Australian sport figures who died in 2022, including Shane Warne, Rod Marsh and Jack Newton
As the world mourns Pele, Australian sport has endured its own heartbreak with a long list of sporting greats passing away. These are the legacies they left behind. SPECIAL REPORT
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Gold medals, premierships, world champions and everlasting legacies.
As the world mourns football legend Pele, Australian sport has endured its own heartbreak with a long list of sporting greats, coaches and administrators passing away across 2022.
From the shock news of Shane Warne in March to the honouring of footy greats, we have sadly lost some who have had a profound impact on our lives.
HARLEY BALIC
January 5, 1997 – January 9, 2022
The former Fremantle and Melbourne AFL midfielder died in January, aged 25. His death was not treated as suspicious.
Drafted by the Dockers in 2015, Balic played four games for the club in two seasons.
Balic was then traded to the Demons in 2017 but announced his sudden retirement citing his lack of passion to play the game, after one year on Melbourne’s list.
“The Fremantle Football Club is saddened to learn of the tragic passing of former player Harley Balic,” a Dockers statement read.
JOHNNY RAPER
April 12, 1939 – February 9, 2022
The rugby league Immortal died in February, aged 82, after a battle with dementia.
Raper played in eight of St George’s record-shattering 11 consecutive NRL premiership wins in the 1950s and 1960s, and represented NSW and Australia.
In 1981, Raper was among the first four rugby league Immortals named, along with Reg Gasnier, Bob Fulton and Clive Churchill.
Raper coached Cronulla in 1975 and 1976, starting an association that was later carried on by sons Stuart and Aaron.
Raper spent the last four years of his life in a nursing home, having been diagnosed with dementia.
OLSEN FILIPAINA
April 23, 1957 – February 10, 2022
The rugby league cult hero died in February at the age of 64.
The Balmain and New Zealand great was hospitalised in January when his kidneys failed.
Filipaina moved to Sydney in 1980, joining the Tigers. He spent five seasons at the club, playing in 82 games and amassing 225 points.
After a one-year spell at the Eastern Suburbs Roosters in 1985, he played for two years with the North Sydney Bears.
JOHN LANDY
April 12, 1930 – February 24, 2022
The legendary Australian middle-distance runner died at his home in Victoria, aged 91, surrounded by his family after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.
He was the second man to run a sub-four-minute mile, doing so a month after Englishman Sir Roger Bannister.
He was a two-time Olympian who won bronze in the 1500m at the 1956 Melbourne Games.
He was perhaps best remembered for his sportsmanship at the 1956 Australian mile championship, aiding fallen and injured rival Ron Clarke.
Despite giving away a lead of about 40m, he returned to the race and still managed to win.
In 1999, Sport Australia deemed Landy’s act the nation’s finest sporting moment of the 20th century.
DEAN WOODS
June 22, 1966 – March 3, 2022
The Australian cycling legend died aged 55 after a battle with cancer, reading his own eulogy.
Woods, who was awarded the Order of Australia medal in 1995 for services to cycling, won gold in the 4000m team pursuit at the 1984 Olympics.
He claimed silver in the individual pursuit, and bronze in the team pursuit, at the 1988 Seoul Games.
Woods claimed another bronze in the team pursuit at the 1996 Olympics.
“He was adept on the track and the road in his wonderful career – three times a world champion and 20 national titles. But in the Olympic pantheon, his feats on the track were extraordinary,” said AOC president John Coates.
ROD MARSH
November 4, 1947 – March 4, 2022
Australia’s long-serving wicketkeeper through the 1970s and 1980s went on to be a frank and honest selector and senior voice in the game.
Across 96 Tests he took a then record 355 dismissals, and also became the first Aussie gloveman to score a Test century.
Marsh was a cricket commentator for Channel 9’s international matches between 1986–1990 and 1996–1998.
Marsh was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 1982 New Year Honours, inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985, and in 2005 he was inducted into the Cricket Hall of Fame by Cricket Australia.
On February 24, Marsh was left in a critical condition following a heart attack in Bundaberg while heading to a charity event. He died eight days later in Adelaide aged 74.
Marsh is survived by his wife Ros and sons Dan, who captained Tasmania to their first Sheffield Shield win, Paul and Jamie.
SHANE WARNE
September 13, 1969 – March 4, 2022
The giant of world cricket left us far too soon aged just 52 in March.
Warne, who took 708 Test wickets but just as importantly made leg spinning trendy again, was found unresponsive by friends in a villa he was staying at in Koh Samui, Thailand.
