Greats gather to pay tribute to the life of the Canberra Raiders’ inaugural coach, Don Furner
Don Furner’s funeral brought together a who’s who list of rugby league icons spanning generations. And it was Wayne Bennett who painted a picture of the man whose legacy still lives on in the game.
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Wayne Bennett’s favourite Don Furner story dates back to 1987 when they were co-coaching Canberra.
Bennett laughed as he recalled the yarn that was told again at the inaugural Raiders coach’s funeral on Thursday.
If you ever wondered how their co-coaching set-up worked all those years back, well, here it is.
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It was a mid-year at Parramatta Stadium and of course the Eels were the reigning premiers of the time.
But they were down 22-0 at halftime on this day as their fans booed and abused them off the ground.
So when Bennett went to the sheds he knew the Raiders would be in for a tough second half.
Not that he imagined the Eels would come back and actually win — 30-22 the final score.
“So after the game Don fronted the media,” Bennett recalled.
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“That was the deal we had, Don did press conferences. So they asked him, ‘What went wrong?’.
“And Don said, ‘Well, I coached them in the first half, Wayne coached them in the second.”
Bennett laughed like it all happened on Thursday.
Furner’s funeral brought together a who’s who list of legends spanning generations.
From Bennett to Craig Bellamy, the distinguished list of guests also included John Quayle, Wayne Pearce, Peter Mulholland, Neil Henry, Ricky Stuart and the current Canberra squad.
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New Newcastle coach Adam O’Brien was also there to support Furner’s youngest son Dave, the former premiership winning Test second-rower who is now assistant coach at the Knights.
Furner’s eldest son Don junior, the Raiders’ long serving chief executive, delivered the eulogy, while Don senior’s former teammate John Ballesty gave a tribute speech.
Born on Boxing Day, 1931, Furner was a formidable heavyweight boxer in his day who once fought for the Australian title, while he was also an old school rugby league forward who was good enough to tour with the 1956-57 Kangaroos.
But coaching was where he really left his legacy.
In 1972 Furner took Eastern Suburbs to a grand final and played a significant part in recruiting the team Jack Gibson later took to premierships in 1974-75.
While he won 10 premierships in 13 years with the Queanbeyan Blues, before guiding the Raiders from inception in 1982 into their first grand final in 1987, with Bennett as co-coach.
At the Roosters, Ballesty recalled how Furner reshaped Arthur Beetson who arrived overweight and under-worked from Balmain into a future Immortal.
And in his years coaching Canberra, Furner was also responsible for signing the likes of Mal Meninga, Laurie Daley and Stuart, who created their own dynasty.
And while Furner could get down and dirty with the best of them on a footy field, away from it he was a man of the highest values.
Never drank, smoked or swore, father John Woods joked at Thursday’s service: “Are you listening, Ricky?”
From best mates at school, to this day Stuart and Don junior remain that way as the current Canberra coach and chief executive.
But it was old Don, along with Les and John McIntyre, who really put the Raiders on the rugby league map.
Don Furner was 88 when he passed after a long illness.
“Yes, an absolute gentleman in so many ways,” Bennett added. “But Don’s discipline was also feared. He was tough.”