Matt McCoy (rugby league)

Matt McCoy

Personal information
Full name	Matthew Philip McCoy
Nickname	Killer
Born	(1923-12-20)20 December 1923 Wolumla, New South Wales
Died	20 February 2007(2007-02-20) (aged 83) Baulkham Hills, New South Wales
Playing information
Weight	14 st 0 lb (89 kg)
Position	Centre
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1945 Easts (Sydney) 2 0 2 0 2 1947 Bega 17 33 1948–52 St. George 67 26 66 8 208 1954 Fitzroy 1955–56 Leeton 1957 Fitzroy 1958 Brothers (Rckhmptn.) 1959 Centrals (Townsville) Total 69 43 101 8 210 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1947 Country NSW 1 0 2 0 4 1949–51 City NSW 2 0 9 0 18 1949–51 New South Wales 5 2 15 0 36 1949 Australia 2 2 1 0 8 195? Central Queensland

Matt McCoy (20 December 1923 – 20 February 2007) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer of the 1940s and 50s, and an inductee of the St. George Illawarra Dragons Hall of Fame. An Australian international and New South Wales interstate representative goal-kicking centre, he played in Sydney's New South Wales Rugby Football League for the St. George club, with whom he won the 1949 NSWRFL Premiership. McCoy also played for Sydney's Eastern Suburbs club, and in Country New South Wales and Queensland as a captain-coach, representing both City and Country New South Wales, as well as Central Queensland during his career.

Originally from Wolumla, New South Wales where he broke into the first grade rugby league team at age 15, during World War II he served as an anti-aircraft gunner and played rugby league in Darwin. After a car accident which resulted in a serious eye injury, McCoy was relocated to Sydney and started playing first grade football in the New South Wales Rugby Football League for the Eastern Suburbs club during the 1945 NSWRFL season. After the war ended he returned to the South Coast where he captain-coached Bega Roosters to premiership honours and in 1947 represented Country New South Wales against City at the Sydney Cricket Ground before a crowd of 50,000.

McCoy returned to Sydney and started playing for St. George from the 1948 NSWRFL season and in the final games of the season he captained the club. He was selected to play representative football for City NSW, kicking seven goals against Country in pouring rain in 1949. Later that year he played for St. George in the 1949 NSWRFL season's grand final at centre, scoring a try and kicking a goal in their 19-12 victory against South Sydney. After that McCoy was selected to tour New Zealand with the Australian national team, becoming Kangaroo No. 268 and appearing in the two Test matches, scoring the match-winning try in the second one to level the series. He was the tour's top points scorer with 55 from 7 games.