After his colourful playing career, which included a year-long ban and a series of off-field dramas, Warne became a polarising commentator.
He is survived by three children with his first wife Simone Callahan.
JACK NEWTON
January 30, 1950 – April 15, 2022
The Australian golfing great died, aged 72, due to “health complications”, according his family.
The 1979 Australian Open champion also won on the PGA Tour and was a three-time victor on the European Tour.
At 33, Newton lost his right arm and eye after walking into a plane’s spinning propeller while travelling home to Newcastle from Sydney.
Following the accident, Newton was heavily involved in growing golf and received an OAM for his services to the game.
Newton is survived by his wife, Jackie, daughter Kristie, and son Clint.
ANDREW SYMONDS
June 9, 1975 – May 14, 2022
A master blaster of a batsman and handy bowler, Symonds became a rock star of Australian cricket in the 2000s, particularly in the white-ball formats.
Symonds, born in England, looked like being an unfulfilled talent until his breakout 2003 World Cup showing, which in turn ultimately saw some star efforts in Test matches.
His career was blighted by off-field disciplinary issues but he remained a popular figure among fans.
Symonds was killed in a single-vehicle road accident near Townsville on May 14 at the age of 46.
He is survived by wife Laura and young children Chloe and Billy.
ROBERT ‘ROCKY’ LAURIE
1956 – June 3, 2022
The former Easts and South Sydney five-eighth played 122 games between 1976 and 1982.
He claimed the Dally M Medal in 1980 following a remarkable campaign in his final season for the Rabbitohs. He remains the only Rabbitohs player to have won the award.
Laurie, 66, had been fighting a mental health battle for years.
ROGAN JOSH
September 30, 1992 – June 24, 2022
The 1999 Melbourne Cup winner died aged 29.
The beloved horse underwent euthanasia amid complications stemming from colic.
Living Legends chief executive Andrew Clarke declared it “the saddest of sad days”.
“This was a battle that he just could not win,” Clarke said.
“All at Living Legends are heartbroken and our condolences go out to owner Wendy Green and her family, as well as Josh’s many fans from around the world.”
NEIL KERLEY
February 20, 1934 – June 29, 2022
South Australian legend Kerley died after a car crash in June.
Kerley, 88, was driving on Mallee Road at Walker Flat on June 29 when his car left the road and crashed through a fence into a paddock. It was deemed a result of a medical episode.
Kerley played 265 games between 1952 and 1969 in the SANFL, winning two premierships as a captain-coach in 1961 and 1964.
Kerley was a boundary rider for Channel 7 telecasts of the AFL during the 1990s. He also served as a selector for the AFL’s All-Australian team.
PHIL CARLSON
August 8, 1951 – July 29, 2022
Carlson made a remarkable start to his first class cricket career with a hundred for Queensland at the age of 18, and despite strong seasons that followed, was unable to crack a strong Australian side.
In 1977-78 the all-rounder made 591 runs at 45.46, and in 1978-79 added 448 at 40.33.
With Australia missing its World Series rebels, Carlson made his Test debut against England in 1978-79, but scored only 23 runs in four innings.
His four one-day appearances also only produced 11 runs.
He finished with 4167 first class runs at an average of 28.34 and took 124 wickets at an average of 24.96.
After cricket, Carlson worked in property and property development. He died on July 29, 10 days before his 71st birthday. He suffered from a long unspecified illness prior to his death.
PAUL GREEN
September 12, 1972 – August 11, 2022
Green played more than 150 NRL matches for the Sharks, Cowboys, Roosters, Eels and Broncos from 1994 to 2004.
Perhaps most famously though he led the Cowboys to the drought-busting 2015 premiership.
He also led Queensland to a 2-1 series defeat to NSW in the 2021 State of Origin series.
He was mooted to be in the mix to return to an assistant coaching role before taking his own life at home in Brisbane. He was aged 49.
Green was married to Amanda and had two children.
BARRY MUIR
September 18, 1937 – September 2, 2022
Legendary Queensland rugby league figure Barry Muir, who coined the term ‘cockroaches’ to describe the NSW team, died aged 84.
Muir played 26 games for Queensland and 25 Tests for Australia during his playing days.
In the 1970s Muir coined the term ‘cockroaches’ for the NSW side after seeing some of them on TV under the antennae.
“The next day, we were training at the Sydney Cricket Ground and I kept (telling the media), ‘we’re gonna knock the cockroaches off, we’re gonna do this, we’re gonna do this and give it to the cockroaches’,” he said on ABC Radio in 2016.
