David Furner

Son of former Australian coach Don Furner and a product of Queanbeyan Whites RU club, David Furner represented Australian RU Under 17s and Under 21s before joining Canberra in 1991. Selected for City Origin in 1993, the young backrower developed into a clever ball-player with a deceptive step. His naming as the Clive Churchill Medal winner in Canberra's 1994 grand final win over C’bury propelled him into the Kangaroo squad (interestingly, his father Don Furner, Chairman of Selectors, abstained from voting). A reserve in Australia's First Test loss at Wembley Furner's open play and capable goal-kicking skills were seen to good effect on tour. Furner was one of the last of the Canberra players to join Super League, a decision that could not have been easy given the fact that he father worked for the ARL. While Furner was a State of Origin rep in 1996 and again in 1998 after the reunification of the game, his only international matches after the 1994 Kangaroo Tour were during Super League’s 1997 season. In 1999 Furner was called into the NSW team as a replacement for the suspended David Barnhill in the historic third State of Origin match that finished in a draw. The highest point-scorer in the history of the Canberra club Furner surpassed Bernie Purcell’s long-standing record as the greatest point-scoring forward in the history of the game before leaving the Raiders at the end of 2000 to play for Wigan. A try-scorer in the club’s Challenge Cup final win in 2002 Furner moved to Leeds in 2003 as Wigan struggled under salary cap restrictions. He ended his career as a member of the Leeds team that defeated Bradford in the English Super League grand final in 2004. Furner then returned to Australia to take up an assistant coach’s role with the Raiders and was appointed team manager of the NSW ‘Blues’ for 2005.