 1982, they appointed Furner as their inaugural coach.
After some almighty thumpings in their early days, he steered the Raiders to the grand final just five years later in 1987, taking on a young co-coach named Wayne Bennett.
Bennett moved to Brisbane the following year, using many of the traits Furner taught him to become one of the best coaches the game had seen.
Furner created a dynasty at the Raiders - son Dave won premierships and followed in his father's footsteps to both play for Australia and coach the Raiders, while other son Don junior is the club's chief executive.
Furner was a true old world gentleman in a different era in the game - and will be sorely missed.