DR ALLEN AYLETT
April 24, 1934 – September 16, 2022
A member of the Australian Football Hall of Fame as a player, Aylett played 220 games for North Melbourne from 1952 to 1964.
Aylett was a three-time club champion, dual All-Australian and Tassie Medallist for Victoria in the 1958 interstate carnival, as well as a member of North’s Team of the Century.
In retirement he was club president from 1971 to 1976, overseeing the first premiership in club history in 1975.
Aylett was VFL president from 1977 to 1984.
“Allen Aylett is a keystone of the national competition we have today,” AFL commission chair Richard Goyder said.
TERRY QUINN
June 8, 1954 – September 20, 2022
The former Penrith centre and rugby league administrator died, aged 68, after a long battle with illness.
Quinn served as the head of the Newcastle Rugby League board, the chief executive of the West Australian Rugby League and spent time on the board of the NSWRL.
“He was central to so many aspects of rugby league with his knowledge and skills,” NSWRL boss Dave Trodden said.
CHRIS DAVIDSON
January 1, 1978 – September 24, 2022
Former pro surfer Chris Davidson died after being involved in an alleged one-punch attack on the NSW mid-north coast.
The 45-year-old’s sudden death rocked the surfing community, with Davidson known as “the life of the party”.
Following his death his sordid past was revealed.
ALF MITCHELL
May 18, 1941 – October 7, 2022
The athletics world was mourning after the death of the former Commonwealth Games gold medallist.
Mitchell won the gold in the javelin throw at 21 in the 1962 Perth Games.
His throw at Perth of 78.11m set a new Commonwealth Games record at the time.
Mitchell was champion at the Australian Athletics Championships in 1962, and runner-up in 1960, 1961, 1963 and 1964.
His career was cut short by injury and he later took up coaching.
LIAM HAMPSON
July 14, 1998 - October 20, 2022
An estimated 1000 guests returned to Hampson’s favourite football ground, Redcliffe’s Moreton Daily Stadium, in November to farewell an aspiring NRL star who “lived the best life he could”.
The 24-year-old died tragically in October after an accident at a Spanish nightclub, which sparked an initial social media plea to help find him.
His body was discovered a day later in a remote section of the nightclub.
Pallbearers at his funeral included Titans NRL star AJ Brimson and Broncos back-rower Jordan Riki, two of his best mates who were holidaying in Europe with Hampson when he accidentally plunged to his death.
Brimson has since dedicated his 2023 NRL season to Hampson and his family.
ALAN ‘FROGGY’ THOMSON
December 2, 1945 – October 31, 2022
Alan Thomson became a star in the late 1960s and early 1970s when he burst onto the scene with a unique arm-twirling bowling action.
He took the first wicket to fall in one-day international cricket, but it proved his only wicket in his only ODI.
Thomson raced to 100 first class wickets in just 16 matches, equalling Chuck Fleetwood-Smith’s record, and finished with 184 first class wickets in 44 matches at an average of 27.
He played four Tests for Australia and was a member of Victoria’s Sheffield Shield-winning team of 1969-70.
He passed away in October aged 76.
FRANK PRIHODA
July 8, 1921 – November 10, 2022
Australia’s oldest living Olympian, Frank Prihoda was 101 when he passed away in November.
He represented Australia at the 1956 Winter Olympic Games in Italy, competing in alpine skiing.
He migrated to Australia in 1950 after fleeing communist Czechoslovakia, along with his sister Sasha – a Czech Winter Olympian – and her husband Karel Nekvapil.
Frank and Karel made their escape on skis, while Sasha absconded from the returning Czech Winter Olympic Team shortly after the 1948 Olympic Games.
Prihoda settled in Thredbo where he ran a souvenir shop and later volunteered at the local museum.
Frank retired from all skiing aged 90.
HEATHER ANDERSON
July 29, 1994 – November 14, 2022
The Adelaide AFLW premiership player died by suicide at an army barracks in Perth, Western Australia aged just 28.
The defender was a member of the Crows team that beat the Brisbane Lions in the 2017 grand final on the Gold Coast.
An army medic originally from the ACT, Anderson was posted to the Northern Territory and drafted with pick 10 in the 2016 draft.
She recovered from a serious shoulder injury to feature in every game of the 2017 season, but re-injured her shoulder in the grand final and underwent career-ending surgery.
“Words cannot express the deep sadness amongst the AFL and AFLW community at this time. Our sincerest condolences are to the Anderson family,” AFLW boss Nicole Livingstone said.
