Noel Cavanagh represented Queensland and Australia from Brothers in 1965 and two years later scored all the club's points in their Brisbane grand final victory over Norths in front of a then record club crowd of 31,470.
Cavanagh also went on to captain the North Sydney Bears and squeezed in a stint with English club Bradford Northern before finishing his career as a captain-coach in Bundaberg.
The goal kicking lock forward made friends wherever he went and his passing on July 8 at the age of 84 saddened many people in Australia and Britain.
The Cavanagh family lived close to Ballymore in the early 1960s when the ground was the home of Brothers' rugby league club.
Noel played for The Fighting Irish and in 1964 was named The Courier-Mail's Best and Fairest player in the Brisbane competition.
Brothers, coached by Frank Melit, reached the grand final, only to be beaten 13-4 by Norths who were coached by the legendary Bob Bax.
Cavanagh kicked both goals for Brothers and played well in the open, attracting an offer from big spending Sydney club Wests.
The Queensland Rugby League refused to grant Cavanagh a transfer and in 1965 he turned out for Brothers again, playing for Brisbane in the inter-city Bulimba Cup competition.
He went on to play three inter-state games for the Maroons and was chosen for Australia's eight-match New Zealand tour, playing in wins over Wellington, Waikato and Taranaki.
Brothers were beaten by eventual premiers Redcliffe in the 1965 preliminary final after eliminating Norths in the first week of the finals with Cavanagh kicking five goals in a 22-8 win.
Cavanagh played Bulimba Cup again in 1966 and also represented South Queensland against the touring North Island (New Zealand) side.
He had many fine games in the Bulimba Cup but in the 1966 final against Ipswich was sent off for an alleged offence in a tackle, with Ipswich winning 7-2 in a major upset.
The Courier-Mail's Jack Reardon rated Cavanagh one of the best forwards on the field despite his dismissal, which came just six minutes from fulltime.
In the 1966 BRL grand final Norths again accounted for Brothers, this time 9-6 with Cavanagh landing two goals.
Noel had played himself to a standstill in Brothers' 7-6 win over Valleys in the preliminary final, which was rated one of the best matches of the season.
Cavanagh was one of the fastest forwards in the BRL at that time and his cover defence was a feature.
In 1967 Brothers once again played in a grand final against Norths, but this time Cavanagh was on the winning side with Brothers getting home 6-4 in a thriller.
Cavanagh kicked three penalty goals to two by Peter Lobegeiger from Norths.
In 1968 Cavanagh moved to Sydney where he joined the Bears and stayed for five seasons, captaining the club in 1972.
In 1969 he kicked 10 goals in a match against Penrith. Late in 1969 he headed to England for an off-season stint with Bradford Northern, with the Yorkshire club having signed a giant former Welsh rugby union forward, Jim Mills from Salford.
'Big Jim' and Cavanagh became friends and then teammates again at North Sydney.
Mills, in a post on Facebook, described the heartbreak he felt at news of Noel's passing. "Noel was a great friend to me in my time with the Bears, and along with his lovely wife Shirley always gave a great welcome at their home. You just couldn't meet a nicer man, everyone loved Noel."
Cavanagh played 78 first grade games for Norths scoring five tries and landing 66 goals. On his return to Bundaberg in 1973 he became a captain-coach and in 1974 represented Wide Bay against the touring Great Britain side at Maryborough, playing against Mills.
Britain won 24-12 but Wide Bay led 4-3 close to halftime thanks to the boot of Cavanagh.
Cavanagh's goal kicking was notable for its accuracy and distance. In one Brisbane club game for Brothers against Norths he kicked nine goals from 11 shots ,all but one from wide angles.
The one from in front of posts was taken 50 metres out, and he landed it.
After his retirement from playing Cavanagh remained a hard worker for local sport in Bundaberg.
On one occasion he and former Queensland State of Origin forward, Billy Moore helped raise $40,000 for local causes at a Brothers' Golf Day. He did enough during his time in Bundaberg to be named lock in the Bundaberg Team of the Century.
Noel Cavanagh's funeral will be held in The Chapel, Branyan Gardens, Bundaberg on Friday, July 24 at 10am with a function to follow at Bothers Sports Club at 12.30pm.