PAUL BROUGHTON
March 31, 1931 – December 3, 2022
A true visionary, Broughton did it all in rugby league.
He played for St George in the 1950s, coached Balmain and Newtown in the 1970s, and was chairman of the Gold Coast Chargers when they entered the NRL in 1988.
The Gold Coast Titans’ award for best and fairest player is named the Paul Broughton Medal in his honour.
As well as developing the game in the Pacific Islands, he once brought Super Bowl winner Manfred Moore out to play with Newtown Jets in 1977.
He passed away aged 91, survived by his wife Bev and his family.
JIM LENEHAM
April 29, 1938 – August 26, 2022
Lenehan was the 48th captain of the Wallabies, playing 24 Tests between 1958 and 1967 as a centre and fullback.
In 1962, he earned a one-off Test captaincy, leading Australia against New Zealand in their second tour match in Sydney, losing 14-5.
His final Test match came in 1967 against Ireland at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
He passed away aged 84.
BILLY PICKEN & CON BRITT
June 7, 1956 – July 23, 2022, and August 10, 1947 – July 23, 2022
Collingwood was left mourning the death of two legends on July 23.
Picken was a member of the Collingwood team of the century and was one of the club’s most beloved players after playing 212 games.
He was a two-time club best and fairest winner and was an All-Australian selection in 1983.
Britt made his debut in 1966 and played 110 games.
“The Collingwood Football Club is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Billy Picken and Con Britt and we extend our condolences to their families and friends,” Collingwood president Jeff Browne said in a statement.
WILLIE RIOLI SENIOR
February 21, 1972 – July 12, 2022
The 50-year-old former Hawthorn player and Tiwi Islands Football League president suffered a heart attack in July.
Rioli Sr was selected by Hawthorn at pick 48 in the 1990 national draft but never played an AFL game for the club.
He was a giant in the WAFL and NTFL, becoming a NTFL player life member and being selected in several NT representative sides.
The legendary leader was also awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2008 for his work in the Tiwi Islands community.
His son, Willie Rioli Junior, plays for West Coast in the AFL.
COLIN STUBS
February 27, 1941 – July 13, 2022
The former Australian tennis player and leading administrator died, aged 81, after a battle with pancreatic cancer.
He competed against some greats during the 1960s, with his best performance at a grand slam a third round showing in 1967.
In 1978 he sold his pharmacy to expand his sports marketing and management business, playing a key role in the revitalisation of the Australian Open, of which he was a long-time tournament director.
It was under his leadership that the AO moved from the grass courts of Kooyong to what is now known as Melbourne Park.
Stubs also launched the Kooyong Classic in 1988, an event he ran for 26 years, always attracting a top quality field.
PAUL DEAR
December 28, 1966 – July 8, 2022
Tributes poured in for the 1991 Norm Smith medallist after the 55-year-old fought a two-year battle against pancreatic cancer.
“Hawthorn Football Club is deeply saddened to learn the passing of premiership player Paul Dear,” the statement read.
“The club extends its sincere condolences to Paul’s family and friends.
“He was a loving husband and proud father to four children he adored immensely. Paul played 123 games for Hawthorn during a nine-year career spanning from 1987 to 1996.
“Arguably his greatest moment in the brown and gold came on Grand Final day 1991, helping drag the Hawks to premiership glory.”
NORM BROWN
August 6, 1943 - December 1, 2022
The Brisbane Lions were mourning the loss of the triple Fitzroy best and fairest winner and Lions Hall of Fame member, who passed away aged 79.
One of the Lions’ favourite sons, Brown played 181 VFL games and kicked 77 goals in a career at Fitzroy across 12 seasons, from 1962 to 1973.
He was vice-captain to the legendary Kevin Murray for half of his time in maroon and blue and would ultimately be selected in Fitzroy’s team of the 20th century.
He would later go on to become a premiership-winning coach Port Melbourne in the VFL, but his love of the Lions always drew him back to the club. He served briefly as a Fitzroy assistant coach and later as a past players’ president at Fitzroy and later the Brisbane Lions after the 1996 merger of the clubs.
DENNIS SPAGARINO
December 30, 1959 – December 5, 2022
He only refereed a few top level rugby league games but Spagarino had a profound impact on the code.
As well as mentoring junior referees for decades, he was a video referee and later became Chairman of the NSW Referees Association.
He developed motor neurone disease in recent years and died, aged 62, due to complications from the illness.
He was a life member of both the Referees Association and NSW Rugby League.
Spagarino is survived by his wife Karen and daughters Debrah and Joanne. He had four grandchildren.
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